As the result of a collaboration between Kyoto University's Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES), Can Tho University, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology, The 2nd International Symposium on Formulation of the Cooperation Hub for Global Environmental Studies in the Indochina Region was hosted by Can Tho University, Vietnam, on 27 September 2014.
The Symposium was organized as part of the GSGES's three-year initiative launched in 2013 to establish a framework for international interdisciplinary cooperation in research and education in mainland Southeast Asia, a region currently undergoing rapid transformation. As part of the three-year project, operated as a "Core-to-Core Program" supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the GSGES is coordinating with six regional partners to form an extensive network focused on facilitating, among the member institutions, 1) the sharing of information on education, research, and practice, 2) international interdisciplinary exchanges, and 3) collaborative research. The participating institutions comprise the GSGES's three close partners based in Vietnam -- Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hue University, and Danang University -- each of which acts as a regional hub for global environmental studies, as well as other partner universities including Khon Kaen University in Thailand, Champasak University in Laos, and the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia.
The 2nd Symposium was attended by around 90 people, including representatives of universities in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries with an interest in the Cooperation Hub initiative, Japanese universities and corporations, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Viet Nam Office, and JSPS Bangkok Office, as well as faculty members and students of Kyoto University and other participating institutions.
Welcome addresses were given by representatives of the three organizing institutions -- GSGES Dean Shigeo Fujii, Can Tho University Rector Ha Thanh Toan, and Associate Professor Huynh Trung Hai, Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Presentations about the status of the regional hub project, international collaboration in education, research, and implementation, and the current situation at participating universities, as well as introductory sessions about corporate initiatives and research activities led to lively discussion.
The International Symposium is an annual event co-organized by the GSGES and participating institutions. The inaugural symposium was held in 2013 in collaboration with Hue University. The third Symposium will be held next year with Danang University of Technology. It is anticipated that further cooperation can be realized through active discussion and implementation of the promotion of collaborative research and education.
Dean Shigeo Fujii outlines the GSGES's international exchange initiatives
Participants at the poster session
Commemorative photo
