The 16th Kyoto University Southeast Asia Forum held (10-11 January 2015)

The International Sustainable Technology, Energy and Civilization Conference (16th Kyoto University Southeast Asian Forum), organized by Kyoto University Alumni Malaysia (KUAM) with support from the University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), took place in Kuala Lumpur on 10-11 January.

The Forum was launched in 2007 with the aim of enabling Kyoto University researchers to share their latest research activities with Southeast Asian audiences and promote dialogue with local communities.

The 16th Forum -- held in Malaysia for the first time -- featured lectures and discussions on sustainable technologies, energy, and society, and was attended by around 50 people over the course of two days.

An overview of Kyoto University was presented by Professor Emeritus Yuzo Ohnishi, Special Assistant to the University's President and vice-chair of the KU Alumni Association, and opening remarks were made by Professor Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor from the University of Malaya, who chairs KUAM.

The speakers included Professor Mamoru Shibayama, Director of the Kyoto University ASEAN Center, Professor Muhamad Zakaria, Executive Director of the National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia, Professor Shiro Saka from Kyoto University's Graduate School of Energy Science, and Professor Dahlan Bin Ismail from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Participants followed the presentations with keen interest and actively contributed to the subsequent Q&A session.

On the evening of 9 January, KUAM and Dark Blue no Kai, an alumni association for Kyoto University graduates residing in Malaysia chaired by Mr Yasuhiro Oashi, a graduate of the Faculty of Law (1986), hosted a joint gathering, where participants were seen to enjoy catching up and have free-flowing discussions in a friendly atmosphere.