On 5 November, Kyoto University concluded an academic cooperation and exchange agreement with the University of Florida (UF), the United States. The two universities have constantly collaborated since 1997 in fields such as polymer chemistry, ecology, and African area studies, with faculty and students visiting each other on numerous occasions.
The agreement, signed 5 November by President Juichi Yamagiwa, resulted from efforts led by three KyotoU professors to build on this partnership: Kaoru Kitajima of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Ouchi Makoto of the Graduate School of Engineering, and Masayoshi Shigeta of the Center for African Area Studies (CAAS).
The state-run University of Florida was established in 1853, making it Florida's oldest and largest higher education institution. It is also the state's sole member of the Association of American Universities, an organization of the country's leading research universities . Nationwide, UF is recognized as one of the "Public IVYs", a list of prominent state-run universities.
UF's academic programs feature hands-on training in various parts of the world, including Madagascar, where KyotoU's CAAS and Graduate School of Agriculture are engaged in collaborative research. The concluded MoU will enable researchers and students from the two universities to take part in such training and work across disciplines, and is expected to accelerate the internationalization of KyotoU's research and education.
To mark this new partnership, Kyoto University is preparing to host a special academic symposium January 2020 featuring UF faculty, focusing on sustainable use of African and Asian plant resources.
