EdUHK Delegation Visits Renowned Universities in Japan to Deepen East Asian Education Collaboration
Professor May Cheng May-hung, Vice President (Academic) of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), led a delegation to Japan between 2 and 4 June, visiting three renowned universities: Okayama University, Hiroshima University and Kyushu University. The delegation included Professor Lo Sing-kai, Associate Vice President (Internationalisation), and Professor Bill Yeung Chi-ho, Dean of Students. The aim of the visit was to strengthen strategic partnerships with leading universities in western Japan and explore new opportunities for academic and student exchange, and research collaboration.
The EdUHK delegation’s first stop was at Okayama University, renowned in the areas of environmental science, biomedical science, humanities and social science. The delegation met with Professor Takayoshi Suzuki, Vice President (International Affairs and Alumni), Professor Atsushi Takase, Dean of Graduate School of Education and Faculty of Education, Professor Toshinori Kuwabara, Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Faculty of Education, among others. Both institutions reached a consensus on promoting student exchanges and joint research projects, further solidifying the collaboration in supporting citizenship education and educational innovation. Since establishing a partnership in 2020, the two institutions have collaborated on various educational projects, such as the joint organisation of online forums and virtual workshops on global citizenship education.
The following day, the delegation visited Hiroshima University, a long-standing partner of EdUHK. They met with Professor Kaneko Shinji, Executive Vice President (Global Initiatives), Professor Norio Matsumi, Vice President, and Dean of Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor Maruyama Yasushi, Dean of the School of Education and Graduate School of Education Hiroshima University. The university representatives held in-depth discussions on expanding the scale of student exchange in the field of education. They agreed on supporting students in advancing cross-cultural academic exchange and enhancing the quality of overseas programme teaching. The two institutions established a joint doctoral degree program in 2019 and have organised multiple cross-cultural learning projects for students.
The final stop of the trip was Kyushu University. The delegation held productive meetings with representatives from Kyushu University, including Professor Johan Lauwereyns, Senior Vice President, Professor Natalie Konomi, Vice President for International Affairs, Professor Edward Vickers, UNESCO Chair on Education for Peace, Social Justice and Global Citizenship. Both parties reviewed the past achievements of their collaboration in student exchanges and cross-regional academic interactions. They also reached a preliminary agreement to strengthen exchange in education and humanities and social sciences, as well as to expand the scale of personnel exchanges in the future.
Professor Cheng said after the delegation returned to EdUHK, “Building on collaborations with the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Gakugei University, and Aichi Education University, we are further expanding our partnership network in western Japan, providing enhanced opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and research for both students and faculty.”
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