On 23rd Monday, January, 2023, the "Japan-India University Forum" (refer to the purpose of this forum below) was held at ‘Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo’ at the invitation of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), attended by the presidents or acting presidents of leading universities and research institutes in India and Japan.
In order to exchange views in person on the promotion of future strategic partnership between India and Japan, the heads* of India's top 10 domestically ranked universities, Japan's top 15 domestically ranked universities (i.e., 12 national universities, 3 private universities), and 3 leading research institutes in Japan were invited to this forum.
For participating institutions and attendants of the forum, please refer to the following Section.
The heads of the four Japanese institutions were asked to make presentations at the roundtable discussion of the forum, and NIMS President Dr.Hono, on behalf of the Japanese research institutions, gave an introduction on the past collaboration between NIMS and India.
Also, Dr. Tomonobu Nakayama (Director of Global Networking Division, NIMS) attended the luncheon meeting which was held prior to the forum, as accompanying person of Dr. Kazuhiro Hono (NIMS current President) and exchanged opinions with the heads of top-ranking Indian universities on the establishment of global network.
It is expected that this forum will serve as a good opportunity to strengthen the ties with top-ranking Indian universities in the near future.
Group photo of attendants in the Japan-India University Forum
Front row, furthest on the left: Dr. Kazuhito Hashimoto JST President (Former NIMS president, emeritus Prof. The University of Tokyo)
Front row, furthest on the right: Dr. Teruo Kishi JST sakura science program headquarters, Director-General (NIMS first president, emeritus Prof. The University of Tokyo)
Third row, fifth person from the right: Dr. Kazuhiro Hono NIMS current President
Purpose of the Forum
Japan and India have a long history of friendship and have been strategic partners since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1952, which marks the 70th anniversary.
In terms of science, technology, and innovation, India has high potential in many fields, including the information and communication technologies, artificial Intelligence, the universe, and nuclear technology, while Japan leads the world in basic science, materials, life science, and environment and so on.
The current exchange between Japan and India is not always sufficient, and both sides urgently need to play an important international role in the near future and build an "open Indo-Pacific" partnership using “researcher new-mode mobility supported by JST”, including the exchange in broad research fields and study abroad programs between universities and institutions in both countries.
In light of the above, the "Japan-India University Forum" will be held with the participation of presidents of top-ranking universities in Japan and India, with the aim of forming a foundation for exchanges to further promote cooperation between Japan and India.
Participating institutions and attendees
1. Indian side (10 universities)
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay -Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director (i.e., president)
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi -Professor Ambuj D. Sagar, Deputy Director (i.e., vice president)
Indian Institute of Technology Madras -Professor Koshy Varghese, Dean of administration at IIT Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur -Professor Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director (i.e., president)
University of Delhi -Professor Yogesh Singh, Vice-Chancellor (i.e., president)
Jawaharlal Nehru University -Professor Santishree D. Pandit, Vice-Chancellor (i.e., president)
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati -Professor Parameswar K. Lyer, Officiating Director (i.e., acting president)
University of Hyderabad -Professor Basuthkar Jagadeeshwar Rao, Vice-Chancellor (i.e., president)
Anna University -Professor Ramalingam VELRAJ, Vice-Chancellor (i.e., president)
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad -Professor Budaraju Srinivasa Murty, Director (i.e., president)
2. Japanese side (total 22 institutions)
2-1) National University (15 universities)
Hokkaido University -Professor Kiyohiro Houkin, President
Tohoku University -Professor Hideo Ohno, President
University of Tsukuba -Professor Kyosuke Nagata
The University of Tokyo -Professor Kaori Hayashi, Executive vice president
Tokyo Institute of Technology -Professor Kazuya Masu, President
Yokohama National University -Professor Izuru Umehara, President
Niigata University -Professor Madhusoodhan Satish-Kumar, Vice president
Nagaoka University of Technology -Professor Shigeharu Kamado, President
Gifu University -Professor Kazuhiro Yoshida, President
Shizuoka University -Professor Makoto Kondo, Vice president
Nagoya University -Professor Naoshi Sugiyama, President
Kyoto University -Professor Nagahiro Minato, President
Osaka University -Professor Takao Onoye, Executive vice president
Hiroshima University -Professor Mitsuo Ochi, President
Kyushu University -Professor Tatsuro Ishibashi, President
2-2) Private Universities (4 universities)
Keio University -Professor Kohei Itoh, President
Keio University -Professor Shaw Rajib
Shibaura Institute of Technology -Professor Jun Yamada, President
Waseda University -Professor Masahiko Gemma, Vice president
Ritsumeikan University -Professor Yoshio Nakatani, President
2-3) Research institutes (3 institutions)
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) -Dr. Kazuhiro Hono, President
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) -Dr. Tomohiro Tamura, Executive officer
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) -Ms. Sachiko Imoto, Senior vice president
<Supplemental Information>
After the Forum, a networking event was held at the official residence of Hosoda who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. And Dr. Hono (President of NIMS) also attended the networking event and put in the effort to strengthen the ties between top-level experts in Japan and India.
