On December 16, Okayama University Vice President for International Affairs and Director of the Six National Universities International Education, Research System (International Collaboration Division) for the Consortium of Six National Universities (SixERS) SUZUKI Takayoshi co-hosted an online symposium for SixERS and the University System of Taipei (UST) in collaboration with the National Taipei University of Technology, which acts as the secretariat office for UST. The aim of the joint symposium was to promote research exchange and establish a network between the members of SixERS (Chiba University, Niigata University, Kanazawa University, Okayama University, Nagasaki University and Kumamoto University) and UST (Taipei Medical University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Taipei University and National Taiwan Ocean University).

Although SixERS officially signed an international exchange agreement with UST in June 2020, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this symposium was the first official collaborative exchange activity since signing the agreement.

The main theme of the symposium was “Aging Population” and twenty researchers representing the ten participating universities gave presentations in one of four sessions: Medicine & Life Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Interdisciplinary Studies & More and Social Sciences. Okayama University Professor KANDA Takefumi from the Graduate school of Natural Science and Technology gave a presentation titled “Actuators for novel mechatronics system” during the Engineering & Technology session, while Professor KIWA Toshihiko from the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems gave a presentation titled “Advanced terahertz chemical microscopy for medical applications” during the Interdisciplinary Studies & More session.

Over ninety students and researchers from participating universities registered to take part in the online symposium, which served to be a meaningful opportunity to exchange opinions on declining birth rates and aging populationsgrave social problems that both Japan and Taiwan face.

Using this event as a stepping stone to more frequent exchange opportunities, Okayama University and SixERS hope to deepen research and academic exchange with UST in the near future. 　


○ Consortium of Six National Universities in Japan
The Six National Universities Consortium was established in March 2013 to facilitate cooperation between institutions while allowing them to maintain their independence and self-reliance. Their shared goals include improving education, advancing academic research, increasing social contribution and promoting the development of human capital capable of leading our rapidly globalizing society.


○ Six National Universities International Education, Research System
Six National Universities International Education, Research System (International Collaboration Division of the Consortium of Six National Universities in Japan) was established by SixERS to promote international exchange and cooperation activities. Okayama University Vice President for International Affairs SUZUKI Takayoshi leads the division.