On October 23 Okayama University signed partnership agreements with Pittsburgh University and Chatham University of the USA. Vice-president Masaru Araki visited both universities and signed the agreements with Arthur Levine, vice-president of Pittsburgh University, and Wenying Xu, vice-president of Chatham University.

Pittsburgh University's medical faculty is renowned throughout the USA, and through its cooperation with local government and industry it has made Pittsburgh into a cutting edge area for medicine in America. These partnership agreements were formed under the advocacy of President Kiyoshi Morita to make Okayama the "Pittsburgh of Japan." By stimulating networking and joint research between researchers and students primarily in the medical and natural science fields, we will help realize the scheme to make Okayama a medical industrial region. The signing ceremony was witnessed by a party led by Mr. Fumihiro Izumi, chairman of the Okayama Association of Corporate Executives, who were visiting the local medical infrastructure.

Chatham University is one of the oldest women's universities in the USA and has an established program for accepting international students. Partnership with a women's university is a new prospect for Okayama University, and envisages forming an exchange program with a particular character.

Okayama University is concentrating on promoting the cultivation of globally-oriented human resources and aims to further this through cooperation and partnership with overseas universities such as Pittsburgh and Chatham.