The Six National Universities International Education and Research System (comprising Chiba University, Niigata University, Kanazawa University, Okayama University, Nagasaki University and Kumamoto University) held a summer seminar on life sciences with the ASEAN University Network (AUN) at Mahidol University in Thailand on August 28.

Professor Yoshifumi Ninomiya, of Okayama University's Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and five other science or nursing educators from the six universities lectured to students and faculty on the molecular mechanism on Asian type diabetes, the importance of oral care for the elderly and other topics. Educators in the same fields of Mahidol University also presented their research findings, followed by a discussion promoting academic exchange and student exchange. They toured the Mahidol University Hospital, the medical museum and library, deepening the relationship between researchers in Japan and Thailand.

The Six National Universities International Education and Research System was formed in April this year to promote coordination among the six universities and international activities. The focus this school year is on developing various projects with ASEAN countries, of which this seminar is a part. In the future it will enhance exchanges in medicine, including short-term student exchange programs for life sciences and a medical education seminar to be held this winter in Bangkok, with further activities planned for the social sciences, engineering, environmental studies and other fields.