カテゴリー: Bochum-topics

On January 24, 2025, seven M.Sc. students from the Geographical Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum under the direction of Prof. Dr. Uta Hohn presented the results of the Metropolitan Research Summer School Tokyo 2024 to an interested audience in an event organized jointly with the Bochum Office of the University of Tsukuba. The week-long summer school took place in September 2024 in cooperation with students from the Degree Programs in Policy and Planning Sciences at the University of Tsukuba under the direction of Prof. Dr. Sayaka Fujii. This was preceded by the joint Summer School Ruhr in July 2024.

The students’ presentations impressively illuminated the challenges and approaches to designing urban transformation processes in very different urban spaces in the Tokyo metropolitan region. The spectrum ranged from transformation areas on the waterfront (Tokyo Waterfront City, Toyosu, Haneda Innovation City) and in the center of the Global City (OMY), which are designated as Urban Renaissance zones, to concepts for the further development of the local city between area redevelopment and careful urban renewal (Kyojima) to the contrasting consideration of the transformation processes in growth (Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City) and shrinking/aging areas (Kashiwa Village) of the post-suburban area. Finally, special attention was paid to the analysis of the innovation ecosystem and the approaches to inner-city revitalization in the “Super Science City” Tsukuba that combines science and education, economic development, digitization and cooperative city-building.

After the presentations, the audience had the opportunity to exchange ideas with the students as part of a poster exhibition. Interested parties now have the opportunity to view the posters in the corridor of the International Urban and Metropolitan Development Working Group in the IA South building of Ruhr University Bochum, 6th floor.

 

 

On January 24, 2025, a Tsukuba Exchange Meeting was held at a restaurant Q-West in the Ruhr University Bochum, following the presentation event of RUB-UT Metropolitan Research Summer School 2024.

In total, about 30 people participated, including participants of the Summer School, as well as students from our university studying abroad at partner universities in Germany, and students from the Ruhr University Bochum who have studied at the University of Tsukuba or are planning to study there in the future, and deepened friendships.

University of Tsukuba is committed to building an overseas alumni network, including the Tsukuba Universal Alumni Network (TUAN), which was launched in 2023. The Bochum Office will also be actively involved in further promoting exchanges between alumni in Germany.

 

 

At the Tsukuba Global Science Week 2024, we invited a professor from the Ruhr University Bochum to hold a joint session.

The session was titled “Interdisciplinary Dialogue on Law with Europe: Session on Innovative Legal Studies.” Through lectures by Assistant Professor Hajime Akiyama (Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, session organizer,) Professor Peter Windel (Faculty of Law, Ruhr University Bochum,) and Assistant Professor Zia Madani (Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba,) a panel discussion by the three speakers, and a Q&A session with participants, the discussion deepened on the construction of a new field of legal studies with interdisciplinary and international features and collaboration with society, namely innovative legal studies, which is required today in the context of global social issues becoming more complex.

At the beginning of the session, Prof. Jun Ikeda, Vice President and Executive Director for Global Affairs, gave an opening address, in which he expressed his hope that this session will lead to further development of exchange between the University of Tsukuba and the Ruhr University Bochum.

 

Prof. Michael Hoch, Rector of the University of Bonn paid a courtesy visit to Prof. Kyosuke Nagata, President of the University of Tsukuba.

Based on a university-level agreement concluded in 2011, active academic exchanges have been conducted between the two universities. The University of Bonn is also one of the cooperating universities aiming for active student exchanges in our program, which was adopted for the “Inter-University Exchange Project -Promoting Inter-University Exchanges with European Universities-” implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology this year.

Prof. Hoch also attended the opening plenary of TGSW2024 held on the same day and gave a guest speech.

 

Prof. Yasuteru Shigeta, Vice President and Executive Director for Research, and Prof. Akira Uedono, Director of the Bochum Office, visited the University of Bonn, one of our university-level partners.

This visit was made possible by the adoption of a collaborative program between the University of Tsukuba and several European partner universities, including the University of Bonn, in the “Inter-University Exchange Project -Promoting Inter-University Exchanges with European Universities-” implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. After an explanation of the international exchange situation at the University of Bonn by Prof. Birgit Ulrike Münch, Vice Rector for International Affairs, and an explanation of the Matter and Light for Quantum Computing (ML4Q)* initiative by Professor Simon Stellmer, we toured several laboratories and deepened their discussions on the possibility of exchanges between the two universities.

The University of Bonn is one of 11 universities selected as an “Excellence University” in the Excellence Strategy implemented by the German federal and state governments, and ML4Q has been recognized as an “Excellence Cluster,” an outstanding research cluster, within that strategy.

Through further discussions, we aim to promote research and student exchange by making maximum use of the frameworks of support projects provided by the governments of two countries.

* A research cluster in the field of quantum computing consisting of researchers from the University of Bonn, the University of Cologne, RWTH Aachen University, and the Forschungszentrum Jülich.

 

A joint symposium, “Cutting Edge Research for Smart Societies,” was held at the Ruhr University Bochum.

This symposium, which was held to commemorate the opening of the Bochum Office located on the Ruhr University Bochum in November last year, aimed to promote research exchange between the two universities through research presentations focusing on contributions to the “Smart Society” that both Tsukuba City and Bochum City aim to realize. From our university, six faculty members including Prof. Yasuteru Shigeta, Vice President and Executive Director for Research and staff stationed at the Bochum Office participated in person, with several faculty and staff members participating online. The symposium began with an opening remark by Prof. Martin Paul, Rector of the Ruhr University Bochum, and video messages from Prof. Kyosuke Nagata, President of the University of Tsukuba,  and Mr. Thomas Eiskirch, Mayor of Bochum City.

The event began with keynote speeches by Prof. Uta Hohn of the Ruhr University Bochum, who was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the Japanese government for her long-term contributions to German-Japanese exchange in the field of urban planning research, and Prof. Kenji Suzuki of Institute of System and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, who leads the Super Science City initiative as an Advisor / Super City Architect for Tsukuba City. Presentations by researchers from both universities demonstrated the relevance of cutting-edge research in various fields to the smart society. In addition, research support staff from both universities and the JSPS Bonn Office explained the grant system that can be used to promote research exchange between the two universities, attracting the attention of researchers from both universities who are highly interested in international collaborative research.

With the Ruhr University Bochum, one of the Campus-in-Campus partner universities, we aim to expand exchanges in all fields, not just the theme of smart society. And it is also listed as one of the partner universities aiming to foster global human resources in the program of the “Inter-University Exchange Project -Promoting Inter-University Exchanges with European Universities-” implemented by in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in which our university was adopted. It is expected that the ties formed at this event will lead to further research exchanges and the establishment of educational programs.

 

 

 

 

Professors and a staff of the University of Tsukuba participated in the award ceremony for Prof. Uta Hohn of the Ruhr University Bochum, which was held at the residence of the Consulate-General of Japan in Düsseldorf.

This ceremony was held to commemorate the awarding of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the Japanese government to Prof. Hohn in recognition of her contributions to promoting academic exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and Germany as a professor in the field of urban planning at the Ruhr University Bochum. Seven members of our university attended the ceremony to offer their congratulations to Prof. Hohn: Prof. Yasuteru Shigeta, Vice President and Executive Director for Research, Prof. Akira Uedono, Director of the Bochum Office, Prof. Toshiyuki Amagasa, Prof. Yutaka Shikano, Associate Professor Sayaka Fujii, Assistant Professor Shinichiro Akiyama, and a representative officer of the Bochum Office.

In her congratulatory speech, Associate Professor Fujii, who has been conducting joint research and student exchanges with Prof. Hohn for many years, expressed her respect and gratitude for Prof. Hohn’s important role in the exchange between the two universities and in the inter-city exchange between the Tsukuba City and Bochum City. Prof. Hohn also spoke of her desire to continue to enthusiastically promote exchange between the two universities, and the importance of passing on the baton of exchange to the next generation.

The ceremony was attended by many people who play important roles in Japan-Germany cooperation from the Consulate-General of Japan in Düsseldorf, the Bochum City, the Ruhr University Bochum, and other organizations, and they deepened their mutual exchanges.

 

 

 

On September 5, 2024, the Symposium “Cutting Edge Research For Smart Societies”, jointly organized by University of Tsukuba and Ruhr University Bochum, will take place. The language of the event will be English.

This event will be held at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum to commemorate the opening of the University of Tsukuba Bochum Office. It can be viewed from Japan ,Germany and other places via live streaming (Zoom meeting style.)

Streaming URL:
https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom-x.de/j/61841309304?pwd=ouZnb0BlRaTeIbBthSKltUad6xgB5O.1

Through keynote speeches and presentations by eleven researchers, we will consider how the cutting-edge research at both universities can be utilized to realize the “Smart Societies,” which are, among others, promoted by the twinned cities of Tsukuba and Bochum.

In the last part of the event, there will also be an explanation of the research grant systems that can be used by researchers from both universities to collaborate.

The symposium will be completed by face-to-face meetings of researchers from the two universities at different locations of Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

 

Time Schedule