On March 18, 2026, a delegation from Hochschule Düsseldorf (HSD) visited the University of Tsukuba.
HSD is promoting an internationalization strategy called “Japan Gateway” with support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), aiming to expand collaboration with Japanese universities and industry. This visit was organized as part of efforts to advance the Japan Gateway initiative, in coordination with the University of Tsukuba Bochum Office.
The program began with mutual introductions of the two universities by Vice President Osamu Ohneda (Global Affairs) of the University of Tsukuba and Vice President Thomas Molck (Academic, Student and International Affairs) of HSD. This was followed by presentations on research and educational activities: from the University of Tsukuba, Professors Hiroaki Yano, Yoshihiro Kanamori, and Kazuo Misue (all from the Institute of Systems and Information Engineering), and from HSD, Professors Jens Herder and Kay Schröder. Lively discussions were held on potential collaboration between the two institutions.
After the discussion session, the delegation toured the Empowerment Studio under the guidance of Professor Yano and visited Professor Kanamori’s laboratory. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to explore the strong potential for research and educational collaboration between the two universities, particularly in the fields of information science and engineering and virtual reality (VR), where both institutions have considerable strengths.
In September this year, a summer school is planned to be held in Düsseldorf as part of the Japan Gateway project. It is expected that participation by students from the University of Tsukuba will further promote student exchange between the two universities.