Sustainable Development Goals
Keio University Hosts Online Symposium: “International Collaboration in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic”
October 08, 2020
Keio University
Keio Vice-President Shinnosuke Obi moderated the first “MEXT Top Global University Project Online Symposium: International Collaboration in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic” that was held on September 30, 2020. Approximately 430 people including faculties and university staff from Japan and around the world participated in the online symposium, indicating the high level of interest in the topic.
Speakers for the symposium were Professor Vanessa Scherrer, Vice President of International Affairs at Sciences Po, Paris, Professor Suk-Ying Wong, Associate Vice-President at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Professor Masa Inakage, Dean of the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design (KMD), who each lectured on the initiatives at their respective schools and universities. The guest speakers were then joined by Mr. Kuniaki Sato, Chief Director for University Reform and Director of the Office for International Planning at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), for a discussion based on questions from the audience. Topics ranged from hybrid programs combining virtual and physical interaction, the present situation regarding “Virtual Student Exchange (VSE)” programs, and prospects for the future.
One thing that Professor Scherrer emphasized in her lecture was the important role that is to be played by global universities which are not merely reacting to the “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic but are working to actively shape it. While online programs are no substitute for the actual experience of living in a different culture and studying at an overseas university, the various initiatives of the three universities show that the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic is equally an opportunity. Through online study abroad programs, joint research conducted from separate locations, and the development of technologies and methodologies, universities are in a position to create new values and realize possibilities that no one could previously have imagined.
During the discussion: Prof. Masa Inakagae (top left), Prof. Vanessa Scherrer (middle left), Prof. Obi (center), Prof. Suk-Ying Wong (middle right), and Mr. Kuniaki Sato (bottom left)
◆Program:
1. Opening address
Professor Shinnosuke Obi, Vice-President for International Collaboration, Keio University
Mr. Kuniaki Sato, Chief Director for University Reform Director, Office for International Planning, MEXT
2. Presentation by guest speakers
“BEING A GLOBAL UNIVERSITY IN A POST-MOBILITY WORLD”
by Professor Vanessa Scherrer, Vice President for International Affairs, Sciences Po, Paris
“OVERCOMING CHALLENGES IN THE COVID-19 WORLD FOR INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES: APRU VIRTUAL STUDENT EXCHANGE”
by Professor Suk-Ying Wong, Associate Vice-President, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
“INNOVATING GLOBAL LEARNING TO THE NEW NORMAL”
by Professor Masa Inakage, Dean of the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design
3. Open discussion (audience participation encouraged)
4. Closing
Keio University Vice-President Shinnosuke Obi
| Event Date | 2020/09/30 |
![“I was active as an acupuncturist after graduating from a medical university. Outside of work, a friend introduced me to e-sports competitions which left a big impression on me. This got me thinking that perhaps I could do something with my expertise to get involved with e-sports, and after studying physical care and management of athletes in graduate school I decided to enroll in KMD to further advance my research.”
“I am currently balancing working as a practitioner at a university-affiliated acupuncture clinic and a lecturer at an e-sports vocational school with my research on healthcare management in e-sports. Academic research on the field of e-sports is still in its infancy, so I am researching comprehensive management models with the goal of contributing to the healthy development of the industry.”
“[KMD is] a place that encourages you to do what you want to do. For example, I have no knowledge of engineering, but here I have classmates and project members from various areas of expertise who will do their best to support me and, if our goals are compatible, we can work together on research. The teachers encourage us to collaborate with outside companies when necessary, which is a great way to keep advancing your own research.”
“Once you enter KMD, be prepared for your idea of common sense and what is “normal” to be thrown completely out of the window [laughs]. Considering risks, delivering appropriate interventions to patients, and maximizing results under various constraints was the norm for me in the medical world. But that was only one facet of medical care, and encountering a group of people with such diverse perspectives upends conventional wisdom. KMD is full of people who enjoy that kind of paradigm shift. That, for me, is the most valuable element of my learning at KMD.”
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This interview is part of a series of Student Voices from the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, more commonly known as Keio Media Design or “KMD.” To read more testimonials from other KMD Students, follow the link below:
https://www.kmd.keio.ac.jp/life/student-voices
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