Venue: Learning Studio, FUKUTAKE Hall, Hongo Campus, The University of Tokyo
Moderator
Michael Handford
Professor
Centre for Language and Communication Research, Cardiff University
Advisor to the University of Tokyo on Internationalisation
Michael Handford (PhD) is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Cardiff University, and Adviser to the University of Tokyo on internationalisation. He has published on discourse in professional settings, stereotyping and cultural identities at work, engineering education and communication, and internationalisation in higher education. From 2004-2015 he worked at the University of Tokyo, where he was Professor of International Education. Michael has recently been made a Fellow of the School of Engineering, as of 2024.
Speakers
Akie Hoshino
Director
International Program Department
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
HOSHINO Akie is currently Director, International Program Department, JSPS. She joined Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2000. Her working experience includes First Secretary at Embassy of Japan to Egypt, Leader of Policy Coordination Group, Culture and Creativity Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Director of Domestic PR Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director of Office for Global Promotion of Japanese Culture, Agency for Cultural Affairs. She holds a BA in Economics from Kyoto University and a MSc in Sustainable Heritage from University College London.
Oren A. Scherman
Professor of Supramolecular & Polymer Chemistry
Director of the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis
University of Cambridge
Our research interests include the synthesis of functional nanosystems, controlled polymer architectures and dynamic supramolecular assemblies through molecular recognition processes.
The underlying theme of our research lies at the interface between synthetic organic efforts on small molecules and macroscopic properties at the materials level, developing a macro-organic approach to chemistry. Dynamic supramolecular self-assembly of materials will be an area of great importance in the coming years, allowing for innovations in nanotechnology and at the biological and chemical interfaces.
We are particularly interested in exploring topics such as water-soluble and stimuli-responsive materials, template and imprinting technologies of functional polymers for use in chiral separations and enantioselective catalysis, and controlling material morphologies and architectures both in solution and in the solid state through rational design and a multi-step, hierarchical self-assembly process.
Yuto Kitamura
Professor and Special Advisor to the President
Deputy Director, International Strategic Planning Office
The University of Tokyo
Dr. Yuto Kitamura is a Professor at the Graduate School of Education and a Special Advisor to the President for International Strategic Planning at the University of Tokyo in Japan.
He worked in the Education Sector of UNESCO as an Assistant Education Specialist and taught as an Associate Professor at Nagoya University and Sophia University in Japan. He had served as a Fulbright Scholar at the George Washington University in the US and a Visiting Professor at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. He serves as a Special Advisor to the Rector of the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia and a Visiting Fellow at the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development.
He specializes in comparative education and has been conducting extensive research on the education policies of developing countries in South and Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia. His recent co-edited books include Memory in the Mekong: Regional Identity, Schools, and Politics in Southeast Asia (Teachers College Press, 2022) and Impacts of Study Abroad on Higher Education Development: Examining the Experiences of Faculty at Leading Universities in Southeast Asia (Springer, 2024).
He received his B.A. in Education from Keio University in Japan and his M.A. and Ph.D. both in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US.
Hiroshi Toshiyoshi
Director General
Institute of Industrial Science
The University of Tokyo
Dr. H. Toshiyoshi is the Director General and a Professor in the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) of the University of Tokyo.
Dr. Toshiyoshi received the M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1993 and 1996, respectively. He joined the IIS in 1996 as a Lecturer. From 1999 to 2001, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, US. In 2002, he became an Associate Professor with the IIS, and since 2009 he has been a Professor with the IIS. Currently he serves as the Director General of the IIS for a three-year term beginning April 2024.
From 2002 to 2007, he was a Codirector of LIMMS/CNRS-IIS UMI-2820, an international joint laboratory of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France. From 2005 to 2008, he was the Project Leader of the Optomechatronics Project at Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki, Japan, where he led a team on MEMS for optical applications such as image display and fiber-endoscope. From 2011 to 2014, he was the Principal Investigator of a NEXT program (Funding Program for Next Generation World-Leading Researchers) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (JSPS) initiated by the Council for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP) of Japan, where he developed the integrated MEMS technology for multi-functional low power electronics. His research interests include optical MEMS, power MEMS, and CMOS-MEMS.