Strategic Partnership Joint Workshop “Active Ageing: living longer and healthier in an ageing world” held between the University of Tokyo & the Stockholm University Group

Date of activity: September 20, 2017 - September 22, 2017

A Strategic Partnership joint workshop "Active Ageing: Living longer and healthier in an ageing world" was held between the University of Tokyo and the “Stockholm University group” (Stockholm University, The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Karolinska Institutet) from September 20^th-22^nd, 2017, at The Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet. This was the first Strategic Partnership workshop to be held by the four universities as one group and had more than one hundred participants. Participants included faculties and students from the four institutions and government officials from both Japan and Sweden. The workshop is categorized as one of a number of official projects marking the 150^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Sweden.
 
Following the Welcome Reception held at the Nobel Museum on the 20^th, the Opening Ceremony took place on the 21^st with HM Queen Silvia of Sweden and HE Jun Yamazaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sweden attending. A speech was made on behalf of the Stockholm University Group by Vice Chancellor Prof. Ole Petter Ottersen of Karolinska Institutet, and Executive Director and Vice President Prof. Mamoru Mitsuishi of The University of Tokyo. Prof. Naoto Sekimura, Vice President of The University of Tokyo and Deputy Director General of the Division of International Affairs, then made a presentation about the Strategic Partnership. Following this, lectures were given and discussions held regarding Active Ageing from three different perspectives: biophysics, biomedical science and social science.
 
On the 22^nd, the participants divided into groups of the three different perspectives and attended sessions with presentations, predominantly given by young researchers, and engaged in discussion with their counterparts regarding future collaborative research opportunities. The participants then reassembled in the Nobel Forum for a presentation on the future exchange activities between the four institutions chaired by Prof. Peter Gudmundson, the former President of KTH.
 
A decision was made for the next joint workshop to be held in Tokyo in 2018, the year marking 150 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Sweden. The workshop will be used as an opportunity to think collaboratively from a variety of perspectives about the concept of sustainable society, tackling themes which are pertinent to both countries and are in need of academic attention.

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