The First UTokyo Global Advisory Board Meeting Held

Date of activity: November 27, 2017 - November 28, 2017

The First Global Advisory Board Meeting took place for 2 days from Monday 27^th to Tuesday 28^th November, 2017 in the Institute of Industrial Science on the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo.
 
23 board members from all over the world (*listed below) attended this meeting to discuss their views and opinions with President Makoto Gonokami, and other senior members of the University.
 
On the first day, Prof. Masashi Haneda (Executive Vice President, International Affairs) greeted our board members with a welcome message, and introduced the background and purpose of the First Global Advisory Board Meeting. After his welcome speech, Prof. Teruo Fujii and Prof. Ryohei Kanzaki introduced the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) and Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) respectively. Both are located in Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo. Following on from this introduction, Prof. Jin Sato (Special Advisor to the President) reported our progress on five promises to which we committed last year with the members of the former President’s Council. Kicking off the main program, President Gonokami gave a speech on the topic of “Toward UTokyo 3.0: The University of Tokyo in the Next 70 Years” which was followed by an active discussion on the shape of UTokyo’s future.
 
On the evening of Monday, 27^th November, a reception was held before the meeting at the house of board member Mr. Hassan Jameel to welcome other members to Japan. Senior members, professors and other members of the university were also present allowing for genial conversation to take place with his warm hospitality.
 
On the second day, the board members gathered at 9:00am. After an introduction to LIMMS, a joint Franco-Japanese research institute, by Prof. Teruo Fujii, the members visited RCA-IIS Tokyo Design Lab and Barrier Free Lab in RCAST. At a poster session by students, the board members could see the current research and education of the University. In addition, Prof. Hiroaki Aihara (Executive Director and Vice President) explained the role of the Future Society Initiative, which was established in July 2017. After all inputs about our current situation, the board members and senior members of the University were divided into 5 groups to further discuss about the main topics set during the president’s speech: 1) improving inclusiveness and internationalization, 2) strengthening the university’s financial basis, and 3) improving the research environment. In the last session, which was only for the board members, a summary proposal to the president from the UTokyo Global Advisory Board Meeting was distilled from all discussions through the two-day meeting.
 
It was a great opportunity to receive invaluable ideas and opinions from the board members, all of whom have rich global experience, remarkable achievements and outstanding personal qualities as leaders in industry, academia, and government and the civil service.
 
 
*Participating board members ============================================================================
 
Dr. Marta Szigeti Bonifert (Board Member, Hungarian Business Leaders Forum)
Prof. Christina Cameron (Professor and Canada Research Chair, Université de Montréal)
Dr. Un-Chan Chung (Chairman, Korea Institute for Shared Growth)
Dr. Bertrand Collomb (Honorary Chairman, Lafarge)
Mr. Luciano Coutinho (Visiting Full Professor, University of Campinas – UNICAMP)
Mr. Bill Emmott (International author and advisor)
Prof. Sadaoki Furui (President, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago)
Prof. Frederick G. Hilmer (Emeritus President, the University of New South Wales)
Mr. Hassan Jameel (Vice Chairman, Abdul Latif Jameel Company Ltd.)
Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama (Chairman of the Institute, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.)
Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Professor Emeritus, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies)
Prof. Joybrato Mukherjee (President, the University of Giessen; Vice-President, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD))
Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy (Founder, Infosys Limited)
Mr. Stefan Noreen (Senior Adviser, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden)
Mr. Pär Nuder (Chairman of the Board, AP3 Third Swedish National Pension Fund; Chairman of the Board, AMF)
Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla (Chancellor, University of the Philippines Manila)
Dr. Kari Olavi Raivio (Chancellor Emeritus, University of Helsinki)
Prof. John Mark Ramseyer (Mitsubishi Professor of Japanese Legal Studies, Harvard Law School)
Mr. Andreas Schleicher (Director, the Directorate of Education and Skills, OECD)
Prof. Xu Zhihong (Boya Chair Professor of Peking University, Academician of CAS)
Mr. Yoshinori Yokoyama (Social Systems Architect)
Mr. Peter Suk-Mynn Yoon (Vice Chairman, SBS Media Group and Taeyoung Group)
Prof. Michael Y. Yoshino (Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, Harvard Business School)

• http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/about/president_council.html