Kyushu University Forum “KYUDAI NOW ~ Reunion in Bangkok”

Kyushu University Forum "KYUDAI NOW - Reunion in Bangkok" was held at Conrad Bangkok on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

The Kyushu University Institute for Asian and Oceanian Studies (Q-AOS) held the Kyushu University Forum "KYUDAI NOW" as an activity to disseminate information on the latest research results and activities to the general public and local people in education, business, and government. It was also to expand human networks including overseas alumni of Kyushu University, and people related to Fukuoka Prefecture. Following the KYUDAI NOW held in Indonesia in January 2023, we succeeded in holding the forum in Thailand in March 2023.

　KYUDAI NOW in Thailand was attended by 10 researchers from 8 faculties of Kyushu University in a wide range of fields from humanities and social sciences to natural sciences, who introduced various new research results and initiatives at Kyushu University. The forum consisted of a research report session and a reception, and was attended by more than 80 people. The research report session was also streamed on YouTube and watched by nearly 90 people.

　The session began with opening remarks by Prof. Shuji Shimizu, Vice President of Kyushu University, and Prof. Yoshio Otani, Director of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Bangkok Office. In Session 1 (Society & Humanities), Prof. Masa Higo from the International Student Center spoke about aging society in Asia, Asst. Prof. Moe Shimomura from the Faculty of Design introduced design for care, Prof. Kenji Hamase from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences shared their program about the Faculty's exchange with Asian countries and his drug discovery research, and Prof. Kimihiko Hyakumura from the Institute of Tropical Agriculture gave a presentation on community-based forest management in Southeast Asia. In Session 2 (Science and Engineering), Assoc. Prof. Kaoru Ichikawa from the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics presented marine observations using multi-copters, Asst. Prof. Chitiphon Chuaicham from the Faculty of Engineering presented energy and environmental issues related to photocatalysis, and Assoc. Prof. Ryo Akiyama from the Faculty of Science gave a presentation on statistical mechanics. In the third and final session, Assoc. Prof. Kun Qian from Q-AOS gave an introduction of Kyushu University and Q-AOS. Asst. Prof. Tatsuya Mishima from the Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies and Q-AOS was in charge of the venue preparation and technical support.

　After the debriefing, a reception was held at the same venue, attended by variety of people from the Kyushu University Thai Alumni Association, Japanese Alumni Association (Gaao Kai), Fukuoka Kenjinkai, Fukuoka OB Kai, Japanese Association in Thailand, Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Kasetsart University, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, and other universities, companies and organizations. The participants had a pleasant discussion for about two hours. The Kyushu University Forum, which was held for the first time in Thailand, served to activate human networks in Thailand centering on alumni associations and to promote industry-academia-government collaboration by both Thai and Japanese people.

　In addition, a team of 10 researchers from Kyushu University took advantage of the schedule before and after the Forum to visit several universities with which Kyushu University has university-level international academic cooperation and student exchange programs. On March 13, the day before the forum, the team visited Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, and Salaya Campus of Mahidol University. In the morning of March 14, they met with Vice President Chakkaphan Sutthirat and 14 other researchers in various fields at Chulalongkorn University to exchange a wide range of opinions on research collaborations. In the morning of March 15, they visited the Rangsit Campus of Thammasat University to meet with Vice President Surat Teerakapiban, and in the afternoon they moved to the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Fisheries of Kasetsart University to meet with the deans and representatives of each faculty to discuss joint research. Through this series of visits, face-to-face exchanges with the partner universities in Thailand, which had been stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were resumed, and the foundation was laid for more active collaborations between Kyushu University and major universities in Thailand in the future.