Delegates from Binghamton University, State University of New York, visit UEC

UEC welcomed delegates from Binghamton University on 25-26 August 2015. The visitors from Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY-B) were led by Distinguished Professor Krishnaswami Srihari, Dean of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science and also Executive Vice Provost for International Initiatives and Chief Global Affairs Officer. The other members of the delegation were Professor Hiroki Sayama, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering and Director of the Center for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems, and Ms. Amanda Chiarot, International Alumni and Career Connections Coordinator of the Watson School.

UEC and SUNY-B have had a collaborative agreement since 2014, and the visit was arranged to identify specific areas of interaction including research, education, internships, and exchange of students and administrative staff.

The activities of SUNY-B were first introduced by Prof. Srihari to UEC faculty members in English, and then in Japanese by Prof. Sayama to UEC students and faculty members. SUNY-B, a prestigious university in U.S.A., is one of four universities with doctoral degree courses at SUNY, which includes over sixty higher education institutions including universities, colleges, academic medical centers, and an online learning network.

The main topics described by the two professors were: the location of the university; number of students (undergraduate and graduate); student life on campus; different entrance systems between Japan and U.S.A; and outstanding research findings.

The visit also included a tour of seven research groups at UEC, to give the visitors first hand insights into research at UEC. The main research areas and people visited were: Virtual Reality and Interface (Prof. Kajimoto); Info-Powered Energy (Prof. Ichikawa); Control Engineering and Security (Prof. Sawada); Brain Science (Prof. Yokoi); Advanced Research Facilities (Prof. Nozaki); Nano Electronics and Solar Cell (Prof. Shen); and Organic Synthesis (Prof. Maki).

Achievements made during the visit include (1) defining specific areas for potential collaborative research; (2) clarification of specific organizations at both universities to manage collaboration themes; (3) enhancement of mutual understanding of student exchange programs offered by each university and sharing ideas to proceed with taking advantage of these programs; and (4) subjects such as international internship, collaboration on English language education, and administrative staff exchange were positively discussed.

At the end of the visit, Dr. Kazushi Nakano, Member of the Board of Directors for Education at UEC, gave a closing address. In his speech, Dr. Nakano touched on some global education programs being developed at UEC and asked for possible cooperation from Binghamton University in the future.

In conclusion, the visit by the SUNY-B delegation was a huge success and very productive. As a matter of a fact, UEC believes that the process of interacting with SUNY-B may serve as a model case in seeking inter-university matching of research collaboration themes. UEC is grateful to the SUNY-B delegation for visiting us and we look forward to a fruitful collaboration in the future.