Yokohama National University

Yokohama National University

Newsletter

YNUExecutive Director Kunio Suzuki Named Next University President

Executive Director Kunio Suzuki (in charge of academic affairs) was named the next president of YNU at a meeting held by the presidential selection committee on November 28 (Fri.). His term will run for four years, starting April 1, 2009.

Following the decision, Suzuki held a joint press conference on December 1 (Mon.) with the chairman of the selection committee, Shuji Mizoguchi, dean of the International Graduate School of Social Sciences.

Suzuki said, “I think that what this university needs to do is independently advance efforts and reforms focused on education and research with an eye to the future 10–20 years from now. The goal for this university is to become an institution that welcomes every enterprising student it can find. We will then provide high-quality education and research opportunities so that our students are guaranteed a future upon graduation. We will send top-class graduates out into the world. I want to work to contribute to the development of a university that embodies YNU’s strengths and provides the world with young people who have acquired those strengths.”

Start-Up of International Education Shuttle Base ProjectYokohama National University (YNU) has long promoted the introduction of international education programs centered on providing

English-language classes. Last summer, the university submitted a draft proposal and budget estimate to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for its latest such program, dubbed the International Education Shuttle Base Project. The ministry’s full approval of the project was unofficially announced in late December followed by YNU’s formation of a task group (TG) within its already up-and-running Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation of International Activities, which immediately began working toward implementing the project.

In short, the project seeks to dramatically expand programs to attract and graduate internationally minded students. In particular, the project’s goals are to (1) establish departmental courses taught in English, targeting both foreign students and Japanese students; (2) rapidly expand the educational curriculum taught in English; (3) expand the October enrollment system; and (4) promote the university’s own international exchange programs.

Some aspects of these goals have already been realized. The TG is investigating the possibility of establishing, within a few years, academic programs that students can graduate from by taking all their classes in English. Furthermore, the TG intends to look into setting up a system where foreign students could be accepted into such a program before actually coming to Japan. Foreign students would take entrance exams and receive letters of acceptance or denial while still in their home countries.

The development of programs like these would be great news for overseas students who wish to study in Japan but lack adequate Japanese-language skills as well as Japanese students who want to polish up their English communication skills in their particular area of study.

Strategic Planning of International Activities Seminar: International Evaluation of the UniversityOne link in the activities of the Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation of

International Activities, which was newly created this fiscal year, was its sponsorship of the Strategic Planning of International Activities Seminar entitled International Evaluation of the University on December 16, 2008. The lecture, given by Kenji Watanuki, former YNU associate professor in the Faculty of Economics and current vice president of the International Center for the Promotion of Art and Science at Josai University, addressed the kinds of strategies that are necessary if YNU is to truly become internationalized and touched upon the issue of the international ranking of universities.

Approximately 40 administrative officers attended the seminar, including President Iida, the entire board of executive directors, and faculty deans. The seminar began with

Akira Nagashima, executive director in charge of international affairs, outlining the history of the university’s Strategic Plan for International Activities to date and the significance of the seminar. The following lecture by Watanuki explored how to put the international rankings of universities to use and what measures are necessary to move up in the rankings. He stressed that in order for YNU to become a truly

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international institution, “it is vital that it erect and implement a concrete strategy for internationalization as well as strengthen its capacity for getting information about the university out and establish YNU as a brand name.”

He concluded by saying, “Increasing the university’s ranking is not the goal. What is important is utilizing it as an effective measure for promoting the strategy for internationalization.”

The lecture was followed by a lively exchange of opinions during the question-and-answer session, reflecting the high level of interest of the participants.

YNU Bridge Team Wins Best Performance AwardYNU’s Bridge Team won the Aesthetics Award and Best Performance Award at the

First Asian Collaborative Bridge Competition (BRICON ASIA 2008), held in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 11 (Sat.).

In the Collaborative Bridge Competition, such areas as construction speed, weight, flexure, and design are judged. Collaborative bridge competitions have a long history, including an annual nationwide competition in the United States, but this event was the first collaborative bridge competition that targeted Asian universities.

In preparation for the competition, students must go through every part of the bridge-engineering process, from concept proposal, design, analysis, material preparation, and fabrication (machining, drilling, welding, etc.) to construction and practical use (load test). Ultimately, they must build a model bridge.

Construction speed is the most important part of the competition. A river environment is set up at the competition site over which the teams must assemble bridge members and fashion their bridges under such rules as “no stepping in the river” and “no dropping of materials into the water.” The construction process is timed from start to finish. Thanks to much practice, the YNU team turned in the fastest construction time of nine minutes, which was a major factor in claiming first prize overall.

Also, the team had the opportunity to interact with students from Taiwan and Thailand, which also helped make the event meaningful. The team hopes to have the opportunity to compete again next year.

YNU Places Fourth in the Student Formula SAE Competition of Japan! Takes Home Six Crystal Trophies

In this competition, students design and build their own Formula cars, which are judged in two events: the “static competition,” where each team is evaluated on their car’s design, production costs, and presentation, and the “dynamic competition,” in which the car is evaluated in terms of acceleration, handling, and fuel efficiency. The competition provides students with a practice forum for creating actual machines; its goal is to cultivate future generations of engineers.

YNU first fielded a team at the Third Annual Competition (2005) and has sent a team every year since. Under competition rules, teams must design and develop a new machine from scratch each year. YNU’s team began work on this year’s car just after last year’s competition ended and spent the whole year analyzing, designing, and manufacturing this year’s entry.

YNU’s team is made up of more than 40 members from each of the university’s four faculties: the Faculty of Education and Human Sciences, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Business Administration, and the faculty of Engineering (Division of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Division of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Division of Physics). The team uses the working space at the Cooperative Research and Development Center and Machine Shops as manufacturing sites for its car and currently garners support and cooperation from more than 30 corporations.

The students are already hard at work designing and building a new machine for next year’s competition with the goal of becoming the next national champion.

YNU’s Formula Project Team participated in the 6th Student Formula SAE Competition of Japan, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (held September 10–13 at ECOPA in Shizuoka Prefecture), and took fourth place overall out of a total of 77 teams from universities throughout Japan and in surrounding Asian countries.

The trophies won by the team are as follows:• Overall Champion Award: Fourth Place Trophy (overall marks)• Spirit of Static Events Award: Fourth Place Trophy (overall marks in design, presentation, and cost)• CAE Award: Second Place Trophy (effective use of CAE technology)• Presentation Award: Third Place Trophy (presentation technology and contents)• Good Frame Design Award: Second Place Trophy (superior frame design)• Best Web Site Award: First Place Trophy (best impression)

Overall Standings1st Place: Sophia University 6th Place: Osaka University2nd Place: The University of Tokyo 7th Place: Kinki University3rd Place: Kanazawa University 8th Place: Utsunomiya University4th Place: YNU 9th Place: Chiba University5th Place: Kanagawa Institute of Technology 10th Place: Toyohashi University of Technology

Participation in Symposium in AntanànarìvoThe Malgachesen Science de la Terre Symposium was held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, October 27

(Mon.)–November 4 (Tue.). (Sponsor: University of Antananarivo; cosponsor: YNU; backers: Madagascar Ministry of Education, Madagascar Ministry of Energy & Mines, and Madagascar Science Council)

Geological research findings from the last 10 years regarding Madagascar’s mineral resources were discussed at the symposium. YNU’s Professor Makoto Arima and Associate Professor Masahiro Ishikawa of the Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences gave keynote addresses. N.O.T. Rakotonandrasana, a doctoral candidate in his last two years of the Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences program, and Takashi Ichiki, fellow doctoral candidate in his first two years of the same program, gave oral presentations.

YNU entered into an academic exchange agreement with the University of Antananarivo in 2004 and is now involved in joint research in the earth sciences field.

Delegation from Vietnamese Universities and Junior Colleges VisitsOn November 13 (Thu.), a group of 14 university presidents

and vice presidents from Vietnam visited Japan and YNU to learn about the supervision of education in Japan. The delegation members are participating in a course sponsored by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training called 2008 Professional Improvement Course for University and Junior College Presidents and Vice Presidents.

The delegation was first shown to the University Library and International Student Center by Vietnamese exchange students. The group eagerly toured the facilities, paying close attention to explanations given by attendant university officials. The tour was followed by an informal gathering with Director Hayashibe of the International Student Center and other university officials. The gathering was opened by a welcome address from President Iida, after which the visitors had a lively exchange of ideas with YNU administrators on a wide range of issues, including education and research at YNU, international student exchanges, and ties between universities and industry.

The delegation appeared quite satisfied with their visit, including the campus tour, discussion with university officials, and the opportunity to interact with YNU’s Vietnamese researchers and exchange students.

Kasetsart University Delegation Visits YNUOn November 21 (Fri.), a 21-member delegation from Thailand’s Kasetsart

University led by Dr. Jesda Kaewkalaya, vice president in charge of educational affairs, visited YNU. Kasetsart University is numbered alongside Chulalongkorn University and Thammasat University as one of the top universities in Thailand. Kasetsart University is currently involved in reforming university administration and came to Japan to learn about administration at Japanese universities, including that of YNU.

The visit began with welcoming words from Shin Kisugi, executive director in charge of general affairs. Hideo Hayashibe, director of the International Student Center, provided an introductory overview of the university. Then, the delegation broke into groups based on particular interests, such as educational affairs, asset management, and industry-university ties. The groups engaged in earnest discussions with YNU administrators leading their group.

It was a short visit, but the delegation seemed to find it very meaningful and appeared satisfied as they left for their next destination.

S taff and student Exchange

International Education Project with Prince of Songkla UniversityIn November, the Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences set up

an international education program entitled The Coastal Ecosystem of the Thai Peninsula with the science department of Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. The schools have an interdepartmental exchange agreement. The program falls under International Eco-Risk Management from Asian Viewpoints, a Global COE Program. Four graduate students from the Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences and five from Songkla University’s Faculty of Science are participating in the project. A three-day field study program and seminar have been held. The project is led by Vice President

Kunio Suzuki and COE Fellow Katsuhiro Ono.The closing of Bangkok Airport by demonstrators occurred at the end of the program, but the YNU students were able to return safely to Japan.

Sixth Annual Homecoming Day for Exchange StudentsSince 2003, the International Student Center has put on a special

Homecoming Day for former YNU exchange students. In recent years, it has been held on the same day as the universitywide Homecoming Day.

This year, Professor Hu of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, was invited to be the guest speaker. (Professor Hu graduated from YNU’s Graduate School of Engineering ) He spoke on “(Hydrological) Environmental Problems in China and Their Relation to Japan.” Five other international YNU graduates spoke about their experiences studying and working in Japan. Current international students were encouraged by the words of their predecessors. In the second half of the Homecoming ceremonies, participants moved to the International Student Center to talk and interact over a meal.

Euro-Japan Dialogue 2008The third Euro-Japan Dialogue was held November 3–7 at the University of Oulu in Finland

and Bonn University in Germany. Associate Professor Alexander McAulay led a team of five members from the Faculty of Economics. This year’s theme was “The Future of Multiculturalism,” an issue that Japan will probably face, particularly vis-à-vis the immigration issue.

The first dialogue was held on November 3 at the University of Oulu. As an experiment, in this dialogue, each country gave a presentation on the state of multiculturalism in the other country with accompanying proposals for action. YNU’s team outlined the economic benefits of immigration for Finland and stressed the active welcoming of immigrants. Professor Svento,

dean of the University of Oulu’s Economics Department, praised the team’s presentation. Meanwhile, the University of Oulu’s team stressed that multiculturalism contributes to reforms of Japan’s social system.

Because both Japan and Finland are facing the problem of a shrinking population, the theme of this year’s dialogue was extremely significant. Professor Svento expressed the desire to create a similar Euro-Japan Dialogue system at the University of Oulu and send Finnish students to Japan.

The dialogue at Bonn University on November 6 had sessions in both English and Japanese. The German participants from the Japanese Language Department posed hard questions to the Japanese side concerning the closed nature of Japanese society and discrimination against foreigners, and the discussion became animated. At the same time, the Japanese side was able to learn much from Germany, which already accepts many immigrants, regarding both the positive and negative effects of open immigration.

The following day, November 7, the group had the opportunity to visit the Cologne headquarters of TUV Rheinland, renowned in Germany as a third-party testing and certification service.

This year’s Euro-Japan Dialogue was conceptualized as a student-led enterprise, and the theme, scheduling, etc., of the event were decided through discussions between the Japanese and European students. Consequently, it took quite a while to decide on the themes, leaving little time to prepare for the actual dialogue and resulting in discussions that were not as thorough as desired. The students had to struggle under time constraints and work extremely hard, so in that regard, it was an extremely valuable experience.

For additional information about YNU please contact:Yokohama National University Student Affairs Department, Student Exchange Division

79-1 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan 240-8501 TEL: +81-45-339-3185

E-mail: ryugakusei.kikaku@nuc.ynu.ac.jp URL: http://www.ynu.ac.jp/index_en.html