On 1 September 2023, UNU-IAS welcomed six Master of Science in Sustainability students and five PhD in Sustainability Science students from ten different countries in a ceremony inaugurating academic year 2023-24. The event also marked the start of the UNU-IAS Intensive Core courses (IC) conducted 1–29 September 2023 engaging 45 students from 24 different countries.
Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS) and Tshilidzi Marwala (Rector, UNU) welcomed the new students. Yasushi Katsuma (Academic Director, UNU-IAS), Kensuke Fukushi (Former Academic Programme Advisor, UNU-IAS; Professor, the University of Tokyo), and Shinya Hanaoka (Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology) provided short introductions to the postgraduate degree programmes and Intensive Courses. Guest speakers Hideto Nakajima (Director, Multilateral Cultural Cooperation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan), Toshiaki Mizuno (Director, Office of International Cooperation Planning, International Affairs Division, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan), and Reiji Higashioka (Director, Office of Environmental Education; Senior Planning Officer, General Policy Division, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of the Environment, Japan) delivered congratulatory remarks. A special lecture by Hoesung Lee (Former Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) shared findings from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), and emphasised the importance of enhancing synergies across various sectors.
The new student cohort will be studying and researching different aspects of sustainability in four UNU-IAS thematic areas: Governance for Sustainable Development, Biodiversity & Society, Water & Resource Management, and Innovation & Education.
