From 8 to 9 October, UNU Rector Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala and UNU-IAS Director Dr. Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi visited Kochi and Ehime Prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The visit aimed to strengthen collaboration between the United Nations University and leading universities in the region, and to share UNU’s vision for advancing sustainable development in partnership with academic institutions across Japan.
Professor Marwala began the trip in Kochi, where he visited Kochi University and held discussions with the President, Dr. Hiroyuki Ukeda, and his team. An active discussion took place on the role of regional universities in fostering solutions to global and local sustainability issues, in light of Kochi University’s goal of and efforts towards becoming a “Super Regional University”. During his visit, the Rector also delivered a lecture titled “UNU and its Role in Advancing the SDGs”, and engaged in a dialogue with students.
The Rector then visited Ehime University, a member university of the UNU SDG-Universities Platform established by UNU-IAS. There, he met with the university’s President, Dr. Hiroshige Nishina, and senior faculty members and discussed opportunities for joint research and academic exchange, as well as further collaboration via SDG-UP towards fostering solutions to global and local sustainability issues. Professor Marwala also gave a special lecture to students and local community members, including high school students, on the theme of “Creating a Sustainable Society for Future Generations: the New Roles of Universities Dealing with AI”. After the lecture, he engaged in a panel discussion with students from Ehime University and local high schools.
Since arriving at UNU in March 2023, Prof. Marwala has made it his mission to travel to, and deliver lectures in, all 47 prefectures of Japan. Upon completing this recent trip, Prof. Marwala has travelled to 24 prefectures and presented 20 lectures.