Global GatewaysUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
In August 2019, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC /Illinois) in the U.S., a signing ceremony was held for the renewal of an inter-university academic exchange agreement between Illinois and Kyushu. This is where both universities agreed to recognize each other as a strategic partnership institution, given the track record of exchanges to date as well as the possibility for sustainable and developmental exchange in the future.
Signing Ceremony
Kyushu Webpage
Illinois Webpage
University-level Engagement
UIUC Chancellor’s Delegation visited Kyushu Campus
Kyushu University was honored to welcome a two-day delegation, led by Chancellor Robert J. Jones of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to our Ito and Hospital Campus on 4-5 September 2023. The two institutions have worked closely together, especially since the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2019. The two-day visit was fruitful, providing an opportunity for leadership meetings with President Ishibashi and other executives, as well as dialogue with faculty members who have track records of collaboration or who are planning potential collaborative projects. It was our long-standing collaboration as strategic partners that led to discussions that deepened our existing relationship, culminating in an agreement to strengthen and expand our institution-level collaboration to an even wider area.
Research Collaboration (Joint Seed Funding Projects)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Kyushu have hosted the Strategic Partnership Colloquia Series to promote research collaboration.
Click here for details
Illinois and Kyushu have designated the following focus areas where both institutions have been working together, making sure of investment in research activities. With the support of this fund, the collaboration has been further accelerated, especially since 2022, when collaborative events restarted to be in-person settings with researchers physically crossing the border.
1 Data Science / Data Management & Curation (including Mathematics)
- In mathematics, both institutions facilitate reciprocal cooperation with the shared goal of pursuing solutions to real-life challenges.
- Researchers from both universities have closely been communicating with each other with a focus on sustainable energy and well-being.
- Partnering with the Women & Gender in Global Perspectives (WGGP) Program at Illinois, an in-person workshop on “Museums, Monuments, and Memory” was held at Illinois. The part 2 of the workshop was held at Kyushu University in May, 2023.
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Researchers from both institutions have been committed to the enhancement of performance. In January 2023, Professor. J. Stephen Downie from Illinois iSchool visited Kyushu to discuss the future outlook. In June, 2023, Kyushu hosted a symposium on research data management and human resource development.
Below is the link to the recorded video and the material.
Recording and Materials
- Led by researchers from I²CNER (International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research) at Kyushu, vibrant discussions toward the next steps have been in progress.
Student Exchange
As of May 2023, 10 students from Kyushu have achieved academic success at Illinois. Both universities have been discussing further options to create more opportunities, looking ahead to a wider range of programs available.
Knowledge Sharing
Kyushu hosted, cosponsored by the U.S. Consulate Fukuoka, the workshop “Partnership Dialogue Series” at Fukuoka American Center on July 12th, 2023. Through a presentation on organizational and human resource development by a lecturer invited from Illinois, case studies of international education programs in our School of Agriculture and Graduate School of Human-environmental Studies, and discussions based on these, participants proactively exchanged opinions and successfully shared knowledge about issues and solutions in international exchange.
Capacity Development for Administrative Staff
With the shared recognition that elevated performance of administrative staff responsible for partnership engagement, Kyushu has been sending staff to Illinois as a part of a training program. After completing the onsite program with hands-on experience, they play key roles in duties back to Kyushu, including partnership, student exchange and more.