The President of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) visited NITech
From October 3rd (Tuesday) to October 5th (Thursday), 2023, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) president Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, President and our IRTG spokesperson Prof. Dr. Kyle G. Webber visited our partner institute, Nagoya Institute of Technology, NITech.
In 2009, starting from department level partnerships in Ceramics field between FAU and NITech, FAU and NITech concluded university level partnerships in 2011. In addition, in 2013 NITech established the Liaison Office on the FAU campus – celebrating already 10 years this year.
FAU and NITech have built a very close relationship in both education and research through mutual exchanges of more than 400 faculty, administrative staff and students.
Our IGK 2495 „Energy Conversion Systems: From Materials to Devices“ was selected as the Japanese-German Graduate Externship (JGGE) by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and both institution could promote faculty and student exchanges, and international joint research on university-level through the program.
Based on these achievements, „Nagoya Institute of Technology and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Joint Degree Doctoral Program in Energy Conversion Systems“, Joint Degree (JD) Program, has been jointly established in April 2024. This is the first JD program between Japan and Germany in the doctoral course in engineering field. Both universities will work together to foster innovation leaders who will transform society from an international perspective, with the aim of creating a carbon-neutral society.
This is the first FAU president’s visit to NITech, and this has been made as a result of the accumulated exchanges between FAU and NITech so far. During the courtesy meeting, President Hornegger had a lively discussion with 4 members including Dr. KINOSHITA Takatoshi, President of NITech, Dr. OBATA Makoto, Executive Director, Vice President of NITech about the importance of industry-academia collaboration as universities located in industrial clusters, and how diversity and international collaboration are important sources for the development of education and research etc. On the next day, NITech introduced its research in Computer Science, which is a President Hornegger’s major. Additionally, the exchange meeting with 11 students specialized in Computer Science was held. A warm message based on his experience was given to the students who will play important roles in the future. Furthermore, since FAU has active industry-academia collaborations, President Hornegger and Prof. Webber visited Niterra Co., Ltd., an Aichi local company with strong ties with NITech and exchanged opinions on future international industry-academia collaborations and how they will affect educational programs.
FAU and NITech will continue to deepen its collaboration, strive to foster global human resources, and develop international joint research.