September 2024
Vice President of Kyoto University (KU) & Director of Kyoto University’s European Center (at Heidelberg University, Germany), Professor Mika Yokoyama, visited UCD on 24th September.
Together with eight members from the UCD Centre for Japanese Studies (JaSt), the Head of School (SPWJ), Assoc. Prof. Aideen Quilty welcomed Prof. Yokoyama.
Kyoto University is a highly ranked partner university (since 2014) for UCD. UCD is keen to strengthen and expand academic/research collaboration with KU. UCD is currently exploring the potential for both bilateral and trilateral collaboration with KU and mutual partners in Southeast Asia.
Assoc. Prof. Kodate (Dir. JaSt / co-Director, Master of Public Policy & Dir. MSocSc Welfare and Justice, SPWJ), together with former College VP for Global Engagement, College of Social Sciences and Law (CoSSL) & Head of School, School of Politics and International Relations, Assoc. Prof. Jos Elkink visited Kyoto in January 2015, and in July 2023, also former College VP, Dr Justin Jütte and UCD Director, Asia-Pacific Regional Office, Mr Richard Emery visited Kyoto University. Registrar (then VP for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion & College Principal, CoSSL), Professor Colin Scott and Mr Emery met with Prof Yokoyama in Kyoto in November 2023 to discuss the potential for collaboration with CoSSL. In 2019, Prof. Mary Gallagher (JaSt / UCD School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics) visited KU, with Prof. Anne Fuchs (Director, UCD Humanities Institute).
A former student of UCD School of History, Dr Mahon Murphy is Associate Prof. at the Graduate School of Law, Legal and Political Studies at KU. Dr Declan Downey (JaSt / School of History) taught Dr Murphy while he was a student here.
In the School of Agriculture and Food Science, Dr Aifric O'Sullivan recently received Erasmus plus funding to support staff & PhD mobility in the area of Sustainable Food Systems, working with KU, and will visit the university in December this year.
Prof Yokoyama’s visit was instigated by the 10th anniversary of KU’s European Center in Heidelberg, and to stand in for President Orla Feely, Dr Steffan Rimner (JaSt / Director, UCD Centre for Asia-Pacific Research / School of History) attended the celebrations in Heidelberg in the previous week to represent UCD.
The lunch meeting was joined by three faculty members from the School (Assoc. Profs. Aideen Quilty, Sarah Donnelly and Naonori Kodate), two of whom are also members of JaSt. The other JaSt members included: Prof. Emma Sokell (Physics, Deputy Dir. JaSt), Prof. Mary Gallagher, Dr Declan Downey (History), Dr Rober Power (Archaeology) and Dr Rimner (History), and Ms Nobuko Ijichi (Centre for English and Global Languages (CEGL) & SPWJ).
From left to right: Ms Nobuko Ijichi, Prof. Mary Gallagher, Prof. Emma Sokell, Assoc. Prof. Kodate, Dr Declan Downey, Prof. Mika Yokoyama (KU), Assoc. Prof. Sarah Donnelly, Assoc. Prof. Aideen Quilty, Dr Robert Power, Dr Steffen Rimner (Photos by Dr Kodate @ JaSt).