President Shigeru Saito of University of Toyama paid a courtesy visit to Hasanuddin University, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Monash University Malaysia, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Teknologi Mara

From November 22 to 28, 2023, President Shigeru Saito of University of Toyama(UT), Executive Vice President Masayuki Ikeda, Director of Toyama University Hospital Atsushi Hayashi, Advisor to the President Jing Zhang, Professor. Kohei Matsuda, Dean of School of Sciences, Professor. Takashi Nakagawa, Vice Dean of School of Medicine, Director of Institute of Natural Medicine Yoshihiro Hayakawa, and two staff members of International Affairs Division visited Indonesia and Malaysia to sign academic exchange agreements and to open University of Toyama Liaison Office.

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On November 23, President Saito and his delegation visited Hasanuddin University (UNHAS) in Indonesia.

UNHAS is a national university established in 1956. Since the signing of an inter-university academic exchange agreement with the former Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University in 2002, the Institute of Natural Medicine of UT has been taking the lead in promoting researcher and student exchanges between UT and UNHAS.

President Saito and his delegation paid a courtesy visit to Rector Jamalauddin Jompa, Vice Rector Adi Maulana, Vice Rector Subehan Ambo Lallo, and Vice Rector Farida Patittingi in order to discuss for the further enhancement of the exchange of students and researchers under the firm strategic partnership that has been successfully built between two universities in the past.

After that, President Saito and his delegation visited Faculty of Pharmacy, UNHAS. Vice Rector Subehan (former Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy) has been appointed as University of Toyama Liaison Professor in 2022, and has been actively involved in promoting international exchange between UT and UNHAS. Then, University of Toyama Liaison Office was opened in the laboratory of Vice Rector Subehan.

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On November 24, President Saito and his delegation paid a courtesy visit to Universitas Jenderal Soedirman (UNSOED) in Indonesia.

UNSOED, established in 1960, is a national university with 12 faculties and approximately 22,000 students.

Advisor to the President Jing Zhang (UT) has been collaborating with Prof. Roy Andreas, Vice Dean of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at UNSOED, for many years, and in 2022, Prof. Roy Andreas was appointed as University of Toyama Liaison Professor. UT is proud to announce the signing of the Inter-University Academic Exchange Agreement with UNSOED in addition to the opening of University of Toyama Liaison Office.

At the UNSOED School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, a welcome banner was hung and Dean Budi Pratikno and many other professors welcomed President Saito and his delegation. They had a lively discussion about future international exchange.

After the discussion, President Saito attended the ribbon cutting ceremony in order to newly open University of Toyama Liaison Office at Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

Then, President Saito signed Inter-University Academic Exchange Agreement and Memorandum on University of Toyama Liaison Office at the Rector’s Building of UNSOED.

President Saito and Rector Akhmad Sodiq continued to exchange opinions on future academic exchanges. About 50 people from UNSOED, including Vice Presidents and Deans, attended this discussion, in which UNSOED attendees asked dozens of questions varied from UT’s academic activities to specific ways to further promote inter-university academic collaboration. In response to those keen questions, President Saito and Executive Vice President Ikeda took the lead in the discussion, expressing UT’s genuine interest in working together with UNSOED for the better relationship.

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On November 25, President Saito and his delegation traveled from Indonesia to Malaysia.

On the following day on November 26, they visited Monash University Malaysia, which is a university based in Australia with more than 9,300 students. The visit was made possible through an interdepartmental academic exchange agreement between School of Science of UT and Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences of Monash University Malaysia in 2016, and Professor Matsuda, Dean of School of Science of UT has long been conducting joint research with Associate Professor Tomoko Soga and Associate Professor Satoshi Ogawa of Monash University Malaysia. The campus was filled with students, parents, and university staff due to the commencement ceremony being held at the time of the visit.

President Saito and his delegation had a lively exchange of opinions, beginning with the introduction of the past academic exchange activities by Prof. Matsuda, followed by research outline of Advisor to the President Zhang, and consultation on clinical practice overseas by Prof. Nakagawa, Vice Dean of School of Medicine.
Afterwards, President Saito and his delegation toured Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences of Monash University Malaysia and the student accommodation.
The educational environment at Monash University Malaysia is excellent, and is expected to become a study abroad destination for UT students in the future.

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On November 27, President Saito and his delegation visited Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) in Kampar, north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
UTAR was established in 2002 and is one of the largest private universities in Malaysia with approximately 25,000 students.
UT signed an inter-university academic exchange agreement with UTAR in 2016, and UTAR has been the English language training destination for UT students for years.
The delegation had an opportunity to tour the campus where they learned about the cultural fusion of East and West developed by UTAR, which has a close similarity with UT’s unique medicinal research that combines Eastern medicine and Western medicine together, promoted by Institute of Natural Medicine of UT.

After the campus tour, they had a discussion with President Ewe Hong Tat and the other UTAR members. Prior to the discussion, President Saito expressed his gratitude to UTAR for their excellent support given to our students under English language training in UTAR in ways such as connecting UT’s students with the locals. During the discussion, participants discussed for the further advancement of academic collaboration between two universities, specifically in the aim of seeking for a new destination for the international course of School of Science (UT), which is expected to be newly established in FY2024, as well as the clinical training program for medical students of UT.

After the discussion, President Saito, Prof. Hayashi, Director of Toyama University Hospital, and Prof. Nakagawa, Vice Dean of School of Medicine, had yet another tour at the newly constructed hospital at UTAR while Prof. Matsuda, Dean of School of Science, Advisor to the President Zhang went on with the discussion with UTAR members in more detail.

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Later in the day, President Saito and his delegation visited Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), located in Shah Alam, Selangor, near Kuala Lumpur.
UiTM is a national university established in 1956 and is the largest university in Malaysia with approximately 180,000 students. School of Engineering of UT and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of UiTM signed an interdepartmental academic exchange agreement in 2013.This visit was made possible by an invitation from Dr. Marfiah Ab.Wahid, a lecturer of School of Civil Engineering of UiTM, who previously visited UT in the last November.

During this visit, Vice Chancellor Shahrin Bin Sahib talked about the conclusion of an inter-university academic exchange agreement and the promotion of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and data science education, which UiTM is promoting together with School of Education of UT, and the exchange of opinions focused on these issues. Vice Chancellor Shahrin Bin Sahib also expressed interest in UT’s pharmaceutical sciences, and in response to it, President Saito and Prof. Nakagawa, Vice Dean of School of Medicine explained about the course in detail.

President Saito and his delegation’s visit to Indonesia and Malaysia has greatly expanded the possibilities for student / researcher exchanges and joint research.
We look forward to further development of international exchange through further collaboration with universities we visit this time.