It is essential for regional sustainable development to exchange information and communicate with each other to promote mutual understanding. Hokkaido University, Japan established the Center for East Asian Media Studies (CEAMS) on April 1st, 2009.

1. Purpose of establishment

Regional economies in East Asia have recently enjoyed closer ties, resulting in a stronger cultural and social reciprocal influence and a higher level of interdependence. Looking at public opinion, however, there is increasing mutual distrust stemming from historical and territorial issues as well as rising nationalism. In the meantime, the popularization of the Internet has caused an increasing number of people to shun conventional media formats such as newspapers and TV, resulting in deteriorating business conditions for related media companies despite their previous status as the mainstay of journalism.
Graduate School of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies and its Research Faculty of Media and Communication have elucidated changes in media structure and the mechanism of public opinion formation in China. Based on this track record, we plan to broaden our field of research to cover East Asia and engage in research activities on journalism, media and other related areas in the region in an ongoing and systematic manner. The Center for East Asian Media Studies (CEAMS) has been established with these aims in mind.

2. Objectives

Hokkaido University (HU)’s “Model Project for Improvement on Oral Health Care in Rural Areas in Bangladesh” was adopted by a support-type grassroots technical cooperation project of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and started in January 2009. This project was selected due to HU’s commitment over the years to grass-roots activities in Bangladesh.

(Photo: Meeting with the staffs in Bangladesh)

[Project Background ]

Sea Ice Climate in the Okhotsk and Baltic Seas
- A Long-Term Research Program -

The Okhotsk and Baltic Seas belong to the seasonal sea ice zone of the World Ocean. In both seas the length of the ice season is 5-6 months, and scientific as well as many practical ice problems are quite similar. Comparative studies for better understanding the ice and ice season in these seas have been carried out by ice groups of Hokkaido University and University of Helsinki in a Japanese-Finnish co-operative program "Ice Climatology of the Okhotsk and Baltic Seas" since 1995.

Photo : Showing the floating platform in the ice at Santala Bay, the Baltic Sea

The Diploma Ceremony for the FY 2008 Hokkaido University Inter-department Graduate study in Sustainability (HUIGS) program was held at the Center for Sustainability Science on Thursday, September 25, 2008. The eight graduates completing the program were all international students; 3 with their master’s and 5 with their doctor’s degrees. Many Japanese students are expected to complete the program in next March. The executive director of the Center for Sustainable Science presented a diploma certificate to each student.

Prof. Takao SASAKI, the executive director of the Center for Sustainable Science presented a diploma certificate to each student.

The entrance ceremony for the Asian Graduate Schools of Chemistry and Materials Science (AGS), established by the Global COE Program called Catalysis as the Basis for Innovation in Materials Science, was held at Hokkaido University’s Graduate School of Engineering on October 1. AGS is an international education program offered jointly by Hokkaido University, Peking University, Seoul National Univerisity, and National Taiwan University with the aims of developing human resources, promoting networking, and expanding joint research projects and exchanges in Asia. It provides some of the world’s leading graduate education in the fields of chemistry and materials science based on the provision of substantial economic support for students to cover their tuition fees and living costs, as well as selecting top students for admission to establish an international leadership structure.

Entrance ceremony commemorative photo

In 2008, Hokkaido University began receiving three years of special funding from the Japanese Government to construct a framework for educating graduate students in partnership with overseas universities.
This funding is part of the “Program to Accelerate the Internationalization of University Education” of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, whose goal is to improve the international harmonization of Japanese higher education, and strengthen international competitiveness. Several outstanding examples will be chosen from among the partnerships that the university is pursuing with overseas institutions.
Of the 33 project proposals submitted by Japanese universities, Hokkaido University’s project was one of only 6 that were ultimately selected. This can be seen as the result of the steady progress of the international strategy implemented in 2005. The following activities have been approved.

Snow & Ice in the Earth and Space Strategies of Adaptation in Cryosphere

The 1st Research Institute of Hokkaido University

ILTS was founded in 1941 as the first research institute affiliated with Hokkaido University to promote interdisciplinary studies on various natural phenomena occurring in cryosphere. ILTS owes its establishment to the achievements of Dr. Ukichiro Nakaya who was the first in the world to create artificial snow crystals. ILTS is now composed 4 research sections, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Cryospheric Science, Basic Cryosphere, and Boreal Environmental Sciences, and Pan-Okhotsk Research Center.

Hokkaido University (HU) established the Center for Sustainability Science　(CENSUS) as an inter-departmental institute for education and research on April 1.

More information is as follows,

Historically, Hokkaido has close connections with Russia and the Soviet Union. Established in 1955, the Slavic Research Center (SRC) has served as a hub for Slavic studies in Japan for more than 50 years. Today the SRC is not only the national center in this field, but also offers research and educational support to Japanese scholars across the country, while playing an increasingly visible role in worldwide scholarship regarding Slavic Eurasia. This reflects the changing perception and reality of Japan’s role in the international order since the end of the Cold War. The SRC holds two international symposia each year as well as numerous workshops, inviting both academic leaders and promising young scholars from different disciplines. The publications produced as a result of these meetings, together with two refereed journals sponsored by the SRC, further broaden national and international scholarly networks. With the demise of the Soviet Union and the rise of a revived Russia, the SRC is actively involved in the creation of new disciplinary approaches essential to a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic Eurasian continent in the 21st century.

Issues facing humanity, such as global warming, food shortages, water scarcity and poverty, are complexly intertwined. Solutions can only come from the co-operation and teamwork of a diverse array of specialists in the social and natural sciences from around the world.
The Hokkaido University Inter-department Graduate Study in Sustainability (HUIGS) program was begun as a graduate program to train people to excel in diverse international settings to help them work toward a sustainable Earth and society. This program allows students to develop specialized expertise while fostering an understanding of the importance of creating sustainable societies and the ability to see society’s problems from broader perspectives.
Also, HU has established an educational program of the Communicators in Science and Technology Education Program (CoSTEP) with the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology. The program is dedicated to the participative communication among scientists and between scientists and the public. On-going efforts of creating communicators of science is essential to the advancement of research for solving problems in the globalized world.

Message from Naoyuki Funamizu, Graduate School of Engineering and HUIGS Director.

Answering Students’ Questions in a Distance Learning Class

“I hope that our students will contribute to the future of the society and the Earth. The other faculty members and I are confident that our education program is of the best quality for training students who will excel on the global stage.”
http://www.sgp.hokudai.ac.jp/SGP.html

A new born program for sustainability called, "Hokkaido University Inter-Department Graduate Study in Sustainability (HUIGS)" finished its first introductory course on 7 June, 2007. Sixty-five graduate students, including 10 students from overseas, made an entry for the course and most of them reached successfully the final day as their first step. They belong to various graduate schools and stay at two separated campus. Thus, the lectures were given through a remote lecture system. The course titled "Introduction of Sustainability- Sustainable Issues in the relation between Earth System and Human Activities” gave students diverse viewpoints on current global issues. The second introductory course awaits students in the following week.


To wrap up the last lecture, discussions were hold about potentials of sustainable studies. Prof. IKEDA, Graduate School of Environmental Science, raised issues by introducing realities that conventional approaches of environmental studies face limitations to treat various problems on the earth. (Photo above: students enjoy the lecture. below: Prof. IKEDA rasing issues)


>>More about HUIGS: Interview about the curriculum.

A unique curriculum for graduate students began at Hokkaido University in April 2007. It is called “Hokkaido University Inter-Department Graduate Study in Sustainability (HUIGS).”


What kind of fields will the sustainability program of Hokkaido University cover? An interview was conducted with Professor Naoyuki FUNAMIZU, who is responsible for development of this curriculum.


Interview is as follows:

Understanding the mechanisms of abnormal weather, global warming and other environmental problems help us create the sustainable future. Antarctic Science receives more attentions ever due to the fact that polar regions are where the impacts of such problems have been observed first.


With a solid track record in Antarctic and cryological research and education, Hokkaido University starts a new Antarctic Science Curriculum in spring 2007. An interview to Dr. S.Sugiyama and Professor S.Aoki reveals the prominent characteristics of the quality curriculum.

Hokkaido Uni. is a partner of the International Antarctic Institute.
With a solid track record in Antarctic and cryological research and education, Hokkaido University signed an agreement in July 2006, to provide youths throughout the world with a high-quality educational curriculum as a partner of the International Antarctic Institute (IAI).

>>> Go to International Antarctic Institute Curriculum, Hokkaido University:
http://wwwearth.ees.hokudai.ac.jp/IAI/index_en.html