On June 1, Keio University President Kohei Itoh attended the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universities Summit 2022 in Aichi, a three-day event which aimed to explore how universities can remain vital to a Covid-disrupted society and serve the needs of a rapidly changing world.
President Itoh was featured in a panel discussion titled "Where to invest to deliver secure and sustainable university systems?" alongside Choltis Dhirathiti of ASEAN University Network, Naoko Kawaguchi of OECD Tokyo Centre, and Pankaj Mittal of the Association of Indian Universities. During the session, they discussed the Global Impact Rankings, a ranking by THE that measures universities' impact on global societies through their achievements within the United Nations' SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). In the latest results announced in April of this year, Keio University ranked in the top 100 in the world for six SDGs.
President Itoh also moderated a session by Nobel laureate Prof. Hiroshi Amano who shared his thoughts on how universities and industries can work together to direct innovation.
Professor Amano talked about his current interest in finding hidden gems among early-career scientists by taking them into vulnerable, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. President Kohei Itoh, also a physicist and one of his longtime friends, asked Prof. Amano why he believes the VUCA environment is so important. He also inquired into how Prof. Amano himself has worked in and benefitted from VUCA environments ahead of being awarded his shared Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 for Blue LED, a technology that is now prevalent all over the world.
For more about the THE Asia Universities Summit 2022, follow the link below:
https://www.timeshighered-events.com/asia-universities-summit-2022