May 13, 2025
On April 22 and 23, the U7+ Alliance (hereafter, U7+) Presidential Summit was held in Ottawa, Canada, bringing together more than 80 university presidents from 16 countries at the University of Ottawa.
From Keio University, President Ito participated online in the Presidential Steering Committee Meeting, and Vice-President Tsuchiya attended in person as a presidential delegate.
At the U7+ Alliance Presidential Summit, university presidents engage in direct discussions to address common global challenges and make recommendations to national governments.
The U7+ compiled a joint statement titled "The Role of Universities in the Advancement of AI," proposing the role that higher education institutions should play in contributing to the responsible development of AI. The statement was endorsed by the presidents of 40 universities, including President Ito, and was presented to the government of Canada, the host country of this year's G7 Summit.
Full text of the U7+ Alliance Statement: Communiqué on the Role of Universities in Advancing AI - April 23, 2025
■About the U7+ (U7+ Alliance of World Universities)
The U7+ is a global alliance of universities founded in 2019 on the initiative of Sciences Po (France). As of April 2025, its members include 54 universities from 19 countries. Beyond the G7 countries, member universities come from nations such as South Korea, India, Australia, South Africa, and Nigeria.