Global Center for Science and Technology (SU)

Center Director: Takatoshi Hibiya (Professor, Graduate School of System Design and Management)

Campus Location: Mita

As one of the educational missions of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and as part of Keio University's overseas expansion, plans are underway to establish a presence in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Specifically, we have begun exploring the possibility of a partnership with the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR). We are seeking a partnership with the university, focusing on research and education in information and communication technology and System Design and Management, supported by fiber-optic communication networks.

In preparation for this, the Global Center for Science and Technology has been established within the Keio Advanced Research Centers (KARC) to prepare for the partnership. An office will be set up in Abu Dhabi city with a liaison officer stationed there to gather information and coordinate with KUSTAR. Activities will be funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The office will be opened within this fiscal year, and research activities on-site will commence in September 2009.

Overseas expansion, Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Information and communication technology, System Design and Management

In fiscal year 2009, we plan to conduct research activities targeting KUSTAR (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research) in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and AMET (Academy of Maritime Education and Training) in Chennai, India—both candidates for Keio University's overseas joint research centers—using the educational application of digital communication as a model. Additionally, we plan to apply for the Japan Science and Technology Agency's (JST) Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program and, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, develop research on the theme of "Information Networks for Disaster Mitigation and Recovery in Disaster Prevention Activities."

The foundation of digital communication is creating a single, common activity space for the entire planet and is beginning to have a revolutionary impact on human education, health, environment, economy, transportation, safety, and culture. This research center has begun its activities with the aim of establishing a "Global Science and Technology" that enables the management and sustainable operation of a new foundation for global society. It does so by extracting, from a scientific perspective, the challenges in building elements of a global information society that evolve from these global spaces and by establishing methods to solve these challenges. Focusing on Keio University's overseas centers, it is attempting to establish a collaborative system with major overseas university centers through real-time, constant connectivity. In fiscal year 2008, we began joint research with some universities in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, and also explored the needs for distance education at several universities.