On February 6th, a delegation from Kumamoto University (KU), Japan, led by President Prof. Hisao Ogawa, visited National Chiayi University (NCYU). The delegation included Special Assistant to the President Prof. Hiroshi Cho, Director of the International Affairs Department Miyuki Miyayama, and Ms. Ikumi Imamura from the Strategic Management Planning Department. They met with NCYU President Han-Chien Lin, the university’s administrative team, deans and representatives of various colleges. This visit marked the first “summit meeting” between the two universities since they signed a sister-school agreement in August 2024. Both parties recognized the significance of strengthening substantive cooperation, and will actively promote exchange programs in relevant professional fields.
KU is located in Kumamoto Prefecture in central Kyushu, Japan. Formerly known as the Fifth High School, it was established in 1887 and boasts a long history. It is now a comprehensive university with faculties of Letters, Education, Law, Science and Engineering, as well as schools of Medicine and Pharmacy. Leading the delegation, President Hisao Ogawa is a medical expert. Having been serving as the university’s president since 2021, he is dedicated to expanding its international network.
In his speech, President Ogawa said that the two universities have a lot in common. Both are facing challenges and opportunities arising from declining birthrates and transformations in industry and higher education. He expressed hope for greater collaboration between the universities through joint research projects, academic forums, student internships, and exchange programs, aiming to gradually strengthen their partnership and explore further development opportunities.
President Han-Chien Lin mentioned that a delegation from the Office of International Affairs visited KU in October 2024, which opened up opportunities for exchanges between the two institutions. Last year, student teams from five Japanese universities – KU, Setsunan University, University of Hyogo, University of Miyazaki, and Kagawa University – participated in NCYU’s spring programs. Vice President Prof. Mitsuyo Kishida also visited NCYU for academic exchanges last year. NCYU President Lin hopes that President Ogawa’s visit will further deepen bilateral cooperation under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and foster diverse, distinctive collaborative initiatives aligned with NCYU’s “One College, One International Feature” policy.
Accompanied by staff of NCYU’s Office of
International Affairs, the KU delegation visited the NCYU Library, Worker
Cooperative, and the historical KANO baseball exhibition with great interest.
Both also discussed their respective histories, key areas of international
collaboration, and future cooperation plans. They reached a consensus to
progressively implement various cooperative initiatives from this year onwards.
Photo 1: KU President led a delegation to NCYU for
cooperation discussions.
Photo 2: Dean of International Affairs Cheng-Cheng
Yang introduced NCYU’s seven colleges and their departments to the KU
delegation.
Photo 3: President Hisao Ogawa visited NCYU’s KANO
baseball exhibition.
Photo 4: Group photo of the KU delegation at
NCYU’s KANO baseball exhibition.