Delegation from Ohio State University Visits Tsukuba

On March 27, 2025, the University of Tsukuba welcomed a delegation from The Ohio State University (OSU), a vital Campus-in-Campus partner, as part of their week-long visit to Japan. The distinguished guests, Professor Kaya Sahin, Vice Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs, and Dr. Rita Koryan, Director of International External Engagement, visited the Tsukuba campus to explore potential avenues for expanding collaboration between the two institutions.

The visit began with a courtesy meeting hosted by Vice President for Academic Affairs KATO Mitsuyasu and outgoing Vice President for Global Affairs IKEDA Jun. The discussion covered diverse topics, including UT's cooperative graduate school system, the Social Impact (SI) Project, and the ongoing Inclusive Smart Society (ISS) Program, a MEXT-funded Inter-university Exchange Project launched in partnership with OSU in 2023.

Professor Sahin highlighted OSU's aim to foster global hubs, noting their interest in the University of Tsukuba's shared space for Campus-in-Campus partners as a possible base for OSU's future Japan operations.

The delegation also visited the Center for Artificial Intelligence, where a meeting was held with Director SAKURAI Tetsuya and Professors FUKUI Kazuhiro, ITOH Makoto, and YOSHISE Akiko of the Institute of Systems and Information Engineering.

A luncheon meeting was held with faculty members, led by Professor MORIO Takahiro, AKIYAMA Hajime (Assistant Professor, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences), Hassan Modar (Assistant Professor, Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, and LEE Seung Hee (Associate Professor, Institute of Art and Design), as well as students of the ISS Program, where the OSU delegation learned about ongoing projects and demonstrations together with UT students. In the afternoon, Professor Sahin and Dr. Koryan delivered a hybrid lecture on the challenges and opportunities in international collaboration, attended by over 30 faculty and staff members.

The visit further deepened the partnership between the two universities and highlighted the growing potential for transdisciplinary research, faculty exchanges, and educational innovation.