The 5th Kyoto University – Mahidol University on-site laboratory workshop (March 11, 2022)

Kyoto University launched the On-site Laboratory initiative in September 2018 as a part of its strategy under the Ministry of Education’s Designated National University (DNU) program, and GSGES established the “Kyoto University On-Site Laboratory at Mahidol University for Educational and Research Collaboration in Environmental Studies” with the collaboration of the Faculty of Engineering of Mahidol University in 2019.

The workshop program opened with addresses from Prof. Yasuyuki Kono, vice-president of Kyoto University, and Prof. Banchong Mahaisavariya, president of Mahidol University. Keynote lectures were then delivered by Dr. Shigeo Fujii, emeritus professor of GSGES, focusing on the GSGES On-site Laboratory at Mahidol University and its activities.

In the next Parallel Research Sessions, researchers from Kyoto University and Mahidol University were divided into four groups for sessions in: 1) Environmental Science and Engineering; 2) Chemical Engineering; 3) Agriculture and Ecosystem; and 4) Public Health, and they reported the recent research and outstanding achievements in each field. All these sessions showed participants actively exchanging views and sharing information on related topics.

The afternoon session began with Special Session entitled “Decentralized water and waste management systems in rural areas”. This session highlighted the latest joint research project newly launched by Kyoto University and Mahidol University. Researchers from both universities shared their ideas and own experiences on the theme for international research collaboration.

A plenary session then followed, sharing the summary of Parallel Research Sessions by each session’s coordinator and introducing the international exchange about education and research between Kyoto University and Mahidol University. Students of the Double Degree Program and early-career researchers presented their current research and experiences in Kyoto and Thailand. The panel discussion was chaired by Dr. Eiji Nawara, director of the Kyoto University ASEAN Center, where participants actively exchanged opinions.

Finally, the workshop concluded with remarks from Prof. Thanapat Wanichanon, Vice Dean for Human Capital Management and Corporate Communication, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, and Prof. Takeshi Katsumi, dean of GSGES, Kyoto University.

Despite the pandemic restrictions, the workshop received positive feedback from many of the participants. This event has achieved its goals of developing and promoting on-site laboratories and provided a fruitful opportunity for new collaboration and experience exchange in the fields of environmental science and engineering, chemical engineering, agriculture and ecosystems, and public health. More successful intercommunions and collaborations between Kyoto University, Mahidol University, and others overseas are expected.