A total of 33 people participated in the roundtable—21 in person and 12 online. In the first half, participants discussed the international joint research projects planned for the international symposium organized by GSGES; in the second half, young faculty members presented their views on international collaboration and, under the moderation of Program-Specific Assistant Professor Kohei Kawaguchi, engaged in discussion.
The first-half speakers were the leaders of each research project: Associate Professor Hitoshi Shinjo, Professor Shinya Echigo, Professor Hirohide Kobayashi, and Associate Professor Akihisa Mori. The presentations identified various possibilities for collaboration, including intra-GSGES collaboration between Associate Professor Shinjo and Dean Chihiro Tanaka, industry–academia collaboration with Yanmar Agribusiness Co.,Ltd. which offers a jointly endowed course with Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Agriculture, and organizational collaboration with the university’s Office of Research Acceleration. In the second half, Assistant Professors Yumiko Takemae, Yuto Tada, and Jian Xu served as panelists to discuss the future of international collaboration. Dean Tanaka and Vice Dean Izuru Saizen emphasized the importance of building trust and enjoying collaborative research over the long term. In addition, Professor Kobayashi, Chair of the GSGES Sansai Gakurin Colloquium, noted that GSGES has relatively active collaboration across laboratories and provides an environment in which faculty can implement diverse projects and gain experience in international collaboration.
