趣旨

UCL-Kyoto Grand Challenges Symposium, 7-9 December 2015

 Demographic Change and Longevity

Introduction and Purpose

Introduction

Meetings between the President of Kyoto University, Juichi Yamagiwa, and former UCL Vice-Provost (Heath), Sir John Tooke, in October 2014, and with UCL Provost, Michael Arthur in February 2015, resulted in an agreement  to facilitate collaboration between researchers at UCL and Kyoto University (also with Osaka and Tohoku Universities and the Tokyo Institute of Technology). On the basis of the agreement, Dame Nicola Brewer, UCL Vice-Provost (International) asked the UCL Grand Challenges programme to link up with Kyoto University, in order to plan and deliver a Grand Challenges Symposium focused on a specific Grand Challenges-appropriate research theme (rather than a series of bilateral collaborations), in line with UCL’s strategic objectives of creating a collaborative network across a number of Japanese universities, and for UCL to act as linchpin for wider UK engagement with Japanese university researchers.

Dr Ian Scott (Principal Facilitator, Grand Challenges) and Professor Nick Tyler (Chair of the steering committee for the Grand Challenge of Human Wellbeing, GCHW) subsequently proposed and agreed with staff of Kyoto University and collaborating institutions the development of a Grand Challenges Symposium (GCS) at Kyoto University on Demographic Change and Longevity, as a specific research-focused topic of significant relevance to society in Japan and the UK.

Purpose

The objective of the UCL-Kyoto University GCS is to identify novel research questions posed by the challenge of ageing societies. By combining the expertise of UCL and Japanese researchers from different scholarly fields the GCS presents a unique opportunity to discuss and agree priorities for joint research. Participating researchers have been invited in their interventions to propose possible topics for inclusion in a future research programme that bears upon major concerns relating to ageing and its impact on society. The main task for GCS participants will therefore be to define research questions for collaborative projects between UK and Japanese researchers which could be developed as funding proposals to agencies in the UK and Japan. The questions identified should hold strong potential to generate robust data and conclusions that will help policy makers reach well-informed decisions on the actions needed to sustain the health and wellbeing of people as they age, and to strengthen intergenerational equity.

The UCL-Kyoto University GCS is the first major Grand Challenges symposium to be held outside the UK. It is a distinct honour for UCL that it is taking place in Japan, jointly with the University of Kyoto. We hope that the outcome of the GCS will be of great value and merit to all concerned – to individual researchers, their universities, and to society in the UK and Japan and across the wider world.

Footnote

When UCL launched the Grand Challenges programme in 2008 it set down a marker for a new collegiate spirit within the university, emboldening scholars and researchers to raise their game in the face of major societal challenges. ‘Grand Challenges’ has become a programme recognised within and beyond UCL as a metaphor for a new academic freedom – positively encouraging experts in different fields to interact outside their domains of disciplinary excellence and peer-recognition, creating a new scholarly confidence and authority to find common cause through research, combined with the empowerment and language to engage productively with policy makers and politicians.

Ian Scott (Principal Facilitator, UCL Grand Challenges)

Nick Tyler CBE FREng (Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering; Chair, GCHW Executive Group)

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本学はユニバーシティ・カレッジ・ロンドン(UCL)、大阪大学、東北大学、東京工業大学との共催で「グランド・チャレンジ・シンポジウム2015 ～人口変動と長寿社会～」を開催しました。2015年12月8-9日の2日間に渡って開催され、のべ80名を超える参加者が出席しました。

1日目は、本学 山極 壽一 総長による開会の挨拶の後、UCLグランド・チャレンジのHuman Wellbeing分野のリーダーであるニック・タイラー教授(UCL)より、本シンポジウムの趣旨説明が行われました。続いて西村 周三 医療経済研究機構所長 / 本学名誉教授による基調講演“Social and economic risks of longevity, labor force participation, and lower fertility: Japan as an example”が行われ、現在の日本が抱える高齢化に関する問題が提起されました。

続く本会議では、参加者全員が、“Employment and economy in ageing society: Older adults as a societal resource”、“Health & wellbeing of older adults”、“Youth and intergenerational equity in ageing societies: Future for ageing society” の3つのテーマに沿って自身の研究発表を行い、討議が交わされました。

2日目は、1日目の成果を受けて、参加5大学間での国際共同研究の可能性を探る議論が行われ、研究ネットワークを立ち上げるためのアジェンダを策定しました。その後グランド・チャレンジのファシリテーター長であるイアン・スコット教授(UCL)によって、2日間の総括が行われるとともに、次の会合に向けたステップを議論し、合意されました。

最後に、本学 稲葉 カヨ 男女共同参画・国際・広報担当理事による閉会の挨拶で、2日間にわたるシンポジウムは盛況のうちに閉幕しました。