University of Bordeaux – Kyoto University Strategic Partnership Symposium 2024

Date：March 4 to 6, 2024

General Info

Date

March 4, 2024 　14:00～17:30 (CET)
March 5, 2024 　9:00～17:45 (CET)
March 6, 2024 　10:00～16:00 (CET)

Place

University of Bordeaux
（ in-person only ）

Language

English

Theme

Science in the Age of Challenges

Objective

This is the fifth joint symposium held by our two universities, and the theme on this occasion is “Science in the Age of Challenges.”

Ten years have passed since the first joint symposium, and this event provides an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our partnership, strengthen our current collaborative initiatives, and envision new ones.

As today’s rapidly changing society throws up a succession of diverse challenges, universities, as academic research institutions, must play an increasingly important role in addressing those issues. We are also expected to cultivate the young researchers who will go on to play key roles in addressing the as-yet-unforeseen challenges of the future.

In addition to further developing our current joint research initiatives, this symposium aims to expand our collaboration into new fields, enabling our researchers to help seek solutions to an even wider range of problems. It will also provide an opportunity for early-career researchers to gain a foothold for their future research by connecting with their peers and experienced researchers.

The symposium aims to achieve those goals by providing an opportunity for researchers from our two institutions to communicate and share ideas about joint projects in research, education, and beyond.

Program

Day 1　(March 4, 2024)

Time (CET)	Session
Plenary sessions MCs: ・Prof. Laurent Servant, Vice-President for international networks, University of Bordeaux ・Prof. Mika Yokoyama, deputy executive vice-president and director of the European Center, Kyoto University
14:00~14:30	Opening remarks Speakers: ・Dr. Nagahiro Minato, President of Kyoto University ・Prof. Dean Lewis, President of University of Bordeaux ・Mr. Yoshio Ando, Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister, Embassy of Japan in France ・Prof. Didier Marty-Dessus, Counsellor for Science and Technology, Embassy of France in Tokyo ・Prof. Emmanuel Brouillet, Head, Europe and International Affairs, CNRS ・Dr. Olivier Lavialle, President of the INRAE Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux center
14:30~16:15	Keynote speeches ・Prof. Yasunori Hayashi, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University “Sleep and memory” ・Dr. Laurent Groc, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience (IINS), University of Bordeaux “Decrypting brain cell communication in health and disease at the single molecule level”
16:15~16:30	Coffee Break
16:30~17:30	Roundtable with the presidents and guests Topic: International collaboration between KU and UB, Japan and France ・Dr. Nagahiro Minato, President of Kyoto University ・Prof. Manuel Tunon de Lara, Former President of the University of Bordeaux ・Mr. Takahiro Ohno, First Secretary and Science Attaché, Embassy of Japan in France ・Prof. Didier Marty-Dessus, Counsellor for Science and Technology, Embassy of France in Tokyo ・Prof. Emmanuel Brouillet, Head, Europe and International Affairs, CNRS ・Dr. Olivier Lavialle, President of the INRAE Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux center

Day 2　 (March 5, 2024)

Time (CEST)	Session
9:00~12:00	Parallel sessions 1. Health KU: Prof. Fumihiko Matsuda, Graduate School of Medicine UB: Prof. Stephanie Debette, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center (BPH) 2. Energy KU: Prof. Takashi Sagawa, Graduate School of Energy Science UB: Dr. Reiko Oda, European institute for Chemistry and Biology at the University of Bordeaux (IECB) 3. Materials Science KU: Prof. Hiroshi Kageyama, Graduate School of Engineering UB: Prof. Alain Demourgues, Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux (ICMCB) 4. Neuroscience KU: Prof. Yasunori Hayashi, Graduate School of Medicine UB: Prof. Laurent Groc, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience (IINS) 5. Potential New fields (Horticultural Science, Ecological Science, Public Health) – Horticultural Science KU: Prof. Ryutaro Tao, Graduate School of Agriculture – Ecological Science UB: Prof. Richard Michalet, Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments (EPOC) – Public Health UB: Prof. Rodolphe Thiébaut, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center (BPH) *The above are the session coordinators for each session.
12:00~12:30	Preparation of presentation
13:00~14:30	Lunch break
MCs: ・Prof. Laurent Servant, Vice-President for international networks, University of Bordeaux ・Prof. Mika Yokoyama, deputy executive vice-president and director of the European Center, Kyoto University
14:30~16:05	Presentations (Research plans/road maps for future collaboration)
16:05~16:25	Coffee Break
16:25~17:30	Roundtable by the session coordinators and Vice-Presidents from UB and KU Topic: Science in the Age of Challenges ・Session coordinators of each session
17:30~17:45	Closing ceremony –Summaries (Synthèse) ・Prof. Yasuyuki Kono, Vice-President for International Strategy, Kyoto University ・Prof. Etienne Duguet, Vice-President for innovation, University of Bordeaux –Closing addresses ・Dr. Nagahiro Minato, President of Kyoto University ・Prof. Dean Lewis, President of University of Bordeaux

Day 3　(March 6, 2024)

Time (CET)	Session
10:00~16:00	Visiting experimental forest (Observatoire de Floirac), etc.

Abstract e-book

Report

University of Bordeaux-Kyoto University Strategic Partnership Symposium 2024
(March 4–6, 2024, University of Bordeaux)

The University of Bordeaux-Kyoto University Strategic Partnership Symposium 2024 was collaboratively held at the University of Bordeaux on March 4–6, 2024. The two universities have actively promoted academic collaboration since the conclusion of an inter-university academic exchange agreement in 2014, and subsequently a strategic partnership agreement that was concluded under the direction of the two institutions’ presidents in October 2019. The Strategic Partnership aims to develop cross-disciplinary research collaboration, pioneer collaborative research in new academic fields, and promote researcher mobility.

The theme of the symposium was “Science in the Age of Challenges,” and in addition to the four research fields of health, energy, material science, and neuroscience, in which collaborative research is already underway, the three new fields of horticultural science, ecological science, and public health were also introduced. A total of approximately 80 researchers from the two institutions participated in seven sessions, each dedicated to one of the fields. The participants included many early-career researchers who are anticipated to play significant roles in addressing social issues in the future.

The first day of the symposium began with opening remarks from President Dean Lewis of the University of Bordeaux and President Nagahiro Minato of Kyoto University. In the keynote lectures that followed, Professor Yasunori Hayashi of KU’s Graduate School of Medicine spoke on “Sleep and Memory,” and Dr. Laurent Groc of the University of Bordeaux (Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience [IINS]) spoke on “Decrypting Brain Cell Communication in Health and Disease at the Single Molecule Level.” In the roundtable discussion that followed, President Minato, President Lewis, and participants from CNRS, INRAE, the Embassy of Japan in France, and the Embassy of France in Tokyo formed a panel to discuss “International Collaboration between KU and UB, Japan and France.” The discussion covered the ways in which universities should respond to unforeseeable problems that may arise in the future and the cultivation of early-career researchers.

In the morning of the symposium’s second day, the participants of each parallel session presented their research and discussed their plans for future collaboration. In the afternoon, the topics discussed in each session, such as the prospects for future research collaboration, were presented in a plenary session. Following that, a second roundtable discussion was held with a panel of representatives from each parallel session (see below for details*). The topic was the symposium’s overall theme of “Science in the Age of Challenges.” Each representative responded to questions from the moderator, and opinions were exchanged on research priorities, etc.

*Parallel sessions (representative researchers):
・Health (Prof. Fumihiko Matsuda, Graduate School of Medicine)
・Energy (Prof. Takashi Sagawa, Graduate School of Energy Science)
・Material Science (Prof. Hiroshi Kageyama, Graduate School of Engineering)
・Neuroscience (Prof. Yasunori Hayashi, Graduate School of Medicine)
・Horticultural Science (Prof. Ryutaro Tao, Graduate School of Agriculture)
・Ecological Science (Associate Prof. Kohmei Kadowaki, The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research)
・Public Health (Prof. Taku Iwami, Graduate School of Medicine)

In the closing ceremony, Prof. Yasuyuki Kono, Kyoto University’s vice-president for international strategy, and Prof. Etienne Duguet, vice-president for innovation of the University of Bordeaux, provided a summary of the symposium’s achievements, which was followed by closing remarks from the two presidents.

On the third day, the participants visited the University of Bordeaux’s experimental forest on the site of the former Bordeaux Observatory at Floirac. The experimental forest is used to conduct research on the effects that changes in the natural environment have on forest vegetation. The visitors received an explanation of data collection techniques using sensors installed on trees and underground, before engaging in a lively question-and-answer session.