Asia Intercollegiate Cooperative Project
for Nurturing Global Leaders
in Sustainable Infrastructure Development

The 7th Working-Level Round-Table Meeting on Campus Asia Program was held online on April 23, with the participation of Shandong University (China), Sungkyunkwan University (Korea), National University of Laos, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), and Nagasaki University. At this meeting, discussions were held mainly on the “2024 Hybrid Short-Term Exchange Program”, and this year’s host, Sungkyunkwan University, gave a detailed explanation on the implementation plan. As a result, it was decided that the overall schedule would be from July 13 to August 28, with online lectures from July to early August, followed by the actual study abroad program in the order of Korea, China, and Japan. After the program at Nagasaki University, additional study abroad programs in Laos and Singapore are also planned, depending on how the academic calendars of each university are adjusted. The number of participants and the details of student support plan at each university have largely been decided, and each university will now work on specific preparations, such as recruiting students and adjusting lecture contents and schedules.

Next, NU’s Associate Professor Suzuki explained the plan between Nagasaki University and National University of Laos for the “ASEAN Extended Short-Term Exchange Program,” which will be fully implemented from this academic year. He also said that Nagasaki University will start concrete preparations based on this plan, and that he expects other universities to initiate active discussions between the two universities toward its implementation as well.

Associate Professor Suzuki also explained Nagasaki University’s plan on inviting special research students to NU’s Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology for laboratory exercises, as part of the “International Collaboration Lab” scheme. The International Collaboration Lab is one of the important components of the CAMPUS Asia Program and was launched to boost active research exchange not only among students but also among faculty members.

Lastly, the results of the interim evaluation conducted last fall by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) were released last month, and it was reported that this program received an “A” grade. The comments from the Ministry were also shared, and the meeting was concluded with the confirmation that the five universities will continue to cooperate with each other to further enhance the program and ensure its smooth and steady implementation.

The 1st External Evaluation Committee Meeting for the CAMPUS Asia Inter-University Exchange Project (Mode 3) was held on March 11, 2024, at Nagasaki University. The committee consisted of four members: Professor Emeritus of Yamaguchi University, Chairman of Dai Nippon Engineering Consultants, Professor of NU Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and Professor of NU Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences. The purpose of the meeting was to review the implementation of the project “Asia Intercollegiate Cooperative Project for Nurturing Global Leaders in Sustainable Infrastructure Development” (Mode 3) to date, and discuss room for improvement for better implementation through the end of this project.

The meeting was opened with an address by Prof. Daisaku Sakaguchi, Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering, followed by an explanation by Assoc. Prof. Seiji Suzuki on the project’s 1) Overview (background, objectives, etc.), 2) Progress, and 3) Future Prospects. Next, the external evaluation committee members reviewed the results of the past 3 years since the beginning of this project (Mode 3). While we received generally high evaluations of our efforts in this project, we also received candid comments from various perspectives, including the need for a follow-up survey of alumni after their participation in this project, the need for more effective PR activities with specific figures, and the need for appropriate evaluation of the faculty members in charge and strengthening of the project support system by the university.

As an advisory body to the Consortium Steering Committee for Human Resource Development in Infrastructure, the external evaluation committee consisting of experts from inside and outside the university was convened to evaluate and verify the status of the project, including the content of the student exchange program, quality of education, and appropriate PR, thus enabling us to make continuous improvements based on the recommendations and opinions of the committee. In the evaluation report by the committee, it is stated, “It is highly commendable that the project plan has been steadily implemented, including regular consortium meetings to guarantee the quality of the student exchange program and education. While the appropriate organizational structure within the department is in place for the continuation of the project, further strengthening of the project support system as a university organization, including appropriate evaluation of the faculty members in charge, is desired.” The external evaluation report will be posted on our website in due course.

We will take the valuable feedback from the committee seriously and use it to further develop our project for the next two years until the end of the project’s implementation period (Mode 3).