HWG LU concludes agreement to intensify partnership with Nagoya City University (NCU) and expands research exchange on energy transition with Fukushima University.
Japan is one of the three country focuses of the renowned East Asia Institute (OAI) at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU); relations with partners there are correspondingly important for the university. The otherwise lively exchange between OAI and the Japanese partner universities was, like so many other things, severely slowed down during the coronavirus pandemic and largely limited to the virtual space. Filling the German-Japanese partnerships and contacts with new life was therefore the declared aim of a week-long trip by the university and institute management at the beginning of March: University President Prof. Dr. Gunther Piller and Prof. Dr. Frank Rövekamp, Director of the East Asia Institute and an expert on Japan, visited the partner universities Fukushima University, Sophia University, Aoyama Gakuin University and Nagoya City University. The program also included an exchange with the Japanese representation of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Institute for Japanese Studies and the German Chamber of Foreign Trade.
"The partnerships are essential for the East Asia Institute's renowned 'International Business Management (East Asia)' degree programs, which include mandatory stays abroad for our students in East Asia," explains Institute Director Prof. Dr. Frank Rövekamp, adding: "They are also indispensable for the OAI's research and transfer activities." "We were also keen to expand our university partnerships for other degree programs and Departments in the areas of education, research and transfer," adds University President Prof. Dr. Gunther Piller.
One of the highlights of the trip was the signing ceremony for a contact point agreement with Nagoya City University (NCU) in Nagoya. With the signing of the agreement by the presidents, Prof. Dr. Kiyofumi Asai and Prof. Dr. Gunther Piller, HWG LU belongs to the exclusive circle of five universities worldwide that maintain an intensive, extended exchange with NCU in the areas of education, research and transfer. In addition to expanding relations with OAI, NCU is also particularly interested in establishing and expanding exchanges with degree programs in nursing and midwifery - after all, NCU operates one of the largest regional hospitals with over 1000 beds.
Another highlight of the trip to Japan was the visit to Fukushima University, a partner of OAI since 2016, where three students from the International Business Management (East Asia) degree programs are currently spending their year abroad. During the visit, the expansion of the cooperation to include research and transfer was discussed in particular: Following the nuclear disaster in 2011, Fukushima Prefecture is striving to play a pioneering role in the complete conversion to renewable energies in Japan. This provides very interesting opportunities for comparison with German energy policy. To gain a deeper understanding, Prof. Dr. G. Piller and Prof. Dr. F. Rövekamp then visited a state-of-the-art plant for producing hydrogen from solar and wave energy in Namie on the coast of Fukushima. The OAI has been focusing on energy topics for several years; the intensified contacts with Fukushima University will open up further perspectives in the future.
Specialist contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Prof. Dr. Frank Rövekamp
Head of East Asia Institute
Tel. 0621/5203-438
E-mail: roevekamp@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 oai.de
