Prof. Nagata Kyosuke, President of Tsukuba University & President of the Japan Association of National Universities Receives Ministry of Education “Second Class Medal for Contributions to the Field of Education”
On July 25, Prof. Nagata Kyosuke, president of the University of Tsukuba and president of JANU – the Japan Association of National Universities, was presented with a Ministry of Education award for his dedication to promoting Taiwan–Japan relations, especially in the field of education.
Dr. Yen-Yi Lee, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education of the Ministry of Education, presented Prof. Nagata with the Second Class Medal for Contributions to the Field of Education, on behalf of the Ministry, at the 2023 Taiwan–Japan University Presidents’ Forum, held at National Chi Nan University. Prof. Nagata is the first president of a Japanese university to receive such award from the Ministry. Prof. Nagata said that he felt very honored, and that he aspired to deepen the higher education collaboration between Taiwan and Japan and to broaden the fields of interaction.
After Prof. Nagata became president of the University of Tsukuba in 2013, he pushed forward collaborations with many universities in Taiwan. As well as setting up offices in Taiwan to strengthen collaborative research, he signed eight agreements with universities in Taiwan to encourage inter-university exchanges and study abroad programs for students and teachers. More recently, he invited four universities in Taiwan—National Cheng Kung University, National Taipei University, National Taiwan University, and National Tsing Hua University—to participate in the JV-Campus. Also known as the Japan Virtual Campus, this is a project to provide an online platform for international education exchanges, and assist in generating high-quality university education globally.
Prof. Nagata played an important part in setting up the first Taiwan–Japan University Presidents’ Forum, during his time as chairman of the Japan Committee of Universities for International Exchange (JACUIE), and he helped put in place the regulations for higher education exchange programs between Taiwan and Japan. This marked a milestone in interaction between the higher education sectors of Taiwan and Japan.
The Taiwan–Japan University Presidents’ Forum at which Prof. Nagata received his award was the third Forum that has been held, and it was attended by 130 representatives of 76 prestigious universities—50 universities in Taiwan and 26 universities in Japan. The high attendance rate demonstrates the importance given to bilateral educational cooperation by universities in Taiwan and Japan.
