January 21, 2015

Kobe University hosted a 2-day forum on the 5th and 6th of December titled Kobe University Global-Link Forum in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The 2-day forum was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
The theme for Day 1 was Regional & Local Collaboration on Disaster Risk Reduction. President FUKUDA Hideki, Kobe University, and Mr. KODAMA Yoshinori, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, gave the opening addresses. Lectures related to regional collaboration in disaster management were given mainly by natural science professors from Kobe University and universities in Malaysia.
In the afternoon, President Fukuda gave a keynote speech, which was followed by a panel discussion including Dr. Samsul Rizal, Rector of Syiah Kuala University, and Ms. OKUBO Kyoko, Senior Representative of the JICA Malaysia Office. Prof. SHOJI Kenichi, Executive Vice President of Kobe University, gave closing remarks and a commemorative photograph was taken of all participants.

After the forum on Day 1, the event KU Alumni Networking in Kuala Lumpur was held. This networking event had a strong turnout, with alumni from Malaysia, Taiwan (next year’s host), and neighboring Singapore participating. It lasted late into the evening.
Day 2 started with a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding between Kobe University and two Malaysian universities: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). These agreements are the first inter-university agreements between Kobe University and universities in Malaysia.
A lecture session and a panel discussion took place in the afternoon. A ceremonial photograph was taken of all participants.
The 2-day forum and the alumni networking meeting ended on a high note with many participants.
(International Affairs Planning Division)