April 6, 2017
Between March 18 and 22, Dean of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Professor Denise Eby Konan visited Kobe University to discuss expanding collaboration between the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Kobe University, and the activities of the Honolulu Office of Kobe University (HOKU).
Kobe University established the Honolulu Office of Kobe University (HOKU) on June 30, 2016, within the Japan-America Institute of Management Science (Fujitsu-JAIMS). HOKU is our base for academic exchange and collaboration with the Americas. It is Kobe University’s sixth overseas office and our first in the United States. We also intend to use the base to strengthen our ties with the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM) through academic exchange agreements and other initiatives.
On March 19, Professor Konan held a seminar on international strategy of UHM at the Graduate School of Humanities. During the seminar she introduced some of the internationalization initiatives at UHM, such as the student dispatch program in their College of Social Sciences.
On March 21, a discussion took place at the Graduate School of Economics about jointly-hosted international conferences at UHM and increasing research collaboration. They also discussed mutual student exchange. The meeting was attended by Professor HAMORI Shigeyuki and Professor KINUGASA Tomoko (both from the Graduate School of Economics). Following this, Professor OKADA Akihiro (Head of the Faculty of Global Human Sciences Planning Office) and Professor NISHITANI Takuya (Graduate School of Intercultural Studies) joined the meeting and talked about creating a short term program to send students overseas. The new Faculty of Global Human Sciences opens in April 2017, and they are looking to expand short-term overseas study programs for students in addition to exchange programs.
On March 22, Dean Konan visited Professor MASUMOTO Hiroko (Dean of the Graduate School of Humanities). Their meeting was also attended by Professor YAMAMOTO Hideyuki, Professor SHIRATORI Yoshihiko, Associate Professor HAMADA Maya, and Project Assistant Professor Mihaela Lacramiora Shighinas (all from the Graduate School of Humanities). As well as introducing programs for international students and the Port Cities Research Center at the Graduate School of Humanities, they also examined research exchange in the fields of Japanese studies and port cities research. Dean Konan then visited Professor NAKAMURA Tamotsu (Dean of the Graduate School of Economics), and they held a dialogue about expansion of exchange between the Graduate School of Economics and UHM College of Social Sciences, and the enhancement of HOKU activities. This was also attended by Professor SHIMOMURA Ken-Ichi (Director, Office of the Americas).
This visit and meetings provided a valuable opportunity for advancing internationalization at Kobe University. Participants were able to discuss the hosting of joint events, expansion of exchange between our University and UHM, and the enhancement of our University’s activities in the Americas.
We will continue to use the Honolulu Office to promote collaboration in education and research between the Americas and Japan.

(International Affairs Planning Division)