President of Kiel University (Germany) and Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein visited Kobe University

On 12 May, a delegation from Kiel University and Schleswig-Holstein, represented respectively by Professor Lutz Kipp (President) and His Excellency Mr. Torsten Albig (Prime Minister), visited Kobe University. On this occasion, a signing ceremony was held for the agreements on academic cooperation and student exchange between Kiel University and Kobe University. Attendees from Kobe University included Professor TAKEDA Hiroshi (President), Professor INOUE Noriyuki (Executive Vice-President in Charge of International Exchange), Professor YUI Kiyomitsu (Executive Assistant to the President in Charge of International Collaboration), Professor YOSHIDA Ken-ichi (Vice-Director of the Center for EU Academic Collaboration), and Professor MIZUHATA Minoru (Graduate School of Engineering).

This visit was made possible thanks to the long-standing partnership between Schleswig-Holstein and Hyogo since 1997. Kiel University is a comprehensive university established in 1665 in Kiel, the capital city of Schleswig-Holstein.

In the signing ceremony, Professor TAKEDA first gave a welcome speech to the delegation. Professor Kipp and Mr. Albig gave speeches in response and expressed their high expectations for active cooperation between the two universities. After the speeches Professor INOUE gave a presentation on the overview of Kobe University, using both English and German. Finally, Professor TAKEDA and Professor Kipp signed the agreements between the two universities.

After the signing ceremony, the Kiel and Kobe Universities representatives held a meeting on future cooperation and confirmed their willingness to cooperate in such activities as student exchange and summer school programs.

(International Affairs Planning Division)