Celebrating our links with Japan

The incredible strength of links between the University of Essex and leading institutions in Japan were celebrated through a high-profile visit to the country by our international partnerships teams.

The trip underlined longstanding academic ties with Japanese institutions while marking the launch of our innovative new partnership with System Architecture Knowledge (SAK).

• Find out more about our partnership with SAK

A University of Essex delegation led by Professor Larra Anderson, Pro Vice Chancellor for Education, and Dr Annecy Lax, Dean of Partnerships for Education, completed a programme of strategic meetings with partner universities across Japan. The programme coincided with the opening of the System Architecture Knowledge University Tokyo Innovation Campus, where Essex is developing a new education partnership with SAK that reflects shared academic priorities.

Dr Lax said: “This visit is part of a longer story; research collaborations that began many years ago have grown into durable relationships in fields such as politics and international relations, sociology, peacekeeping and human rights. These links now inform joint awards, student exchange, and curriculum design, creating a pipeline from shared inquiry to shared teaching.”

At Kobe University, where a double degree runs alongside collaborations in law, international relations, peacekeeping and conflict resolution, Professors Yosuke Sunahara, Naofumi Fujimura and Naoko Matsumura hosted discussions on how joint research continues to support student mobility, internationalisation and bridge building between the UK and Japan.

At Osaka University’s School of International Public Policy, which includes Essex alumna Professor Wakako Maekawa, the conversation focused on connecting staff and students and on extending collaboration with the Department of Government so that classroom learning draws on live research questions.

At Waseda University, Professors Kate Elwood and Atsushi Tago explored opportunities to deepen research and education partnerships. The discussion referenced the work of Essex scholars including Professors Kristian Skrede Gleditsch and Ismene Gizelis and considered how methods and comparative insight can move into joint teaching and supervised projects.

The University of Tokyo meetings centred on shared agendas in human rights, politics and the social sciences. The delegation met Essex alumna Professor Ai Kihara Hunt, Director of the Research Center for Sustainable Peace, and also met Dean Professor Torahiko Terada and Dr Takashi Oda. The parties considered how scholarship in peace, justice and governance can inform future modules, fieldwork and exchange opportunities.

At Tokyo University of Foreign Studies the focus was on collaborative work in languages and linguistics with Essex’s Professor Hannah Gibson and TUFS’ Dr Daisuke Shinagawa, as well as on new routes for partnership and exchange that can widen student participation in both countries.

Aoyama Gakuin University provided a further opportunity to strengthen the Dual Degree Masters in international relations and to broaden pathways that align research strengths with curriculum design.The delegation spent time learning about AGU’s new hub for international students and how UK students to Japan are supported through an inclusive and engaging programme.

The alumni community in Japan featured throughout the programme. As well as a celebration evening in Tokyo, alumni welcomed the delegation at several stops and served as convenors, mentors and advocates for current students and offer holders. Their roles were practical as well as symbolic. Alumni opened doors for staff and students, advised on research engagement and signposted professional opportunities. The Essex community in Japan is growing in visibility and now acts as a bridge between research projects, education offers and employer networks.

Longstanding partner NIC International College hosted meetings with education leader Zukie Hirota and with Shuichi Chikamatsu and Yumiko Someya. Alumni and future Essex students joined the session and spoke about the value of continuity in relationships that link Tokyo and Colchester over many years.

The British Council meeting with Jim Booth OBE and Akie Koyama provided sector insight that will help the partners steward the next phase of collaboration. Throughout the week the theme returned to SAK since the new partnership demonstrates how Essex expertise and SAK’s technology led approach can generate programmes that serve Japan based learners while remaining grounded in research quality.

Reflecting on the visit, Dr Lax said: “We received such a warm and enthusiastic welcome from colleagues across Japan. The continuity of our academic friendships and the way shared research agendas are feeding into teaching and student mobility were especially striking.”