Kyoto University will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2022, and throughout its history as an academic institution of higher education, it has upheld a commitment to research across all the major academic domains.  This has taken place through developing a multidisciplinary academic culture based upon free dialogue that predates the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .  Any important contribution to the SDGs and future societies beyond them requires the development and creation of those that foster “places of learning” where a diverse mix of students, faculty/staff members, researchers and research administrators can fashion new ideas and flexible academic systems within a dynamic environment.

For over 175 years Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the whole research community. We help researchers uncover new ideas, make sure all the research we publish is significant, robust and stands up to objective scrutiny, that it reaches all relevant audiences in the best possible format, and can be discovered, accessed, used, re-used and shared. Springer Nature supports librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; and provide quality publishing support to societies.

At present global society faces an array of complex existential issues: environmental degradation, the scarcity of resources, climate change, and the rise of global pandemics.  New situations and conditions urgently demand that experts provide swift scientifically backed solutions and modes of action to respond to the exigencies of our times.  Historically, universities and academic publishers have been responsible for cycles of specialized knowledge production.  Yet now, there is a need to go beyond conventional cycles that have maintained fragmented specialized fields and open up new paths of academic research and publishing attuned to the demands of rapid change.  Forging new relationships and alliances between universities and academic publishers can encourage young researchers to take up the challenge of original research activities and help create sources of wisdom that push academic research in new directions.

To foster the dialogue, Kyoto University and Springer Nature will host a roundtable discussion entitled “Academic challenges and opportunities for early career researchers approaching SDGs” in which Sir Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief of Springer Nature, will participate.  This will be an opportunity for young researchers at Kyoto University to share the challenges they confront producing relevant original academic research that at times can be ‘disruptive,’ but passionately challenge existing paradigms, redefine social agendas, and respond to the demands of our times.

*SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals are the 17 Goals for sustainable development, ratified by the 193 member states of the United Nations in 2015, for delivery by 2030.

Date

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 16:30 – 18:30 (Japan Standard Time: JST)

Venue

Zoom Webinar
*The roundtable has been concluded, but you can watch its video recording on YouTube.

Target Audience

Early career researchers, researchers interested in SDGs, general public

Anyone is welcome to join.

Speakers

Editor in Chief, Springer Nature

• Philip Campbell (Editor in Chief, Springer Nature)
  BSc in Aeronautical Engineering; MSc in Astrophysics; PhD and postdoctoral research in Upper Atmospheric Physics. Former: Physical Sciences Editor, Nature; Founding Editor, Physics World. 1995-2018 Editor-in-Chief, Nature and Nature Publishing Group, since 2018 Editor-in-Chief of Springer Nature. Has worked with the UK government, the EU and the US National Institutes of Health on science and its impacts in society.

Early Career Researchers (in random order)

• Takaya Ogawa (Program-Specific Assistant Professor for Graduate School of Energy Science)
• Julie Ann Delos Reyes (Program-Specific Researcher for Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
• Hisashi Endo (Assistant Professor for Institute for Chemical Research)
• Hart Nadav Feuer (Program-Specific Senior Lecturer for Graduate School of Agriculture)

Moderator

• Mario Lopez (Associate Professor for Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
  Mario Lopez is a researcher at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University since 2009. His research interests include the Humanosphere Potentiality Index (HPI), which addresses the coexistence of environmental sustainability and the welfare of human beings, as well as the transnational flow of nurses and care workers from the Asia Pacific region to others in response to the demand for such workers in super-aging societies. He has contributed to international academic journals, particularly on the subject of migrant workers in Japan. He has been involved in the Visual Documentary Project, which aims to supplement academic research on Southeast Asia and to build bridges between filmmakers and researchers working in the region. He is currently a member of the Japan-ASEAN platform for transdisciplinary research.

Advisors

• Antoine Bocquet (Managing Director, Springer Nature)　
  Antoine Bocquet is Vice President Institutional Sales, Japan, Southeast Asia and Oceania for Springer Nature, based in Tokyo, and has over 20 years’ experience in the academic publishing industry in the Asia-Pacific. He also holds the position of Managing Director of the Springer Nature companies in Japan. He is responsible for all Institutional sales in the regions of Japan, Southeast Asia and Oceania, and during his career has led publishing programs in Asia, founded a medical communications business in Japan and been a book commissioning editor. An Australian by birth, Tony holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo (Physics) and is a graduate of Griffith University in Brisbane. He has lived permanently in Japan since 1994.

• Yasuyuki Kono (Vice-President for International Strategy / Professor for Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
  Kono Yasuyuki joined the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in 1987. Since then, he has engaged in research on natural resources management, rural livelihood studies, and human-nature interactions in Southeast Asia. Together with colleagues in other disciplines, he is also advocating a new research field, “sustainable humanosphere studies,” which considers the state of science and society based on their relationship with our natural environments. He is currently the head of a large-scale international program, Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Platform (JASTIP), in which he promotes interdisciplinary studies and transdisciplinary activities with colleagues in ASEAN countries. He has also served as Vice President for international strategy since 2018.

Program (16:30-18:30 JST /  7:30-9:30 GMT) 

• Opening Remarks
• Keynote: Philip Campbell (Editor in Chief, Springer Nature) “Research and the Sustainable Development Goals: how to make an impact”  　
  • How researchers are engaging with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and how editors and publishers can help them not only publish their research but also make a broader impact outside academia. He will include food as one very broad and important example: the future of food from land and oceans. This topic involves many academic disciplines across the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. He also highlights the need and opportunities to connect the results of research with policymakers, stakeholder groups and the wider public.
• Case studies by early career researchers from Kyoto University 　
  •  Julie Ann Delos Reyes (Program-Specific Researcher for Center for Southeast Asian Studies) 　
  •  Hart Nadav Feuer (Program-Specific Senior Lecturer for Graduate School of Agriculture) 　
  •  Takaya Ogawa (Program-Specific Assistant Professor for Graduate School of Energy Science) 　
  •  Hisashi Endo (Assistant Professor for Institute for Chemical Research)
• Round-table discussion
• Q&A with Audience

Language

English

Registration

Please register from the registration form. 
(Upon your registration, a link to the video recording on YouTube will be shown.)

Capacity

Limited to the first 500 registrants on Zoom Webinar *If you apply after the number of participants exceeds 500, you will receive the live online streaming video through YouTube.

Related Link

https://www.springernature.com/jp/campaign/20210324-E

Contact

【間:AI DA】 team,
Kyoto University Research Administration Office (KURA) 
Sonobe, Kuwata, Oyamada
E-Mail: aida<@>kura.kyoto-u.ac.jp *Please replace <@> with @.
Web: http://www.oc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/exchange/kyoto-daad-reports/en/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/間-AI-DA-348580759138548/