Press release: Social relevance and visibility

No. 94 - 27.04.2018

German-Japanese University Network HeKKSaGOn enters second phase of cooperation

(pug) The German-Japanese University Network HeKKSaGOn enters round two: At the sixth rectors' meeting at Osaka University in Japan, the partner universities drew a positive conclusion from their previous collaboration. They also formulated goals for the coming cooperation phase in which they hope to make the social relevance of science and Network’s work more visible in general. In 2010, Göttingen University, Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), together with three of the leading Japanese universities in Kyoto, Osaka and Tohoku, came together to form the Network.

Under the motto "Enhancing social impact and visibility through the next phase of collaboration", the six university leaders brought forth the importance of the Network for their own university strategies and discussed future development. At the same time, around 120 scientists met within the nine existing interdisciplinary working groups. The topics range from the life sciences, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences to neurosciences, robotics, mathematics and data science. In addition, a tenth working group was set up at the conference with renewable energy as its focus. A working group of 18 students, five of whom are from Göttingen, presented ideas and suggestions on how the HeKKSaGOn partners could contribute to the United Nations' sustainability goals, thereby providing valuable impulses for the future direction of the Network.

“The interdisciplinary research within the HeKKSaGOn Network is an excellent prerequisite for dealing with the global challenges we face," stated the University’s President, Professor Ulrike Beisiegel. "Because there are no quick fixes to these questions, scientists working together in two such geographically distant countries need to do so within an extremely stable network.”

In addition to expanding joint research, student exchanges remain a profile-building feature of the Network. “Since the partnership was founded in 2010, more than 1,500 undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral students have participated in exchange programmes, workshops and summer or winter schools," says Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, Vice President for International Affairs at Göttingen University. "These international experiences support the career development of young people and prepare them optimally for work and life in a globalised world."

For more information, go to www.uni-goettingen.de/en/203016.html.

Contact:
Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Vice President for International Affairs
Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Phone +49 (0)551 39-13110
Email: hiltraud.casper-hehne@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Web: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/110984.html