On Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, Vice Chancellor Samson Sajidu and his delegation from the University of Malawi, our academic exchange partner university in the Republic of Malawi, paid a courtesy visit to President Nishina Hiroshige. During this courtesy visit, President Nishina first gave a greeting and words of welcome, followed by Vice Chancellor Sajidu’s greetings.
In 2019, Ehime University concluded a Memorandum of Understanding for Academic Exchange (MoU) with the University of Malawi Chancellor College (at that time). In the same year, the international joint research project called “Establishment of a Sustainable Community Development Model based on Integrated Natural Resource Management Systems in Lake Malawi National Park (IntNRMS)” (2020-2026) was adopted by Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) which is organized by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). We have been working on this project at the helm of Distinguished Professor Sato Tetsu of our university’s SDGs Promotion Office in collaboration with the University of Malawi and others.
Vice Chancellor Sajidu expressed his gratitude that this large-scale joint research project has progressed smoothly thanks to the ongoing efforts of Ehime University and other related organizations. He also expressed his expectations that exchange between the two universities would continue to grow in a wide range of fields in the years to come.
On the following day, Nov.23, an international symposium based on the project, ‘Co-creation of collective action through transdisciplinary collaboration’ was held at Hime Terasu, Ehime University and online distribution platform. At the symposium, various collective actions that have been created—or are currently emerging—through transdisciplinary processes were introduced, focusing on Chembe Village in Lake Malawi National Park, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Additionally, discussions were held on how to integrate these examples into a sustainable community development model that could be applied more broadly. This included analyzing the transformation mechanisms within social and ecological systems that have evolved through collective actions and locally driven innovations fostered by transdisciplinary partnerships.
Ehime University shall continue to further promote exchanges such as joint research with the University of Malawi in the years to come.
＜SDGs Promotion Office＞＜ International Relations Office＞