To increase the practical collaboration activities between the University of Queensland (UQ) and Kyushu University (KU), we have established the UQ-KU Project. The main target of this project is to facilitate collaborative activities through the coordinators based at UQ and KU. The appointed coordinators are Prof. Syo Matsumura of the Graduate school of Engineering at KU and Prof. Kazuhiro Nogita of the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering at UQ, who is an alumnus of KU.
The project will provide an avenue for: (1) academic exchange (undergraduate and graduate student exchange, researcher exchange, joint research publications and presentations); (2) education opportunities (lectures, education projects, and industry-university collaborations); (3) support services (communications and public affairs, exchange student assistance).
UQ-KU Relationship
Despite the existing MOU between Kyushu University and UQ over the past 21 years (since 1993) there has been a relatively modest level of interaction between the two universities. Primarily through the interactions of the NS CMEM (http://nihonsuperior.mechmining.uq.edu.au/) at the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, UQ this situation has begun to change over the past few years. This has included a visit from A/Prof. Nogita to Kyushu University in 2011 as a JSPS Fellow and his participation as an invited professor in the delivery of an annual lecture series on “Energy Materials” since 2012. Mr Jonathan Read has also delivered an annual lecture on “Engineering Ethics” since 2012. A UQ PhD student spent 3 months at Kyushu University between November 2013-February 2014 as an occupational trainee. In addition, UQ has also hosted visitors from Kyushu University including a Kyushu University Masters student who spent 6 months at NS CMEM, UQ between April to September 2013 as an occupational trainee.
About Kyushu University
Kyushu University (locally known as Kyudai) has dates back to 1903 when it was named Fukuoka Medical College. Shortly afterwards in 1911, Kyushu University was established as the fourth Imperial University after the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Tohoku University. Currently, Kyushu University is one of Japan's top 8 research-intensive universities and is able to attract students with an excellent academic record from across Japan and overseas. The university includes approximately 12,000 undergraduates, and 1,700 postgraduates, as well as some 2,200 faculty members and 4,000 staff. In 2011 Kyushu University celebrated its centenary and in those 100 years, KU produced 130,000 undergraduate students and 70,000 graduate students.