President Teiji Tominaga attended the 28th Annual Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Presidents’ Meeting, hosted by the University of Auckland from June 24 to 26, 2024. At the Annual Presidents’ Meeting, presidents of member universities who lead research and education in the Pacific Rim come together to share and discuss the ongoing efforts at their respective universities to solve global issues.
Approximately 120 people, including 23 presidents of member universities, participated in the meeting, held under the theme of ‘Oceans – The World’s Challenges Divide Us, the Ocean Currents Connect Us’. Lectures and panel sessions were held on topics such as climate change, the protection of marine ecosystems, and sustainable food systems.
President Tominaga took the opportunity to meet with Prof. Thomas Schneider, Chief Executive of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). President Tominaga expressed his gratitude for the cooperation that the secretariat has provided with the holding of the APRU Multi-Hazards Program, which Tohoku University has led for over 10 years, and he conveyed his enthusiasm for its future development. Prof. Schneider outlined APRU’s future aims, such as strengthening collaboration with industry, and both confirmed their feelings on the importance of APRU functioning as a multilateral exchange platform whose influence goes beyond regional boundaries.
Executive Vice President Toshiya Ueki also attended the meeting, and he took part in a panel session on how imbalances caused by the effects of climate change can be rectified. EVP Ueki specifically spoke about the inclusive leave-nobody-behind disaster prevention efforts being undertaken by Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science and the importance of universities contributing to the international rule-making process.
President Tominaga with APRU Chief Executive Thomas Schneider
A group photo of all attendees (Photo courtesy of APRU)
EVP Ueki speaking at the panel session (Photo courtesy of APRU)
Contact:
Global Engagement Division, Tohoku University
Tel: 022-217-6182 / 5578
Email: kokusai-k@grp.tohoku.ac.jp