The 10th HeKKSaGOn Presidents’ Conference was held at the University of Osaka on October 30 and 31, 2025, under the theme ‘Transdisciplinary Initiatives and Alliance Building for Global Futures’.
HeKKSaGOn is a network of six German and Japanese universities: Heidelberg University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the University of Göttingen, Kyoto University, Tohoku University, and the University of Osaka. The network was established in 2010, and its aims are to promote exchanges between Japanese and German universities through researcher and student exchanges, joint research, summer schools, and other activities. The presidents of the member universities meet every two years to discuss future policy.
Participants from Tohoku University included President Teiji Tominaga, Executive Vice President Toshiya Ueki, and Vice President Marie-Pierre Favre , along with 10 researchers and two students.
The first day began with an opening ceremony and keynote speeches, after which each president gave a presentation on their university’s initiatives related to transdisciplinary research. President Tominaga spoke about the historical ties between Tohoku University and Germany, and noted that Kotaro Honda, a famous Japanese physicist and metallurgist, studied in Germany before achieving success and becoming the sixth president of Tohoku University in 1931. He also explained Tohoku University’s efforts to promote interdisciplinary research, such as those being carried out at the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, which develops early career researchers across a variety of graduate schools.
During the second day’s plenary session, an interim report on the HeKKSaGOn Joint Projects was given. Professor Yasuhisa Hirata of the Graduate School of Engineering gave a presentation on a research project he leads on Digital Solutions for Aging Societies (Harnessing AI and Robotics for Personalized Assistance). Reports were also given on the outcomes from the student workshop held in conjunction with the Presidents’ Conference, with students sharing their innovative ideas for promoting interdisciplinary research.
The meeting ended with the signing of a joint statement outlining the future role that HeKKSaGOn should play, including contributing to free and open science and taking responsibility for the ethical use of science and emerging technologies.
The full joint statement is available here.
A group photo of all participants Photo by Naoki Nishimura/AFLO
President Tominaga gives his presentation Photo by Naoki Nishimura/AFLO
The signing of the Joint Statement Photo by Naoki Nishimura/AFLO
Professor Hirata giving his joint project report Photo by Naoki Nishimura/AFLO
Contact:
Global Engagement Division, Tohoku University
Email: kokusai-k@grp.tohoku.ac.jp