The 7th Advisory Board Meeting of the UTokyo Compass Initiative (UCI) held
The UTokyo Compass Initiative has established an Advisory Board consisting of intellectuals from outside the University to seek high-level opinions from a wide range of perspectives, including social and economic conditions in Japan and abroad, trends in academic research, and social and public awareness of issues, transcending fields and sectors, and apply them to the management of the University.
On Thursday, March 13, 2025, the AY2024 Advisory Board Meeting was held in a hybrid format with online streaming, using the SMBC Academia Hall on the fourth floor of the International Academic Research Building as the main venue. Seventeen members (8 men and 9 women) from various fields and backgrounds, including businesspeople, social entrepreneurs, executives of international organizations, and experts in SDGs, D&I, design, and sports, attended the meeting, as well as President Fujii and other members of the executive board and department heads of the University.
At the beginning of the session, President Fujii gave a keynote report on the publication of “UTokyo Compass 2.0,” the revised version of the basic policy “UTokyo Compass,” in May 2024, and explained the newly added plans, “HR Management: Create an environment for quantitative and qualitative improvement of professional human resources,” “Develop a research intelligence organization,” and “Establish the UTokyo College of Design.” This was followed by a report by Executive Vice President Naoko Ishii, Director of the Center for Global Commons (CGC), on new developments for the second phase of the CGC, including the concept of an accelerator office to accelerate the transformation of economic systems to address global challenges. Thereafter, an exchange of views took place.
Following that, discussions were held with two student teams. The first team consisted of students who participated in the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), held in November 2024, and the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP16), held in October 2024, which served as venues for international negotiations on global issues. The second team consisted of students who participated in fieldwork in Omishima, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, as part of the “Future Regional Society Fieldwork” program of the “Future Regional Society Education Program,” which served as a venue for initiatives aimed at solving regional issues. It also included students belonging to the student organization “UTokyo Consortium of Local Revitalization.” Each team presented proposals for the university based on the experiences and insights gained through their activities, followed by a discussion with President Fujii and the committee members.
As a summary of the conference, the following points were obtained as important points.
On Thursday, March 13, 2025, the AY2024 Advisory Board Meeting was held in a hybrid format with online streaming, using the SMBC Academia Hall on the fourth floor of the International Academic Research Building as the main venue. Seventeen members (8 men and 9 women) from various fields and backgrounds, including businesspeople, social entrepreneurs, executives of international organizations, and experts in SDGs, D&I, design, and sports, attended the meeting, as well as President Fujii and other members of the executive board and department heads of the University.
At the beginning of the session, President Fujii gave a keynote report on the publication of “UTokyo Compass 2.0,” the revised version of the basic policy “UTokyo Compass,” in May 2024, and explained the newly added plans, “HR Management: Create an environment for quantitative and qualitative improvement of professional human resources,” “Develop a research intelligence organization,” and “Establish the UTokyo College of Design.” This was followed by a report by Executive Vice President Naoko Ishii, Director of the Center for Global Commons (CGC), on new developments for the second phase of the CGC, including the concept of an accelerator office to accelerate the transformation of economic systems to address global challenges. Thereafter, an exchange of views took place.
Following that, discussions were held with two student teams. The first team consisted of students who participated in the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), held in November 2024, and the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP16), held in October 2024, which served as venues for international negotiations on global issues. The second team consisted of students who participated in fieldwork in Omishima, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, as part of the “Future Regional Society Fieldwork” program of the “Future Regional Society Education Program,” which served as a venue for initiatives aimed at solving regional issues. It also included students belonging to the student organization “UTokyo Consortium of Local Revitalization.” Each team presented proposals for the university based on the experiences and insights gained through their activities, followed by a discussion with President Fujii and the committee members.
As a summary of the conference, the following points were obtained as important points.
- The sustainable promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university.
- The expansion of perspectives through student involvement in international forums.
- The promotion of practical learning opportunities for students and the expansion of the sharing of outcomes.
- Responding to regional and global challenges, with the University serving as a hub for inter-university collaboration.
