Hideyo Kunieda Awarded University Medal

The Vice President of Nagoya University in Japan, Prof. Hideyo Kunieda, has been awarded the University Medal of the University of Freiburg. "With this award, we are acknowledging the extraordinary commitment with which Hideyo Kunieda has for many years fostered the key partnership between our universities," said Rector Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer. Kunieda has contributed significantly in particular to promoting joint research groups and to initiating a joint program for doctoral candidates in medicine.

Physicist Hideyo Kunieda's career at Nagoya University began in 1979, at first as a research associate and then a professor. From 1999 to 2003, he worked at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, and from 2003 to 2005 at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency before he returned to Nagoya University. In 2008, he was named vice dean and then dean in 2009. Since 2012, he has been the university's vice president. He has also been a trustee for research, student support and admissions since 2013.

The origins of cooperation between the universities go back more than six decades. Since 2001, there has been a university-wide accord on academic cooperation and an interdisciplinary student exchange. In 2014, the partners deepened their cooperation with a "Memorandum of Understanding." Its objective is to foster even closer academic ties between the research administrations of the partners, intensify exchanges of students, scholars and administrative staff, and promote the initiation of joint research projects.

Currently cooperative research is taking place in economics, chemistry, biology, law, medicine, and humanities and social sciences. The universities' international research colleges – the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) and the Institute for Advanced Research (IAR) of Nagoya University, are already advertising positions for joint project groups for the second time. Outstanding academics from all disciplines at both universities are eligible to apply to for guest research fellowships, workshops and conferences at the partner university that are supported by FRIAS and the IAR. The aim is to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two universities.

Beyond that, the special partnership is also evident at the Nagoya University European Center, which has been located in Freiburg since 2010. The European Center's objective is to support research, training and international exchange and to promote Nagoya University's global role. The Japanese university has other international offices in China, Uzbekistan, Thailand and the USA.

Contact:
Kathrin Jehle
International Office
University of Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/203-4330
E-Mail: kathrin.jehle@io.uni-freiburg.de