Professor Youki Kadobayashi (Graduate School of Information Science) and International Activities Coordinator, Junko Iwatsuki (Division for Global Education) attended the Erasmus Mundus Program “TEAM Project” (※) final meeting held in Madrid, Spain.

Meeting with Sorbonne University, France (former University Pierre and Marie Curie)

On Tuesday, March 13th, Prof. Kadobayashi and Coordinator Iwatsuki met with the TEAM Project organizers of Sorbonne University at Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M). NAIST’s participation in this project made it possible for Sorbonne University and NAIST to conclude an agreement on academic exchanges in September, 2017.
After expressing our gratitude for accepting the NAIST delegation led by Vice President/Executive Director Kiyomi Kakiuchi the day before (March 12th) in Paris, both universities reflected back on past collaborations. Through funding from the TEAM Project, active collaboration, such as Prof. Inoue of the Dependable System Laboratory (GSIS) spending a month at Sorbonne University in August 2017, was made possible. Associate Professor Ooshita of the same laboratory also spent a month there in March 2018 to co-author a paper with Prof. Sebastien Tixeuil, Sorbonne University. Later in the meeting were discussions on the double degree program agreement that is currently underway, along with future expansion of collaboration between the two institutions. Finally, the meeting concluded with exchange of opinions and information concerning research funding opportunities in Japan and Europe, including the Erasmus funding and its future.

Erasmus Mundus Program “TEAM Project” Final Meeting

On the following day, March 14th, Prof. Kadobayashi and Coordinator Iwatsuki attended the final meeting of the TEAM Project at UC3M.
The meeting began with a summary report from Sorbonne University on various activities throughout this project. The member institutions of this project then reported their achievements in promoting student/researcher mobility, followed by a poster session as well as presentations by two students currently participating in this project. In the afternoon group session, the impact, sustainability, and possible improvements of this project were discussed. Furthermore, participants exchanged their views about further collaboration and additional opportunities among the partner institutions.
Throughout the term of the TEAM Project, meetings were held at cities where the participating institutions are located (Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Seoul, and Madrid). Skype was also utilized to maintain very close communication and collaboration for prompt response to urgent issues that the project encountered. These large-scale, close cooperative efforts led to a significant increase in the student/researcher mobility funded by this program, and we were able to report to the European Commission that the proposed numerical targets of the TEAM Project were achieved. This project also allowed NAIST to facilitate active educational and research collaborations with the European partner institutions, leading to the establishment of the academic agreements with Sorbonne University and the University of Trento (Italy). This final meeting offered a valuable opportunity for the participating institutions to recognize their achievements throughout the project.

(※) Erasmus Mundus Program “TEAM Project”
The TEAM (Technologies of information and communication Europe-east Asia Mobilities) Erasmus Mundus project funded by the European Commission creates a network of excellence in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through exchanges of doctoral students, post-doctoral scholars and faculty in Europe, Republic of Korea and Japan. In 2014, NAIST joined the TEAM consortium initiated by University Pierre and Marie CURIE (UPMC).

From far right: Ms. Hanna Hertwig, Ms. Rakhee Patel From far left: Prof. Kadobayashi, Coordinator Iwatsuki	Participants of the Erasmus Mundus Program “TEAM Project” Final Meeting
At the Final Meeting