The Annual Board Meeting and Board-AC Joint Meeting Held

The Board of Directors Meeting, September 28 (Sun), 10 am-1 pm
FUTI’s Annual Board of Directors meeting was held on September 28 (Sun) 2014, from 10 am to 1 pm at the Community Resource Exchange (CRE)’s conference room at 42 Broadway, New York, NY 10004.
After President Hisashi Kobayashi’s welcome greeting, Mr. Shuta Kobayashi, Secretary, presented his draft of the minutes of the Board teleconference meeting held on April 21, 2014 ,and obtained the Board’s approval.
Dr. Masako Egawa, Executive Vice President of UTokyo and Director of FUTI, made a 30 minute presentation on recent developments at UTokyo (For details, see “Appendix: Summary of Dr. Masako Egawa’s Report” at the end of this article).
Dr. Yuichiro Kuwama, Director and Treasurer, reported on the results of the last fundraising campaign. The total amount of individual donations decreased by 7.6%, from $ 61,320 (73 individuals) in FY (fiscal year) 2012/13 down to $56,660 (59 individuals) in FY 2013/14. The dividends from Shintech’s Trust Fund, went down by as much as 24.4%, from $70,076 in FY2012/13 to $52,956 in FY 2013/14. Consequently, an overall revenue decreased by 16.6%, i.e., from $131,396 in FY2012/13 to $109,616 in FY2013/14 (for details, see a related article in this newsletter). The treasurer stated that an effect of the extension of the contract period of the Trust Fund would not be felt before the next fiscal year, and that the dividends would further decline during the current fiscal year. He is inquiring whether HSBC Bank can invest the fund for a higher return within the scope of the trust contract.
Dr. Masaaki Yamada, Director of University Relations, reported on the FUTI Research Grant Program and its 2014 summer scholarship program. FUTI renewed its support of two research projects; (1) Frontiers of Condensed Matter Physics (F-CMP): the Columbia-UTokyo cooperation on education and research, (2) Collaboration, exchanges and outreach at the Kavli IPMU and UC Berkeley campuses (for details, see a related article). As for the scholarship program, 13 UTokyo students received the FUTI Global Leadership Award (FUTI-GLA) and attended summer courses or English language courses at U.S. universities, whereas 7 FUTI-GLA recipients of U.S. universities went to UTokyo to attend the GSP (Global Summer Program) courses or to do research as summer interns (for details, see a related article). Dr. Yamada also reported that a travel grant was awarded to Mr. Chiwu Ishido Kim, an outstanding student who graduated from Stuyvesant High School of New York City and was admitted to the PEAK or the Programs in English at Komaba (for details, see a related article).
Mr. Shuta Kobayashi, Secretary, presented a draft of the updated FUTI’s Bylaws, which was revised in accordance with the recent changes in our name and mailing address. He obtained the Board’s approval.
Mr. Kazutaka Yamaji, General Manager of the Development Division of UTokyo, who participated in the meeting as an invited guest, presented his recent study with Mr. Yoichi Yoshida of his office regarding the possibility of opening FUTI’s bank account in Japan. The Board has decided to pursue this matter by identifying a suitable representative, who must be a resident of Japan.
The Board reappointed all the current officers and directors and advisory committee members and the award selection committee for another year.  In addition, President Kobayashi and Dr. Osako were appointed to a newly created “Auditing Committee.” (See the FUTI website for profiles of the appointees.)
In the session on general discussions, President Kobayashi made three proposals: (A) creation of “Fundraising Committee,” (B) creation of “Advertising Committee,” and (C) creation of “Media Communications Committee.” Although there was not sufficient time to fully discuss these matters,
there was a general consensus that the issue of fundraising effort is of utmost importance.
The Board and Advisory Committee Joint Meeting: September 28 (Sun),1 pm-5 pm
The joint meeting started with the introduction of Mr. Motomu Takahashi, a new member of the Advisory Committee (see a related announcement in Newsletter No. 11), and Mr. Kazutaka Yamaji, a special guest (see a related article in this newsletter).
Then Dr. Masako Osako, a member of the Award Selection Committee, presented highlights of the reports submitted by the 2014 summer scholarship recipients. She concluded her presentation by stating that FUTI’s Global Leadership Award program is achieving its objective, i.e., to provide highly qualified UTokyo and U.S. students with valuable opportunities for further learning and development.
She then presented a summary of the recent survey done by the International Division of
UTokyo, upon President Kobayashi’s request, to find out why the number of UTokyo applications to the FUTI summer program was not as great as that from students of U.S. universities who wish to study at UTokyo in the summer. Among the several reasons identified in this survey are: (1) The existence of FUTI’s summer programs is not as widely known to the UTokyo student as it should be. As many as 68% of UTokyo students who applied for summer programs in the U.S. were unaware of the FUTI scholarship program. (2) Among the students who knew about the FUTI program, 59% felt that the competition would be too stiff, so they did not bother to apply.
There were some comments made by the Board and Advisory Committee: (1) The upcoming implementation of the quarter system may facilitate the participation by UTokyo students in summer programs in the future. (2) Some effort should be made to lessen the apprehension about overseas study that may be felt by many UTokyo students, because such anxiety may prevent them from applying to the programs. (3) Further effort should also be made to more widely and effectively disseminate the information about FUTI awards.
There was also a suggestion that in-person or telephone interviews (by using Skype) of scholarship applicants would provide, in some cases, valuable information that might augment the information obtained from the applicants’ written materials.
Dr. Egawa, Dr. Kuwama, and Dr. Yamada gave the presentations to the Advisory Committee, using the slides that they had prepared for the Board Meeting of the morning.

Dr. Osako then reported on the recent changes and efforts made in FUTI’s Facebook page by the study group that she chairs. The number of “Like!” has increased considerably in recent months because of their outreach effort. Reports by scholarship awardees from “ the scenes of summer school or internship” have stimulated considerable interest in FUTI’s FB page. But 55% of the FUTI FB viewers are Japanese living in Japan, and U.S. students’ exposure to FUTI’s FB page has been limited thus far.
There was a brief report by Dr. Kuwama on the activities of the New York Icho-kai which he serves as a Vice President. One major issue raised in the discussion was that there has not been sufficient interest and effort by the Icho-kai’s officers to encourage their members to support FUTI’s activities.
There was no time left for Dr. Fumiko Tamura to report on Satsuki-kai America’s recent activities.
The remaining time was spent on the general discussion, primarily on fundraising issues. Mr. Ko-Yung Tung agreed that he would take a leadership role in FUTI’s fundraising efforts, which had been heretofore primarily made by President Kobayashi and Treasurer Kuwama. Mr. Tung suggested that a few more people should work with him as core members but all the Board and AC members should share the responsibility for fundraising.

The meeting adjourned at 5 pm, and the group moved to Kobayashi’s residence for a cocktail reception, followed by a dinner at Merchant River House in Battery Park City.

Appendix: Summary of Dr. Masako Egawa’s Report

Dr. Egawa’s presentation at both the Board and Board-AC Joint meetings was entitled “The Status Report on the University of Tokyo and Alumni Activities.” Shown below is the list of heading titles and key phrases in her slides.
Slide 1: (Title): The Status Report on the University of Tokyo and Alumni Activities
Slide 2: Introduction of the Quarter (or Four-Term) System, and Comprehensive Educational Reform:
Slide 3: Comprehensive Education Reform:
Drastic efforts are needed to accelerate the reforms, even in steps.
Reform is a crucial step towards the implementation of the “Autumnal Admission Initiative.”
The four-term system, plus the university-wide reform for educational contents/methods.
Slide 4: Vision for Human Resources to be Nurtured, and Three Pillars for the Reform.
We need to nurture our students’ abilities (i) to think globally and act courageously, (ii) to discover problems and take a positive stance towards challenging experiences, (iii) to understand and respect different cultures and values, (iv) to develop a sense of responsibility to the public and society, (v) to develop firm basic scholastic skills and curiosity towards knowledge at the forefront.
The three pillars are:

1. Internationalization: to increase international mobility; to implement global campuses; to diversify opportunities for learning.
2. Substantiation: to encourage students to learn on their own initiatives; to enhance the quality of learning and assure the quantity; to provide coherent undergraduate education.
3. Sophistication: to provide advanced liberal arts education throughout the four years; to provide advanced professional education towards the creation of innovations; to further nurture the cream of the crop.

Slide 5: Introduction of the Quarter System
The 4-term system will be introduced university-wide in 2016.
Faculties of Law, Literature, Economics, General Education and Education will adopt the “4T” system, comprising S1 term (Apr-May), S2 term (June-July), A1 term (Sept-Oct) and A2 term (Nov-Dec)
Faculties of Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, Agriculture, Pharmacy will adopt the “4T + S” system, comprising S1 term (Apr-May), A1 term (Sept-Oct), A2 term (Nov-Dec), and W term (Jan-Feb).
Slide 6: Student Exchange Programs at the University Level.
UTokyo now has agreements for student exchanges with 43 universities in 19 countries, including two U.S. universities (Princeton and Yale) . The others are 6 Australian universities (Adelaide, Australian National, Melbourne, Monash, New South Wales, and Queensland), 1 Brazilian (Sao Paulo), 2 British (Southampton, Sheffield), 3 Canadian (British Columbia, McGill and Toronto), 2 Chilean (Chile and Chile Catholic), 4 Chinese (Beijing, Nankai, Shanghai Jia Tong, Tsinghua), 1 Danish (Copenhagen), 1 Dutch (University of Groningen), 1 Finish (Helsinki), 4 French (École Polytechnique, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris or Sciences-Po, L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sosiales or EHESS, and Strasburg), 3 German (Freie Universität Berlin, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Universität zu Köln), 1 Hong Kong (Hong Kong), 1 Russian (Saint Petersburg State University), 1 Singaporean (National University of Singapore), 4 South Korean (Korea, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Seoul, and Yonsei), 3 Swedish (Stockholm, Royal Institute of Technology, and Uppsala), 1 Swiss ( Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich or ETH Zürich) and 2 Taiwan (National Chiao Tung, National Taiwan).
The exchange program started in 2011, when 8 UTokyo students were sent out and, 4 students were received in. These numbers in 2014 are 74 and 55 (planned), respectively.
Slide 7: PEAK (Programs in English at Komaba)
A new course was established in the Division of General Education in which the instruction is given entirely in English. There is one program, “International General Education Program” for Freshmen and Sophomore years, and two programs, “International Program on Japan in East Asia,” and “International Program on Environmental Sciences” for Junior and Senior years. The program started in 2013 with 27 students enrolled, and 23 students were enrolled in 2014.
Slide 8: Efforts to Promote “Taiken Katsudo (Activities for Experience)”
This is the third year of the Taiken Programs, but the numbers Dr. Egawa presented were for 2013 (and 2012): there were 51 Taiken programs implemented in Japan and 24 programs overseas last year, including five in the U.S. Typically UTokyo’s local alumni groups provide arrangement to host UTokyo students.
Slide 9: FLY (Freshers’ Leave Year) Program get Started
This program started in 2013, allowing students admitted to UTokyo to take a leave of absence in the freshman year to gain experiences not available at UTokyo. Examples are volunteer jobs overseas, and language courses in foreign universities. In 2013, eleven Freshers (9 males and 2 females) took advantage of this program and in 2014, eight Freshers (7 males and 1 female) are on leave.
Slide 10: MOOC (Massive Online Open Courses)
As Dr. Egawa reported at the last year’s Board meeting (see the last year’s report) , UTokyo started its participation in MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) in 2013. “From the Big Bang to Dark Energy” by Professor Hitoshi Maruyama began in September 2013 (see a related article), and “Conditions of War and Peace” by Prof. Kiichi Fujiwara, in October 2013. The courses were offered by Coursera, enrolled by over 80,000 persons from over 150 countries and about 5,400 people completed the courses
Slide 11: MOOC (cont.)
In addition to the above two courses to be repeated, two new courses will be offered through edX: They are Professor Takeo Igarashi’s “Interactive Computer Graphics,”which started on August 8th, 2014, and Professor Toshiya Yoshimi ‘s “Visualizing Postwar Tokyo, Parts I and II,” whose start dates are Nov. 4, 2014 and January 6, 2015, respectively.
Slide 12: JMOOC
Japan Massive Open Online Course (JMOOC) was established in 2013 as a coalition organization of all Japanese universities and industrial companies.
The courses are distributed free of charge through the website “gacco” (established by NTT DoCoMo and Knowledge Square in February 2014).
“Liberty and Equality (Liberté et Égalité) in Medieval Japan,” by Prof. Kazuto Hongo (Institute for the Compilation of Historical Materials) was given from April 14 to June 30, 2014.
“Interactive Teaching,” by Project Associate Professor Kayoko Kurita, Associate Professor Atsushi Nakahara et al. (Center for Research and Development of Higher Education) will be given from November 19, 2014.
Slide 13: GLP (Global Leadership Education) Programs
This is a new special program for undergraduates, designed to develop human resources to serve as global leaders in the international scene. GLP I, which has started this year, is for the Freshmen and Sophomore years, and about 100 students were enrolled. GLP II, which will start in 2016, is for the Junior and Senior years. For details, see the website.
Slide 14: “Recommendation-based Admission” to be introduced
It is planned to admit about 100 students based on recommendations from high schools in Japan, starting in 2016. For details see the website
Slide 15: Expansion of the Study Abroad Programs
There are now a number of student exchange programs for UTokyo students and students in foreign countries.
Slide 16: Activities of Alumni Office (Title only)
Slide 17: Get connected to the alumni

• TFT (Todai for Tomorrow): Online community for UTokyo alumni
• The number of alumni groups: 264 registered as of August 2014
• Alumni lists being updated
• An account that can be used even after graduation

Slide 18: Transmit information about UTokyo to the alumni

• “UTokyo Alumni Association News” (formerly “Akamon Alumni News”) has been revamped and sent, together with “Tansei: The University of Tokyo Magazine,” semiannually to all alumni.
• The Email Newsletter sent to the TFT registrants.
• The English Email Newsletter sent to all non-Japanese alumni.
• Transmission of information via Facebook and LinkedIn.

Slide 19: Strengthen Alumni’s networks

• Homecoming Day
• Programs for lifelong learning and social gathering

-Todai Self Investment, Greater Todai “Jyuku” (private-tutoring)
-Todai World Café, Todai Venture Square

• Assist the creation of regional alumni clubs
• Alumni Lounge

Slide 20: Alumni Contribute to Alma Mater

• Information sessions for high school students in rural areas (for diversification)
• “Discord” project for knowledge creation
• Gathering with UTokyo students (at Hongo and Komaba, each once a year)
• Lectures by alumni to UTokyo students
• Gathering with international students at UTokyo (Tokyo Icho-kai)
• UT-OSAC (University of Tokyo Overseas Study Advisory Community)
• Information session about graduate study abroad
• Satsuki-kai Scholarship

Slide 21: Alumni Contribute to Alma Mater (cont’d)

• Cooperation and support for the “Taiken Katsudo (Activities for Experience)” program
• Cooperation and support for summer schools and internships overseas
• Scholarships to send out UTokyo students to overseas

Slide 22: Internationalization

• Help alumni groups overseas get established
• President and Executive VPs attend alumni meetings overseas
• Link with non-Japanese alumni residing in Japan
• Respond to the TFT members in English
• Distribute the English Newsletter to non-Japanese alumni
• IARU (International Alliance of Research Universities) World Alumni Forum

Slide 23: Summary

• Please engage in important activities of UTokyo as a partner of UTokyo.
• Please support the strategies of UTokyo
• “Taiken Katsudo” (Internships, volunteer activities, etc.)
• Experience overseas
• Accept diversified groups of students ( students from rural areas, female students)
• Gathering of Japanese and international students
• Donate to UTokyo

(Read this article in Japanese)

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Articles in this newsletter:

• The Fifth Annual Campaign Not as Successful as in the Past
• The Annual Board Meeting and Board-AC Joint Meeting Held
• FUTI Website Completely Redesigned
• Excerpts of Reports by FUTI’s Scholarship Recipients in 2014
• FUTI Research Grants to Columbia-UTokyo Team and Berkeley’s BCTP-UTokyo’s Kavli IPMU Renewed
• Receptions for GSP and UTRIP Students
• The Eighth "Appreciation Party of UTokyo Foundation" Hosted by President Hamada
• Appreciation Party and my Revisit to the Hongo Campus: Ko-Yung Tung
• Mr. Kim of Stuyvesant H.S. Receives FUTI’s Travel Grant to Attend PEAK
• Mr. Kazutaka Yamaji Speaks in New York
• "Prepare for Spreading Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever," Explains Dr. Kuwama on TV

The articles in this issue were contributed by Yasuyuki Izumi, Hisashi Kobayashi, Yuichiro Kuwama, Shigenori Matsushita, Masako Osako, Ko-Yung Tung, and Masaaki Yamada. Editorial assistance is by Prof. Brian L. Mark (Professor, George Mason University).