The FUTI Alumni Association (FAA) hosted an End-of-Year Party on December 10th at the University of Tokyo New York Office for current and former Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) award recipients, as well as its board members and advisory committee members. Sixteen FUTI scholarship recipients and alumni participated from six states, mainly on the East Coast, and gave presentations on their research and academic pursuits. Presentations by the students covered a wide range of topics, including astrophysics, gender studies, urban planning, international politics of war, global health, business startups, and climate research. There were lively discussions among participants from different fields. Seven people from the Board of Directors and Advisory Committee, including Vice President Kuwama, participated in the event. The exchange was very spirited, not only among the scholarship students but also with the FUTI directors and advisory committee members.
I was particularly impressed that many of the students who participated talked about how valuable face-to-face and vibrant networking events like this are. Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it had been three years since we held an in-person event as FAA. This gathering made us realize that there are things that can only be attained through in-person interaction. We would like to once again express our sincere gratitude to the students who participated, the members of the Board of Directors and Advisory Committee of FUTI, and the University of Tokyo New York Office for providing the facility.
FAA continues to welcome suggestions from everyone regarding the future use of the alumni network. We plan to continue holding the FAA annual meeting in person. We also plan to hold events online in cooperation with other groups within FUTI, so please stay tuned.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact FUTIalumni [at] gmail.com.
Yuki Haba, Ph.D.
President, FUTI Alumni Association
Advisory Committee Member, Friends of UTokyo, Inc.
Postdoctoral Associate, Harvard University