On 12 August, Japanese Ambassador to Poland Miyajima Akio visited Collegium Novum. On behalf of the Jagiellonian University Rector Prof. Jacek Popiel, he was welcomed by the Vice-Rector for Medical College Prof. Tomasz Grodzicki and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Maciej Małecki. After the meeting, the Ambassador took a short tour of Collegium Novum and JU Museum Collegium Maius, where he signed a memorial book.
The participants of the meeting discussed mostly medical issues and the current epidemiological situation. They spoke about how the expansion of the University Hospital in Kraków helped in alleviating the coronavirus threat in Małopolska. They also talked about public health care in Poland in general. Prof. Małecki remarked that in the recent years, highly qualified medical staff have been coming back from abroad, where they found themselves for professional or academic reasons, and so the quality of Polish health care is improving.
The Jagiellonian University’s contacts with higher education institutions from Asia, particularly from Japan, are an example of the most effective international cooperation initiatives carried out by the oldest Polish university. The Institute of the Middle and Far East, Faculty of Law and Administration and Faculty of Philosophy are particularly active when it comes to collaboration with Asian institutions. Currently, the Jagiellonian University collaborates with 31 Japanese organisations within the framework of 46 research agreements.
The Jagiellonian University’s oldest Japanese partner is Kobe University, with which the JU signed an agreement in 1998. In the coming years, this collaboration resulted in numerous new initiatives. In October 2015, Lobe University Liaison Office was opened in the premises of the JU Chair in Comparative Studies of Civilisations. A year later, the JU Faculty of Law and Administration established the School of Japanese Law and Culture. Initially, the lectures were devoted chiefly to legal issues, but in 2017, the School expanded its scope, offering year-long courses on the culture of Japan designed by philologists, cultural anthropologists and lawyers from Kobe University as well as classes on intercultural competencies conducted by an expert from the JU Institute of the Middle and Far East.
The Jagiellonian University is the only higher education institution in Poland that collaborates with the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund, established in 1987. The programme aims to support the education of students and PhD students with highly developed leadership skills whose academic interests have a great social potential. Additionally, the SYLFF scholarships are awarded to the most accomplished students in the area of humanities, social sciences, law, economy and management, allowing them to pursue their academic careers, fund projects and participate in lectures and courses in various countries all over the world.
