News

2018/01/18

NII Signs 100th International Exchange Agreement/MOUs with Universities and Research Institutes in 29 Countries and Regions

Japan's National Institute of Informatics (NII; Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Dr. Masaru KITSUREGAWA, Director General), one of four organizations that constitute the Research Institution for Information and Systems, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU）with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia）as of January 18, which marked NII's 100th international exchange agreement with overseas organizations. In an effort to systematically boost international cooperation, NII eagerly seeks opportunities to sign MOUs with overseas universities and research institutes. The 100 organizations with which NII has signed MOUs are spread out all over the world, among 27 countries and regions in the world's five geographic zones; Asia, the Americas, Europe, Oceania and Africa. In addition to MOUs concerning research cooperation, NII has also concluded MOUs on the basis of development/operational cooperation with 5 organizations in 5 countries and regions.

In order to promote an exchange of researchers and students between NII and overseas MOU organizations（*1）, financial support programs were established, such as the "NII International Internship"（*2） and "MOU grants"（*3）. NII not only facilitates the exchange of researchers and students but also manages various international exchange activities, such as international joint research ventures, seminars and symposiums. Through these activities, NII establishes long-term partnerships with world-famous research institutes and thereby further improves the quality of its own research. At the same time, NII shares its research results with those same institutes.

As well as signing MOUs with other institutes, NII actively participates in international cooperation activities in the discipline of informatics that involves promoting active international exchange of researchers and students and conducting international research based around informatics. In February 2011, NII began an international seminar series "NII SHONAN MEETING", whereby invited participants would stay together, engage in intensive discussions and develop cutting-edge research. From October 30 to November 2, 2017, NII hosted the 100th seminar of "NII SHONAN MEETING".

As Japan's only general academic research institution for informatics, NII is actively engaged in a wide range of initiatives in order to contribute to the promotion of international exchange in the discipline of informatics.

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