More than 1,800 international students are currently enrolled at Hiroshima University, coming from 96 different countries and regions (as of May 1, 2024). Over 1,000 of these international students are from China, and many Japanese students from Hiroshima University also choose to study abroad in China. I myself studied at Fudan University in Shanghai as a government-sponsored international student in the late 1990s while enrolled in graduate school at Hiroshima University.

Hiroshima University has long been actively engaged in academic and educational exchange with overseas institutions. In particular, it has placed strong emphasis on exchange with China from an early stage, accumulating a wealth of experience and accomplishments to show for many years of collaboration. Based on this experience, Hiroshima University established a joint research center with Capital Normal University in 2002. Subsequently, education and research bases were established at Shanghai Normal University in 2009, Yanshan University in 2018, and both Southwest University of Political Science and Law and Changchun University in 2019, further actively promoting academic and educational exchange. Since 2006 at the Beijing Research Center and 2014 at the Shanghai Research Center, Japanese essay and speech contests have been continuously held, achieving significant results.

Although some activities were restricted due to COVID-19, Hiroshima University’s co-creation with China is now entering a new stage through the recently established Global Campus Institute. Moving forward, in addition to student exchange, academic collaboration, and international joint research, we aim to actively expand initiatives such as internships, career support, and partnerships with members of Chinese academia, industry, and government. Through these efforts, we hope to build new forms of co-creation.（Kawashima）

My name is Shouni Tang, and I have recently begun working for the Global Campus Institute’s China Overseas Co-Creation Ecosystem. My specialty is grounded in architecture and urban science, while adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates affective engineering and pedagogy. Specifically, I have engaged in research which utilizes methods for measuring physiological responses, such as people’s line of sight and brain waves, to shed light on spatial cognition and behavioral characteristics within urban spaces and constructed environments. (To give some examples, I analyze cognitive pathways and avoidance behaviors in underground public spaces, and evaluate urban development while incorporating perspectives on city image, gender, and diversity.)

This kind of research is being socially implemented both domestically and internationally, as it directly contributes to barrier-free urban spaces, universal design, and sustainable urban and architectural design grounded in an understanding of the local culture.

The Global Campus Institute, Hiroshima University serves as a platform for advancing “overseas co-creation,” which creates new value through collaboration with globally active alumni, businesses, and local governments. As a member of this institute, I hope to leverage the academic connections cultivated between China and Japan to contribute to international education, research, and community development through practical industry-academia-government partnerships. I look forward to your continued support.