Silvia Bolzani
Last 28th September, 2022, an Information Session of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, organized by Professor Stefania Michelucci and Unige International Affairs, in collaboration with Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and Scuola IMT di Lucca, was held in Genoa and Pisa.
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is the main funding agency for research in Japan. Funding opportunities are available for all areas of research at all Japanese public universities and research institutions.
Pr. Kazuhiko Saigo, Director of JSPS Strasbourg, Ms. Junko Fujimoto, Deputy Director of JSPS Strasbourg and Ms. Chika Koda, JSPS Strasbourg office, presented the activities and purposes of the JSPS, with particular emphasis on the actions carried out in Europe. In addition, Italian JSPS Alumni had the opportunity to give presentations in which they could discuss their experience in Japan, impression and feedback.
On this occasion, I had the opportunity to attend the event and recount my JSPS experience, but, above all, to present, to the JSPS Strasbourg delegation, the activities that have been organized by our association, in the past two years, in order to establish the JSPS Alumni Italy as a thriving community.
From this interesting and fruitful conversation with the JSPS delegation, important key points emerged that need to be addressed and further developed in view of the official recognition of the association. Among these, of particular importance, creating events in Italy where it is possible to confirm the presence and active involvement of Alumni from different fields of research and their active interest in establishing the JSPS Alumni Italy.
It’s been a great opportunity to meet, in person, other Italian researchers that had the same JSPS experience. It was a good occasion to exchange backgrounds and feedback from our life in Japan, but especially to find the same strong determination and shared interest in creating a good network to keep a vigorous and stable collaboration between Japan and Italy.
In view of this, we discussed the different opportunities with the aim of holding future events and activities in Italy, that can further involve the Alumni and that allow to show the interest and commitment that each of us is willing to put in order to establish and carry out the JSPS Alumni Italy.
This opportunity to exchange experiences and suggestions during the JSPS Information Session, provided the basis for future fruitful collaboration and to strengthen the relation between Italian researchers, JSPS and Japan.
