The official ceremony of signing the Agreement of Cooperation between Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland and Kobe Women’s University, Kobe, Japan took place online on January 30, 2024. The document, signed by both University Presidents, will strengthen the already existing links between the two universities for the benefit of both researchers and students.
In attendance online at this historic moment were representatives of both universities. On behalf of Kobe Women’s University: President of the University, Prof. Nobutaka Kurihara; Director of the Centre for the Promotion of International Programs, Dr. Kazumi Noguchi; Associate Director of the Centre, Professor Ai Kimura; Head of the KWU International Programs Office, Yoshiteru Yamashita, and Natsuki Okuno from the International Programs Office.
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, was represented by its Rector, Prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska; Dean of the Faculty of English, Prof. Joanna Pawelczyk; Vice-Dean for International Cooperation and outreach at the Faculty of English, Prof. Radosław Dylewski; Prof. Liliana Sikorska, Head of The Faculty of English Department of English Literature, Irish Literature, and Literary Linguistics; and Dr. Marcin Turski, Spokesperson for the Faculty of English, who moderated the event.
Prof. Liliana Sikorska was instrumental in the cooperation between AMU and KWU, as she has already done research with her Japanese colleagues on W.B. Yeats and the Noh theatre and has taught seminars with Polish and Japanese students.
The ceremony started with a welcome address by Dr. Noguchi Kazumi, Director of the KWU Center for the Promotion of International Programs. The next speaker was Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University, Prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska. The last to take the floor was the President of Kobe Women's University, Prof. Nobutaka Kurihara.
The Agreement of Cooperation signed by the Presidents of AMU and KWU has become a fact. Now academics and students of both institutions must flesh out its wording and provisions with research and mobility programs.
Source: Marcin Turski, Ph.D., American Studies Research Unit: Language and Culture, Faculty of English
photo credit: Martyna Płaczek