Tsukuba Global Science Week (TGSW) 2020 Opening Plenary was held

Tsukuba Global Science Week (TGSW) 2020 has started with the Opening Plenary.

TGSW2020, the 10th in total, has been held in a new form, including online meetings and digital poster sessions, to virtually bring world's knowledge together in Tsukuba.

The theme of Opening Plenary was "Creating a Post-Corona Society - Collaboration between Cities and Universities" and the event was started with the opening remarks by Dr. Nagata Kyosuke (President, University of Tsukuba). The keynote speeches were given by two distinguished speakers; Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su (President, National Cheng Kung University) on "NCKU-An Engaged Academy: An Evolving Ecosystem in Triple-Helix Partnership" and by Dr. Devi Sridhar (Professor, The University of Edinburgh) on "Global COVID-19 Policy."

Following the keynote speeches, Mr. Thomas Eiskirch (Mayor of Bochum City, Germany) and Dr. Igarashi Tatsuo (Mayor of Tsukuba City) gave short presentations to provide topics. A total of six panelists, the keynote speakers, the Mayors, President Nagata and Mr. Sebastian Kopietz (Deputy Mayor of Bochum City) joined the panel discussion on the post-corona society through collaboration between cities and universities. Prof. Kijima Joji (Specially-appointed Professor, Office of Global Initiatives, University of Tsukuba) moderated the discussion. Those speeches and panel discussion were streamed online. Questions from audiences were accepted via the Internet and forwarded to panelists to answer them.

Finally, the Opening Plenary was concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Benton Caroline F. (Vice President for International Affairs, University of Tsukuba).

As of September 28th (at the beginning of TGSW2020), 620 participants from 43 countries and regions have registered. In TGSW2020, there were 24 sessions, including those co-organized by overseas partner universities and research institutions in Tsukuba Science City. Six sessions will be held in October or later and their information is still in TGSW website. We look forward to your registration for each session.

In addition, the Digital Poster Session, which is held in the first time in the TGSW history, launched on September 18 with 11 sessions and over 230 research presentation posters. Comments and questions from online viewers are welcomed. The Digital Poster Session will continue until October 18. We hope you will join it as well.

Opening Address by Dr. Nagata Kyosuke, President, University of Tsukuba

Short Presentation by Dr. Igarashi Tatsuo, Mayor, Tsukuba City

Panel Discussion

Group Photo: On Screen（left）Mr. Sebastian Kopietz and Mr. Thomas Eiskirch, (center) Dr. Devi Sridhar, (right) Dr. Huey-Jen Jenny Su. On stage (from left to right) Dr. Kijima Joji, Dr. Ikeda Jun, Dr. Nagata Kyosuke, Dr. Igarashi Tatsuo and Dr. Benton Caroline F.