President NAGATA Visits GATE Institute and Sofia University in Bulgaria

On May 19, President NAGATA Kyosuke, Executive Vice President and Executive Director for Research ENDO Yasunori, and Vice President for Global Affairs OHNEDA Osamu visited Bulgaria.

At their first destination, the GATE Institute, they participated in a workshop jointly organized by the Institute and the Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba. The GATE Institute is a center for promoting fundamental and applied research in big data and AI with high societal impact, as well as innovation and education.University of Tsukuba has concluded a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the Institute, and the two institutions have been promoting joint research and exchange, particularly in the field of meteorology, which is important for building a smart society.

Five faculty members from University of Tsukuba participated in the workshop, including Director SHIGETA Yasuteru of the Center for Computational Sciences, along with faculty members from the Center and the Institute of Medicine. Presentations were given in fields such as meteorology, digital healthcare, visual information, and computational informatics.

At the opening of the workshop, remarks were delivered by Director Silvia Ilieva of the GATE Institute; President NAGATA; H.E. Mr. Chikahisa Sumi, Ambassador of Japan to Bulgaria; and H.E. Ms. Marieta Arabadzhieva, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan. In his remarks, President NAGATA expressed his hopes for further research collaboration between the GATE Institute and the University's Center for Computational Sciences in the fields of AI and data science.

The delegation then visited Sofia University, where they met with Interim Rector Parvan Parvanov; Functional Rector of Academic Staff, Accreditation and Ratings Stoyan Shishkov; Vice-Rector of International Affairs Reneta Bozhankova; and Prof. Dr. Anastas Gerdjikov, Chair of the Board of the GATE Institute and former Rector of Sofia University. The GATE Institute is a research center in big data and AI established at Sofia University. During the meeting, the participants exchanged views on promoting further academic exchange between the two universities, centered on the GATE Institute.

This visit is expected to further develop exchanges with the GATE Institute and Sofia University.