2012 Archives

2012.12.25

[Event Report]“Evolving Role of the World Bank Group and Japan's Partnership.”

On Tuesday, December 25, 2012, Graduate School of International Relations invited HAYASHI, Nobumitsu, former Executive Director for Japan, World Bank and held a special lecture, “Evolving Role of the World Bank Group and Japan's Partnership.”  Undergraduate and Graduate students, including many international students and faculty members, attended to the seminar.  At the end of the seminar, a Q/A session was held and both undergraduate and graduate students actively participated.

The International Organization Seminar was established for students who aspire to work in international organizations and international cooperation, special lectures are held by guest lecturers who are currently working in international organizations and active in the field. Special seminar is also open to undergraduate students. The English-based “International Organization Seminar” started from this semester.

 International Organization Seminar  https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/eng/education/first/feature.html/外部リンク

 

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2012.12.25

Office will be closed for winter holidays

CyberMailOur office will be closed from December 26, 2012 to January 6, 2013 for winter holidays.
We will be back in the office on Monday, January 7, 2013.

We are sorry for the inconvenience we may cause.

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2012.12.18

The IR Brown Bag Seminar

The International Studies Association of Ritsumeikan University has started the bi-weekly “IR Brown Bag Seminar” in English for its undergraduate and graduate students.

The new IR Brown Bag seminar offers International Relations students the opportunity to discuss current international affairs in an informal setting. Held every second week during lunch time, these seminars are a student-led initiative aimed at providing:

・an avenue for students to discuss and learn more about IR current affairs

・a new forum for students to meet other international/Japanese IR students

・an informal platform for students to practice debating skills


During each seminar, one student will briefly prepare and present the main topic of discussion and then lead the discussion. In this fall semester, students are discussing topics such as “Environmental Sustainability in Japan: A Post 3.11 Analysis”, “Mali Crisis: Mali Crisis: A new base for Islamic terrorists?” and “Training for Torture: The School of the America” The Graduate School of International Relations started its English-based program, GCP in 2003. In addition, the College of International Relations’ recently established the English-based “Global Studies Major” in 2011.

Many of our Japanese and international students are now studying in global environments. In the next Brown bag Seminar, students will discuss on following topic, “The Media and the Right to Privacy: How far should the Media go?”


Link: College of International Relations, Global Studies Major
https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/eng/ir/

Link: Graduate School of International Relations
  https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/eng/

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2012.12.18

[News] Field Research Report Session

On Tuesday, December 11, the Graduate School of International Relations held the "Field Research Report Session."
Since the establishment of the Graduate School of International Relations, we have emphasized internship, study and research and starting in 2009, began Field Research as a part of the Graduate School GP Program "to develop ready-to-work human resources in global cooperation." Along with developing the GP program, we established the "Field Research・Study Activity Promotion" to provide positive support for graduate students who conduct their research in the field.  
In the field research report session, four graduate students who conducted field research in Philippines, Ireland, Thailand and Cambodia, reported each of their research characteristics and results, tasks and advice for their junior fellows. In addition to Prof. Masahiko Koyama, Asso. Prof. Masahiko Matsuda, faculty members from the Graduate School of International Relations, Ms. Miwa Okura who is the instructor of the Field Research class, and each presenter's academic advisors, many graduate students and graduate students also exchanged comments and shared their research results. The Graduate School of International Relations will continue to support Field Research Study in the future.   

Field Research Support
https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/eng/education/first/feature.html/

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2012.12.18

[News]
Workshop on Research Database

On Friday, December 7, the Graduate School of International held the "workshop on Research Database" for graduate students. (Instructor: Asso. Prof. Ritsuko Kawamura)
At this workshop, Students learned the usage of the"RUNNERS." RUNNERS Discovery is the library collection of Ritsumeikan University Library and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Library, students can search for e-Journals, e-Book together. Appropriate usage of the academic database/ articles is essential for all researchers, so participants worked hard on the workshop.    

Ritsumeikan University Library
https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/mr/lib/index_e.html

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2012.12.14

〔News〕
International Organization Seminar
~Open to all Ritsumeikan Students~

On Tuesday, December 11, 2012, Graduate School of International Relations invited Tetsuo Konaka, Deputy Director General of Budget and Accounting Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and held a special lecture, “Japan's ODA and JICA - Policy, Operation and Perspective.” Undergraduate and Graduate students, including many international students and faculty members, attended to the seminar.  At the end of the seminar, a Q/A session was held and both undergraduate and graduate students actively participated.

The International Organization Seminar was established for students who aspire to work in international organizations and international cooperation, special lectures are held by guest lecturers who are currently working in international organizations and active in the field. Special seminar is also open to undergraduate students. The English-based “International Organization Seminar” started from this semester.

 International Organization Seminar  https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/eng/education/first/feature.html/

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2012.12.11

〔News〕Project Cycle Management (PCM) training session was held

Graduate School of International Relations held the PCM training session as part of International Organizations Workshop on December 1st.
Project Cycle Management is well known as the management method for professional fields of development and international cooperation, covering problem identification in a community, causes and effects analysis,
building a project design (resource input), and evaluation. This training session was conducted in English with many international students from Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar, China, Laos, Malaysia, and the United States participants. In this diverse environment, students worked collaboratively and developed mother and child health care
improvement plans for the rural areas in developing countries.
Professor KOYAMA commented that the PCM method was a practical common knowledge needed for experts working in international development and cooperation fields, and it could be adopted in a variety of issues to be solved. Foreign students seemed enjoyed practicing this workshop.  

Graduate School of International Relations started the International Organizations Workshop in 2005. Many of the alumni were serving for international cooperation. The English based class has just started from this fall semester, 2012.

International Organization Seminar
https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/eng/education/first/feature.html/

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2012.12.07

〔News〕Japan-Taiwan Graduate Student Academic Exchange Conference
"The Future of East Asia"

  On Friday, November 30, Japan-Taiwan Graduate Students Academic Exchange Conference"The Future of East Asia"was held at Kinugasa Campus.(Sponsor: Graduate School of International Relations, Co-sponsor: Interchange Association Japan) 19 graduate students came from Taiwan and visited the Graduate School of International Relations (Head of delegation: Prof. LEE, TZU-YAO National Taichung Institute of Technology). Also, 6 Taiwanese students and 5
 Ritsumeikan students presented on research progress in English.      
     The symposium included a wide range of topics such as "Security affairs in East Asia" and "Market for elderly
in Japan" reflecting on various issue today in East Asia. Undergraduate and graduate students, including many international students and faculty members attended the symposium. Prof.Tadashi Ikeda, former Japanese
representative to Taiwan, summarized and evaluated the overall symposium, ending it on a high note.  Throughout the unique presentations and active discussions, participants were able to grasp an overview of East Asia today and find a common social background.

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2012.11.09

[News]
GSIR Alumni Ms. Wang YuHui was selected as a 2012 fall United Nations Fellow

Ms. Wang YuHui who completed the Graduate School of International Relations has been selected as a 2012 fall fellow in United Nations Washington Office.

After Ms. Wang YuHui studied abroad to School of International Relations, American University, which is one of our partner universities, as a DMDP (Dual Master's Degree Program) student on 2011/2012, she completed our school on this fall. Please visit http://www.unicwash.org/UnicPage.aspx?pid=122 to view her profile and photo posted on United Nation's website.

DMDP HP -> https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/gr/gsir/eng/gcp-dmdp.html

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2012.09.22

Graduation Ceremony was held.

On Saturday, September 22th, the Ritsumeikan University Undergraduate – Graduate School Fall Graduation Ceremony 2012 was held at Suzaku Campus. 12 students from the College of International Relations and 20 students from the Graduate School of International Relations were awarded Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.

Hery Watono, from Indonesia, gave commencement speech as the graduates’ representative. Graduates will soon start their new careers here and around the world.

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2012.09.21

Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) visits Ritsumeikan University

On Monday, August 27, 2012, associated U.S. graduate students from institutes including Yale University, Tufts University, University of Maryland of APSIA (Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs) visited Ritsumeikan University and interacted with International Relations undergraduate and graduate students.
Associated U.S. graduate students of APSIA visited Japan for a part of the program “Japan Travel Program for U.S. Feature Leaders” sponsored by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.  U.S. graduate students of APSIA interacted with various important dignitaries, visited the area stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake,
and also visited the Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, the only official member of APSIA in Japan, at the end of the Japan travel program.   
The meeting was held by the graduate students of International Relations and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Students visited Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University.  At the museum, students walked around the exhibition about the educational philosophy of Ritsumeikan University, “peace and democracy,”and after that, discussion was held under the several themes like future task of Japan and the United States.
The vigorous discussion included not only Japanese and the U.S. students but also international students from Asia and Africa enrolled in Ritsumeikan University, ending on a high note.
After the discussion, students visited Tojiin Temple which was founded by the Lord of Takauji Ashikaga. By Ritsumeikan University students conducted a temple tour and introduced the historic gardens to the U.S. students, all the while promoting friendship between the two groups.
Interaction with the U.S. graduate students from APSIA was a meaningful opportunity for Ritsumeikan   undergraduate and graduates students who will lead future Japan-U.S. commerce. Comments from Ritsumeikan participants include, “I spent a stimulating and meaningful time exchanging views on a wide range of issues with U.S. graduate students, who will be future global leaders. And I am sure that the personal connections I established through this event will be of great advantage to my research on U.S. diplomacy” (2nd year, Master’s Program), and this comment: “U.S. students from APSIA were interested in Japanese students’ point of views, so we were able to have a real discussion. It was such a refreshing experience for me to realize viewpoints that I was not conscious of throughout the meeting. Also they are such motivated students toward to the wide range of global issues. It made me think that I need to further develop specialized knowledge and skill”(3rd year, undergraduate students).             

* APSIA(Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs)
APSIA (Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs) is an organization of leading universities and graduate schools in International Relations education and research, its members including institutions such as Harvard University and Yale University. Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of International Relations is the only full member of APSIA among universities and graduate schools in Japan, being globally recognized as Japan’s leader of education and research in the field of International Relations.

* The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP)

  http://www.jpf.go.jp/cgp/e/index.html

The Center for Global Partnership (CGP) was established within the Japan Foundation in April 1991 to promote collaboration between the people of Japan, the United States, and beyond in order to address issues of global concern. CGP, in collaboration with APSIA, created the Japan Travel Program for U.S. Future Leaders with the goal of fostering a new generation of leaders in the United States who are interested in achieving a greater understanding of Japan since 2009 and its roles in global affairs, and in engaging in dialogue with their overseas counterparts in Japan.

* Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University
  https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/mng/er/wp-museum/english/index.html

* Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University
  https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/eng/

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2012.08.01

〔News〕UN Under-Secretary-General TAKASU Yukio Teaches Graduate Students

From July 24 to 28, visiting professor TAKASU Yukio taught a seminar for students in the Graduate School of International Relations (GSIR). 1st year student DERRY Aplianta (Indonesia) comments "the class gave a lot of insight about the United Nations with the lecturer's remarkable expertise in both diplomacy and international organization. I highly recommend the class to graduate students of International Relations." The seminar entitled "International Relations" targeted both international and Japanese students, studies roles of International Organizations, functioning of UN system and global governance. Professor TAKASU serves as Under-Secretary-General, United Nations. He has taught at the Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University from 2011.

Please visit the GSIR website is here
https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/gsir/

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2012.07.05

An Internationally Distinguished Professor Speaks on "The Future of Global Governance"

On Tuesday, June 12, 2012, Visiting Professor Heikki Patomäki had a special seminar titled
"The Future of Global Governance" sponsored by the Graduate School of International Relations. Many faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students attended this seminar and actively participated in a question and answer session.

Visiting Professor Heikki Patomäki,is Professor of World Politics at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Previously he has also worked as a Professor of World Politics and Economy at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, and RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Professor Patomäki’s research interests include philosophy and methodology of social sciences, peace research, futures studies, economic theory, global political economy, and global political theory. His most recent books are The Anatomy of the Euro Crisis. What Will Come After Globalisation? (Into, 2012, in Finnish; Zed Books edition in English forthcoming in December 2012); and The Political Economy of Global Security. War, Future Crises and Changes in Global Governance (Routledge, 2008). He is currently working on two new books, Unprincipled Economics (with Jamie Morgan) and Global Futures. Professor Patomäki is a founding member of NIGD (Network Institute for Global Democratisation) and has also been an activist in the international ATTAC movement from its inception, currently chairing ATTAC Finland. In the 2011 Finnish Parliamentary elections, Patomäki stood as a candidate for the Left Alliance.

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