Invited by the Secretariat of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), President SUN Yuqing led a delegation to attend the Extraordinary International Executive Board (IEB) meeting held in Tokyo on 13-14 February 2023.

IAMU was founded in 1999 with a shared recognition of significance of maritime education and training in the rapid globalization of the international shipping arena. It has a strong influence and leadership in the international maritime academia. In February 2022, SUN Yuqing was elected as the representative of the member universities from the Asia, Pacific and Oceania Region and the IEB member for the year 2023-2025. This meeting was the first plenary meeting for the IEB members of IAMU in 2023-2025. President SUN Yuqing was elected as a member of the Policy and Planning Committee of IAMU, which is responsible for developing and assessing implementation of strategic and action plans, advising the IEB on policy matters, etc.

        During the meeting, President SUN held talks with Dr. Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation and the Honorary Chair of IAMU, and Dr. Takeshi Nakazawa, Executive Director of IAMU.

SUN expressed gratitude for the trust and support of IAMU. He said that, as the representative of the member universities from the Asia, Pacific and Oceania Region, DMU will fulfill the responsibilities to promote the exchange and cooperation among member universities and establish a closely-connected maritime education and research community by organizing annual meetings, academic forums, joint research and other activities.

On 15 February, the delegation paid a visit to Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, a member of IAMU, and held talks with Iseki Toshio, President of the university.

During the talk, SUN introduced the work plan of DMU as the representative of the Asia, Pacific and Oceania Region during the period of serving as the IEB member, and DMU’s achievements in talent training, scientific and technological innovation in recent years. Sun also said he looks forward to closer cooperation with Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology on areas such as student and faculty exchange, joint laboratory.

Iseki Toshio expressed warm welcome to the delegation. He introduced the development of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, especially the latest applications of artificial intelligence in marine science and polar scientific research. He also expressed the support for DMU, and looked forward to expanding bilateral cooperation and further developing bilateral relations.

This visit is of great significance for DMU to play the role as IEB member. DMU will carry out in-depth cooperation with member universities, and make contributions to the prosperity of global maritime education and research.