On March 10, 2025, the kickoff meeting for the “Inter-university Exchange Project – Training program for Next Generation Leaders in AI in Maritime Economic Security and Sustainability (Japan-Europe)” was held at Hiroshima University.

Six faculty members from our partner universities, including the University of Venice (Italy), Leipzig University (Germany), the University of the Basque Country (Spain), and the World Maritime University (Sweden), participated in the meeting.

In the morning session, active discussions were held with the project stakeholders regarding the student exchange program, which will fully begin in the 2025 academic year. Specific topics, including the program’s operational methods and efforts to promote interactive learning, were discussed. This session provided a valuable opportunity for exchanging ideas on how to construct a practical education program.

In the afternoon, all participants visited Hiroshima University’s experimental tank, where they observed the latest research equipment and experiments in the field of marine engineering. Afterward, faculty members and doctoral students from the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering gave research presentations, leading to an active and specialized Q&A session with researchers from the participating universities. This session provided a valuable opportunity to share research challenges and strengths, and explore the potential for new collaborative research.

Although Graz University (Austria) was unable to attend due to unavoidable reasons, meaningful discussions took place throughout the meeting, and the further strengthening of future collaboration was reaffirmed.

This kickoff meeting is expected to deepen the cooperative relationships with the participating universities and foster the further development of student exchange and research activities.