{"id":62813,"date":"2018-12-19T10:04:53","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T01:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/?p=62813"},"modified":"2018-12-19T10:51:53","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T01:51:53","slug":"organic-collaboration-brings-new-research-perspectives-and-new-values-for-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/news\/62813","title":{"rendered":"Organic Collaboration Brings New Research Perspectives and New Values for Universities"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On the same day as the opening ceremony of the University of Birmingham Day at Waseda, Waseda University President Aiji Tanaka held a roundtable talk with Professor Robin Mason, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International) of the University of Birmingham, and Angus Jackson, Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.<\/p>\n

The strategic partnership between the two universities started in 2016, and the collaboration has organically expanded to robotics, linguistics, and sports science. According to President Tanaka, one of the unique things about this collaboration is that \u2018it came about through the bottom-up approach.\u2019 The Shakespeare researchers in the two universities shared similar motivations and interests, which allowed them to develop their relationship since around 2013.<\/p>\n

Professor Robin Mason commented, \u201cThe Shakespeare research is an example of where international collaboration can lead you to new perspectives and ways of seeing things. I think interpreting Shakespeare in England is very different from interpreting it in Japan. The mutual learning that comes from seeing the same text through different sets of eyes and understanding those perspectives is a perfect example of why universities collaborate internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding the collaboration between academics and theatre, Angus Jackson, Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, says that they have a very good relationship with a lot of academics.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year when we performed Shakespeare\u2019s Rome plays, a student put together all of the Julius Caesar scripts of the last decade with annotations. We had that to draw on and that\u2019s a perfect example of a collaboration between RSC and academics.\u201d<\/p>\n

They can also draw on academic expertise when doing plays. He cites examples of academics advising them about Roman history or physicists giving input for a play about an atomic bomb.<\/p>\n

Professor Robin Mason says, \u201cA real strength of the collaboration is its variety and breadth. Our collaboration is growing year on year with an increasing number of researchers and students moving between the two universities. We need to keep this flow going to get more ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aiji Tanaka concluded, \u201cThrough this collaboration, I want to enhance the quality of our research. It\u2019s important for students to be exposed to different cultures. The university of Birmingham can bring new perspectives that will improve our research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the geographical distance between Japan and the UK, these two universities are making great progress in their relationships.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/h4>\n