Objectives

UCL-Kyoto Grand Challenges Symposium, 7-9 December 2015

 Demographic Change and Longevity

Introduction and Purpose

Introduction

Meetings between the President of Kyoto University, Juichi Yamagiwa, and former UCL Vice-Provost (Heath), Sir John Tooke, in October 2014, and with UCL Provost, Michael Arthur in February 2015, resulted in an agreement  to facilitate collaboration between researchers at UCL and Kyoto University (also with Osaka and Tohoku Universities and the Tokyo Institute of Technology). On the basis of the agreement, Dame Nicola Brewer, UCL Vice-Provost (International) asked the UCL Grand Challenges programme to link up with Kyoto University, in order to plan and deliver a Grand Challenges Symposium focused on a specific Grand Challenges-appropriate research theme (rather than a series of bilateral collaborations), in line with UCL’s strategic objectives of creating a collaborative network across a number of Japanese universities, and for UCL to act as linchpin for wider UK engagement with Japanese university researchers.

Dr Ian Scott (Principal Facilitator, Grand Challenges) and Professor Nick Tyler (Chair of the steering committee for the Grand Challenge of Human Wellbeing, GCHW) subsequently proposed and agreed with staff of Kyoto University and collaborating institutions the development of a Grand Challenges Symposium (GCS) at Kyoto University on Demographic Change and Longevity, as a specific research-focused topic of significant relevance to society in Japan and the UK.

Purpose

The objective of the UCL-Kyoto University GCS is to identify novel research questions posed by the challenge of ageing societies. By combining the expertise of UCL and Japanese researchers from different scholarly fields the GCS presents a unique opportunity to discuss and agree priorities for joint research. Participating researchers have been invited in their interventions to propose possible topics for inclusion in a future research programme that bears upon major concerns relating to ageing and its impact on society. The main task for GCS participants will therefore be to define research questions for collaborative projects between UK and Japanese researchers which could be developed as funding proposals to agencies in the UK and Japan. The questions identified should hold strong potential to generate robust data and conclusions that will help policy makers reach well-informed decisions on the actions needed to sustain the health and wellbeing of people as they age, and to strengthen intergenerational equity.

The UCL-Kyoto University GCS is the first major Grand Challenges symposium to be held outside the UK. It is a distinct honour for UCL that it is taking place in Japan, jointly with the University of Kyoto. We hope that the outcome of the GCS will be of great value and merit to all concerned – to individual researchers, their universities, and to society in the UK and Japan and across the wider world.

Footnote

When UCL launched the Grand Challenges programme in 2008 it set down a marker for a new collegiate spirit within the university, emboldening scholars and researchers to raise their game in the face of major societal challenges. ‘Grand Challenges’ has become a programme recognised within and beyond UCL as a metaphor for a new academic freedom – positively encouraging experts in different fields to interact outside their domains of disciplinary excellence and peer-recognition, creating a new scholarly confidence and authority to find common cause through research, combined with the empowerment and language to engage productively with policy makers and politicians.

Ian Scott (Principal Facilitator, UCL Grand Challenges)

Nick Tyler CBE FREng (Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering; Chair, GCHW Executive Group)

Click here for the brochure.

The Grand Challenges Symposium 2015: Demographic Change and Longevity was held at Kyoto University on December 8–9, 2015. The symposium, which drew over eighty participants, was held in collaboration between Kyoto University, University College London (UCL), Osaka University, Tohoku University, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

The first day of the symposium opened with an address by Dr. Juichi Yamagiwa, president of Kyoto University, which was followed by an explanation of the symposium’s objectives by Prof. Nick Tyler, chair of the steering committee for UCL’s Grand Challenge initiative on the topic of “Human Wellbeing.” A keynote lecture titled “The Social and Economic Risks of Longevity, Labor Force Participation, and Lower Fertility” was delivered by Prof. Shuzo Nishimura, director general of the Institute for Health Economics and Policy and professor emeritus of Kyoto University. In his lecture, Prof. Nishimura described the complex challenges currently faced by Japan’s aging society.

After the keynote lecture, a series of plenary sessions were held under the three themes of “Employment and Economy in an Ageing Society: Older Adults as a Societal Resource,” “Health & Wellbeing of Older Adults,” and “Youth and Intergenerational Equity in Ageing Societies: The Future for Ageing Society.” The sessions featured research presentations by representatives from the participating universities followed by lively discussions.

The second day of the symposium included discussion sessions that built on the conclusions of the previous day to explore possibilities for international research collaboration among the five participating universities, and an agenda to establish a research network was developed. At the end of the sessions, Prof. Ian Scott, principal facilitator of the UCL Grand Challenges initiative, summarized the results of the two-day symposium, and plans were made to hold a follow-up meeting. The event was then brought to a close with an address by Prof. Kayo Inaba, Kyoto University’s executive vice-president for gender equality, international affairs, and public relations.