グローバルコミュニケーション学科ニュース

The Primary Investigator and
Global Communication Professor,
Patrick Shorb

Global Communication Professor, Patrick Shorb, was recently awarded a a multi-year research grant to study education collaborations between Japanese higher education institutions and several higher education systems in Southeast Asia. The research project will be a 4-year initiative awarded by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, itself the research funding arm of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, Sports and Technology (MEXT). The total direct grant amount was set at 3.3 million yen (approximately, $23,500). Shorb will serve as the project's Principal Investigator and will work with three other scholars from universities from around Japan. (For more details see: https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-23K02514/)

Equally important, the project was inspired in part by KUISs larger efforts to engage Asia and build cooperative partnerships with Southeast Asian universities. Shorb contributed to the Asian Cooperative Program, a collaborative initiative which itself developed of a Safety Management program between KUISs and 15 universities from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar. In a world of increasing connectivity and interdependence, KUISs emphasizes such cooperation both within Asia and farther afield. (KUISs Global Network). Additionally, this research project is an outgrowth of Shorb's long-standing interest in the internationalization of higher education and transnational educational collaborations. Previously, Shorb headed quality enhancement programs at international universities in both China and Japan, where he was tasked with engaging and incorporating the best-practices of other university systems.

Shorb, for his part, is eager to share the insights and perspectives gained from this project with his seminar students. As Japan's relationship with Southeast Asian nations becomes increasingly important, he hopes such research will further deepen their appreciation for the importance of mutual understanding, intercultural respect, and international collaboration.