On January 29, Sophia University held a signing ceremony of a Collaborative Agreement (CA) on cooperation with the University of Nairobi at Nairobi, Republic of Kenya.
The two universities met at the Japan-Africa University Exchange Meeting 2023 held as a part of the Sakura Science Exchange Program African Officers Invitation Program, also communicated through the Japan-Africa Academic Network (JAAN) and continued to discuss the possibility of cooperation. These communications led to the current conclusion of the agreement.
At the ceremony, Sophia’s President Yoshiaki Terumichi and Vice Chanceller Professor Stephan Kiama of University of Nairobi signed the agreement in the presence of the Deans of all faculties of the University of Nairobi.
In the discussion after the signing, the Deans expressed their interest in Sophia’s diverse range of research institutes and their expectations for the exchange of researchers and students.
The University of Nairobi, granted charter in 1970, is the oldest university in Kenya. With twelve campuses in distributed around the country, the university is influential both nationally and internationally in a wide range of research fields, has produced many politicians and global leaders, and remains one of the top universities in Kenya. Sophia University looks forward to actively build a cooperative relationship with the University of Nairobi in various fields.
Africa, which is experiencing rapid economic growth, is one of the regions that will have a growing presence in the global community in the future. In light of this, Sophia University has positioned Africa as a strategic target region for the promotion of globalization and has currently concluded agreements with 17 institutions in 14 African countries.
Sophia University holds its annual ‘Africa Weeks’ event to promote understanding of the African region, and has partnership agreements with the African Development Bank and local educational institutions.
Furthermore, Sophia is actively developing educational and research exchanges with the region, including the promotion of African studies initiated by the Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies, and educational activities related to the African region at undergraduate and graduate schools such as the Faculty of Global Studies and the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies.