President Koichi Tadenuma attended the 3rd meeting of the Alliance of Like-Minded Universities at Singapore Management University, December 11–12, 2016
President Koichi Tadenuma and Vice President Satoshi Nakano (in charge of international affairs) of Hitotsubashi University visited Singapore Management University as observer university representatives to attend the 3rd meeting of the Alliance of Like-Minded Universities, held December 11–12, 2016.
The alliance was aimed at strengthening exchange and collaboration among “like-minded” universities having a strong faculty in business management and offering highly competitive MBA courses. Further, all these universities have been highly appreciated for their excellence in a wide range of research and educational areas as social sciences-focused universities. The alliance has been joined by universities having academic and student exchange agreements with Hitotsubashi University, such as Singapore Management University (SMU),Copenhagen Business School (CBS), and the University of St. Gallen.
Hitotsubashi University and Renmin University of China were invited as observer universities for this meeting, which discussed directions for strengthening exchange and collaboration from various perspectives. At the beginning of the meeting, President Tadenuma, as the first attendee, was invited to make a presentation to introduce Hitotsubashi University to the Alliance.
The Alliance decided to add Hitotsubashi University and Renmin University of China as official members and agreed to further strengthen global institutional collaboration under the new name Societal Impact and Global Management Alliance (SIGMA).
The Meeting held lively discussions and exchanges on perspectives and ideas on strengthening collaboration in research and education. One of the advanced research fields that is commonly attracting member institutions is the issue of health economics and management in the aging society. Further, a wide range of topics were also discussed, including pedagogy, sharing and exchanging of educational resources, possibilities of having joint courses, and strengthening the global alumni network of SIGMA universities, thereby confirming a common direction to strengthen full-blown multilateral and international university exchanges and collaboration.
The following are the members of the Alliance of Like-Minded Universities (as of December 11–12, 2016): Singapore Management University*, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)*, Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)*, Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria)*, Paris Dauphine University (France), ESADE Business School (Spain)*, Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil). Observers: Renmin University of China*, Hitotsubashi University. (* signifies Universities with student exchange agreements with Hitotsubashi University)
