President Nakano Takes Part in the U7+ Presidential Summit

The sixth U7+ Alliance of World Universities Presidential Summit was held from April 11 to 12, 2024, in which President Satoshi Nakano from Hitotsubashi University participated.

 

The U7+ Presidential Summit is an alliance of the presidents of the world’s leading universities, established on the initiative of Sciences Po in 2019. The purpose of this summit is to form an alliance of universities to address pressing global challenges by engaging in active dialog and communicating their visions and views to the international community. The name “U7+” refers to universities in the G7 countries along with those in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania, and other regions. More than 50 universities are affiliated with U7+. From Japan, Hitotsubashi University, Keio University, Osaka University, and the University of Tokyo have participated since its inception, and Tohoku University and Waseda University are its newest members.

 

The sixth summit was held at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. The theme of the meeting was “Inclusive Education for Inclusive Societies,” and the presidents actively discussed the role of universities across three sessions titled “Global Access to Higher Education,” “Climate Change & Sustainability,” and “Human-Centered AI.” The U7+ Alliance drafted a statement with proposals for concrete actions to promote inclusive education to be presented to the G7 ahead of the June summit in Italy.

 

In 2025, the University of Ottawa, Canada, will host the seventh annual Presidential Summit of the U7+ Alliance.