Report
One of the main pillars of the Kobe University UNESCO Chair is the Education Program for undergraduate and graduate students. This year, the event was held online from 6-7 December, with 17 students from Kobe University (KU, Japan), 10 from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM, Indonesia), 5 from Universiti Tunku Abdul Raman (UTAR, Malaysia), 9 from National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST, Taiwan), 14 from Mae Fah Luang University (MFU, Thailand) and 12 from Shifa Tameer-et-Millat University (STMU, Pakistan). In addition, there were 2 facilitators from MFU, and one each from UGM and Kobe University. The number of educators totaled 19 from six universities.
The theme for this year was, “Joining together to reduce disaster risk – how can we promote safety?” In the first half, students from each participating university gave presentations about disaster in their countries. There were many questions and comments from the students and teachers, making for a lively discussion. The afternoon session began with a panel discussion hosted by colleagues from MFU. Using the key words climate change, sustainability and gender, three panelists made presentations and the cat, Popoki served as a discussant to present the non-human perspective. After the panel discussion, the students divided into eight groups, each composed of students from different universities. This year, the group task had three parts: (1) What do safety and well-being mean to you? Share examples or cases of promoting safety from different countries; (2) As a university student, five things you can do that can be done to help promote a safer and more well-being society. Be sure to include aspects of gender, vulnerability and well-being; (3) As the last part of the presentation, show how/where/in what ways you used AI, including confirming if the information it provided was correct. Each group was to make a presentation of up to 15 minutes.
According to feedback from the participants, what left the greatest impression was learning from the university presentations about the ways disasters and disaster response vary according to the country and culture, learning about the importance of paying attention to gender, vulnerability and well-being, and the difficulty of communication in a small group with such diverse participants. Several Kobe University participants commented that although they were not confident about their English ability, they were glad to have participated and tried their best to communicate. In addition, some students who specialize in disaster studies reflected that the diversity of academic fields allowed them to encounter new ideas and perspectives which was very meaningful. In response to the post-program questionnaire, most of the participants regardless of their country said that they would try to become disaster risk reduction leaders in their communities.
This year’s Education Program was the final Education Program for Term 2 of the Kobe University UNESCO Chair, and as is clear from the above, it was a fitting ending. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the participants and to those who have supported this program over the years.
For a full report, please click here [PDF].
Schedule
December 6 - 7, 2025
Lecturers
- Dr. Ronni Alexander（Chair Holder, Kobe University）
- Dr. Sayaka Kotera（Kobe University）
- Dr. Ai Shoraku（Kobe University）
- Dr. Huang Yuk Feng（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Dr. Lim Ming Han（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Dr. Lee Yee Ling（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Dr. Chin Ren Jie（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Dr. Tan Kok Weng（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Dr. Melyza Perdana（Universitas Gadjah Mada）
- Dr. Yang, Ching-Chiao（National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology）
- Dr. Sun, Jhih-Sian（National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology）
- Dr. Yu, Hui-lung（National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology）
- Ms. Reni Juwitasari（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Dr. Yuki Miyake（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Dr. Wanwalee Inpin（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Dr. Ica Wulansari（Paramadina University）
- Dr. Badur Un Nisa（Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University）
- Dr. Usha Khan（Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University）
- Ms. Momina Abrar（Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University）
Student Participants
Total number of student participants: 67
| ・Kobe University | 17 |
| ・Universiti Tinku Abdul Rahman | 5 |
| ・Universitas Gadjah Mada | 10 |
| ・National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology | 9 |
| ・Mae Fah Luang University | 14 |
| ・Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University (SMTU) | 12 |
About Kobe University UNESCO Chair Education Program 2025
This year’s theme: “Joining together to reduce disaster risk – how can we promote safety?”
Dates for 2025
December 6- 7, 2025
Eligibility
Enrolled students (graduate or undergraduate) at Kobe University
Qualifications
Ability to communicate in English.
Schedule
Conference: 2025.12.6– 7
About Application
Flyer (PDF)
For more details, click here.