The 21st Joint Symposium of Hokkaido University and Seoul National University
On November 8, Acting President Park Chan Wook attended the 21st SNU-Hokkaido University Joint Symposium held in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The theme of this year's symposium was “Challenges for Academic Libraries and Roles of University Museums and Galleries.”
During his congratulatory remarks, President Park addressed the growing importance of institutions such as university libraries, museums, and galleries amidst the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He highlighted the significance of leading universities such as SNU and Hokkaido University joining together to find practical ideas and solutions that address these challenges. “While in the past, the gathering and storing of knowledge was of great importance, now, we need to go many steps further by linking knowledge in all different sectors together and create a new architecture of creative and integrated knowledge.”
This year, the SNU-Hokkaido University Joint Symposium was split into 10 sub-sessions: sociology, mathematical science, earth and environment science, materials science and engineering, education research, environmental and health sciences, medicine, ophthalmology, odontology, and convergence technology.
Director of the SNU Central Library Suh Yi-Jong (Department of Sociology) and Professor Chung Young-Mok (College of Fine Arts) gave keynote speeches for the Library and the SNU Museum of Art, respectively.
Prior to the symposium, President Park met with President Toyoharu Nawa of Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan to discuss future collaboration activities as well as relevant issues such as internationalization. Dean of the Office of International Affairs Koo Min Gyo (Graduate School of Public Administration) and Dean of the Office of Student Affairs Changhoo Chun (Department of Plant Science) also participated in the discussion.
Since 1998, the joint symposium between SNU and Hokkaido University has been held annually in order to foster collaborative efforts between the two schools. President Park stated that the mutual collaboration between SNU and Hokkaido University has and continues to serve as an important opportunity to share valuable expertise and knowledge. He added that, “SNU is committed to creating new knowledge by connecting existing ones across different majors and fields of study. I am looking forward to what is waiting for us next.”
Written by Frances Seowon Jin, SNU English Editor, seowonjin@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr