Celebrating GSGES’ 20th Anniversary

The Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) was founded in April 2002 and celebrated its 20th anniversary in April 2022. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has made every effort from the preparatory stage to the present day.

GSGES is a new graduate school that befits the beginning of the 21st century, which is called the “Century of the Environment”. This graduate school was established by five graduate schools (Graduate School of Economics, Graduate School of Engineering, Graduate School of Agriculture, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, and the Institute for Research in Humanities), pooling their human resources and establishing relationships. Under the unique system of Kyoto University, GSGES has expanded its activities with the support and combined dedication of many people. Over the past 20 years, more than 200 faculty members have been involved in research at the Hall of Global Environmental Research with the rotating laboratory system. It is my greatest pleasure to be able to work together with faculty members from such diverse faculties and schools and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our founding. I hope that more researchers will be involved in global environmental studies with the rotating laboratory system at the Hall of Global Environmental Research and that this circle of collaboration will continue to expand.

Over the past 20 years, GSGES has taken on new challenges in terms of research, education, and outreach activities and has continued to expand the scope of its activities. Especially in the past 10 years, we have engaged in efforts to solve environmental problems not only in Japan but also in Asia, with a focus on the “Environmental Innovator Program (EIP) -Cultivating Environmental Leaders across the ASEAN Region-“. In the Seeds Fund that was implemented as part of this project, since the beginning of the project in 2013, we have provided grants to a total of 137 young researchers with a budget of approximately USD 30,000 annually; we have promoted international joint research between the Hall of Global Environmental Research and young international researchers. In terms of education, we have launched double-degree programs where students can obtain master’s degrees from two universities in three years; as of November 2022, the programs with Mahidol University in Thailand, Tsinghua University in China, and IPB University in Indonesia have had ten, seven, and nine participants, respectively. These activities have come to fruition: from 2019 onward, the Environmental Innovator Program (EIP) -Cultivating Environmental Leaders across the ASEAN Region – has been a part of the school’s regular budget.

Going forward, we would like to devote our best efforts to further strengthen interdisciplinary research that contributes to the solution to global environmental problems by using the rotating laboratory system; expand international collaborations to further the ties of Asian universities to other regions worldwide; and achieve a diverse graduate school where young, women, and foreign researchers can play an active role. As we mark our 20th anniversary, we begin our new journey, and I sincerely ask for your continued guidance and encouragement in our endeavors.