On June 17, 2010, the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (NIAD-UE) organized an open seminar at the Gakushikaikan titled, 'Aiming to Promote High-quality International Collaboration: the Japan-Europe Quality Assurance Seminar - Progress of the Bologna Process and Initiatives in the Netherlands and its Environs'. The seminar had the support of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The seminar began with opening remarks by Dr. Shin-ichi Hirano, President of NIAD-UE, followed by remarks from Mr. Gerard Michels, Minister of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Mr. Shinjiro Komatsu, Deputy Director-General of the Higher Education Bureau of MEXT. The keynote speech was delivered by Mr. William Aitchison from the European Commission, titled 'International Quality Assurance - the Erasmus Mundus Experience', in which Mr. Aitchison presented the development of international cooperation focusing on quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area. Following Mr. Aitchison's keynote speech, Dr. Karl Dittrich, Chairman of the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) and Mr. Sander van den Eijnden, Director-General of the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic), gave presentations regarding the activities and issues to be addressed related to internationalization and quality assurance in the Netherlands and Flanders of Belgium. In the second part of the seminar, a panel discussion was held by Mr. William Aitchison, Dr. Karl Dittrich, Mr. Sander van den Eijnden, Mr. Akira Ninomiya (Director of the Hiroshima Study Center of the Open University of Japan), and Dr. Kazuo Okamoto (Vice President of the NIAD-UE), with coordination by Dr. Akihiko Kawaguchi, Specially Appointed Professor of the NIAD-UE.

The seminar was attended by approximately 200 academics, administrators and students from various universities along with other specialists involved in the field of higher education, and there was substantial interest in activities being carried out in both Japan and Europe. The NIAD-UE believes that this occasion allowed participants to enthusiastically engage in discussion on current events, as well as on issues to be addressed, in order to further encourage and ensure international collaboration between Japan and Europe in the future.

Before the seminar, the NIAD-UE signed Memoranda of Understandings at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with NVAO and Nuffic to enhance collaboration with these organizations. This is expected to further strengthen the cooperative relationship with both organizations by carrying out joint projects and exchanging people and information in order to support the internationalization of quality assurance.

Signing Ceremony