The FY 2016 MEXT Inter-University Exchange Project: The 7th OQEANOUS Meeting was held

　On November 19, 2018, the 7th OQEANOUS Meeting was held at this university with the participation of Professor Maita, Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, who is the person responsible for implementing the project at this university, as well as Professor Hu, Associate Professor Daisuke Watanabe, and five other university staff; Professor Huh Cheol and two other staff from Korea Maritime and Ocean University; and Professor Zhong Junsheng and three other faculty members from Shanghai Ocean University.

　This meeting was held to discuss the operation of the "Collaborative Education Program in Marine Science and Technology based on the 'Japan-China-Korea Version of Erasmus'" (commonly known as "OQEANOUS"*) adopted as part of the MEXT "Inter-University Exchange Project" by this university, Shanghai Ocean University, and Korea Maritime and Ocean University. Meetings have been held six times during the period between January 2017 and April 2018.

　This meeting was held to share information regarding the monitoring** field survey conducted at Shanghai Ocean University in December of this year, to invite the committee members for external evaluation, which is scheduled during the current academic year, and to announce the schedule of the summer school, which will be held at this university next year. There was a lively discussion on specific initiatives and issues raised by the project, including an exchange of opinions on the scheduling of evaluation and the thesis examination at each university in the context of awarding degrees to students planning to complete the double degree program.

　The 8th OQEANOUS Meeting is scheduled to be held at Shanghai Ocean University in mid-March next year.

* OQEANOUS (Pronounced "Oceanus") ＝ Abbreviation of "Oversea Quality-assured Education in Asian Nations for Ocean University Students." Oceanus is a god of the sea in Greek mythology.

** The "Japan-China-Korea Quality Assurance Council" was established as the quality assurance organization of the three countries in March 2010. It comprises members from Japan (National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation(NIAD-UE) (Currently National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education (NIAD-QE)); China (Higher Education Evaluation Center of the Ministry of Education(HEEC)); and Korea (the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE)). The council conducts monitoring to support the "Campus-Asia" pilot program in terms of quality assurance (https://www.niad.ac.jp/english/campusasia/). The OQEANOUS project will also be monitored at the Shanghai Ocean University, mainly by HEEC.

The 7th OQEANOUS Meeting