President Hirofumi Makino and Professor Masaharu Seno, Dean of the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems were invited to attend the events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Wayne State University(WSU) in Detroit, Michigan. Under a partnership agreement, Okayama University and WSU have collaborated in a variety of ways.

The anniversary events were held for three days from October 24 to 26. On the first day, a welcome reception was hosted by Dr. Ahmad Ezzeddine, Associate Vice President for Educational Outreach and International Programs and Senior Associate to the President for Special Initiatives at WSU and Mrs. Ezzeddine. At the reception, participants including the president and vice president from Riga Technical University (Latvia), WSU’s other partner institution, shared information about their education, research, and social contribution activities. This reception helped strengthen networks among partner institutions.

On the final day, through the good offices of WSU’s President Roy Masao Wilson, President Makino and Prof. Seno held a meeting with Dr. Ezzeddine in the morning. During the meeting, they discussed how to strengthen mutual relations to further develop the two universities and agreed to promote mutual cooperation in a wide variety of areas.

President Makino also had an opportunity to discuss things with President Wilson. The discussions with President Wilson and other responsible officials at WSU helped deepen the friendship between the two universities and identify the current situation and future prospects of WSU. Okayama University will further enhance mutual relations with WSU and make its education, research, and social contribution activities more global.