The meeting brought together more than 150 academics and researchers from Chile and Japan, who shared work in various subjects and fields of knowledge, with the Universidad de Los Lagos hosting this important event.

With the realization of six Workshops that covered a series of topics in research and collaboration, the IV Chile-Japan Academic Forum culminated, an instance that brought together more than 150 academics and researchers from both countries, who were able to deliver advances and acquire new knowledge in various matters of common interest for both nations.

The present Academic Forum was hosted by the Universidad de Los Lagos, in which the Universidad de Chile, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the Universidad de Concepción and the University of Tokyo also participate, a collaborative instance of academic discussion that coincides with 125 years of diplomatic relations between Chile and Japan.

The academic of the Universidad de Chile and Coordinator on behalf of our country of this Forum, Eduardo Vera, highlighted the return to face-to-face this meeting, which had in his opinion an excellent call. “I think the level of the guests and the discussions in the different forums has been extraordinarily good. Topics that both nations have in common, such as astronomy and seismology, as well as topics such as digital transformation in the health sector, natural resources, mining, biodiversity and aquaculture, among others, were worked on.

For his part, the Coordinator of the Forum on the side of Japan, the academic of the University of Tokyo, Mamoru Doi, valued the effort made by his Japanese peers to participate in this Forum “The discussions in the different workshops have been at a high level, even better than in previous years. We believe that Chile and Japan have many things in common, mainly because of their geographical aspects, so there is a lot of interest in continuing the collaboration and being able to expand it.”

For the Vice-Rector for Research and Postgraduate Studies of Ulagos, Óscar Díaz, hosting this Forum is a tremendous challenge, which has been a collaborative and close work with the Directorate of International Relations, Research Directorate and Vice-Rectory for Research and Postgraduate. “After many months of organization, we see that this event has gone well, with a high level and great quality of the presentations and works exhibited, hoping to be able to finalize great collaboration agreements with the University of Tokyo and hopefully with other houses of study in Japan“.

The Doctor in Geography and Director of International Relations of Ulagos, Rodrigo Márquez, highlighted the effort of this house of studies to host this Forum, which meant a great institutional commitment, especially after recently receiving accreditation for five years, so this event marks a trajectory and itinerary in the internationalization plan of the ULagos. “This event marks a milestone not only administratively but also in the academic aspect, enhancing areas of knowledge that have us located in the national and international concert, which reinforces the institutional commitment to the development of science and research at the local and regional level.”

María Elena Boisier, Director of Research of the Vice-Rectory for Research of the Pontificia Universidad Católica, said that research has no borders, so she considers this Forum a great opportunity to work collaboratively with one of the most important houses of study worldwide such as the University of Tokyo. “This gives us the option to exchange doctoral and post-doctoral students, establish joint collaboration and other actions. In addition, this Forum allows researchers from both countries to get to know each other better and thus generate closer links. With this activity, the importance of regional universities is highlighted, and in this sense the ULagos has welcomed us splendidly with its facilities and its academic body“.

The working days concluded with a plenary session that included the closing conference by the Director of the Oceanographic Research Center in the South Eastern Pacific of the Universidad de Concepción, Dr. Camila Fernández, who focused on the challenges of marine sciences in Chile to promote interdisciplinarity and sustainable development based on the blue economy.

“In this talk I wanted to highlight the parallels between marine, earth and space sciences, as a platform where disciplines are combined to solve concrete problems that are destined to lower the carbon footprint of our country. In addition, we were able to show the work we do as a Center, and the challenges of using Artificial Intelligence to analyze data from large sequences that we recover in the ocean,” explained the researcher, who highlighted the level of international collaboration for the formation of human capital, creation of projects and technological advances.

In the final plenary, the main conclusions of each workshop were announced, addressing the following topics in an integrated manner: Astronomy, astronomical instrumentation, microsatelites and espacial images; Seismology, Earth Sciences and Natural Disasters; Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Digital Health; Mining, Strategic Materials and Renewable Energies; Climate, Ecology, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development; and Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities, Asian and Latin American Studies. It is expected that the V version of this binational Forum will be held in 2024, this time in Japan, which will give continuity to the work and research that emerged in this edition.