The "Gifu Joint Degree Symposium 2020" webinar was held on Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9, 2020. It marked the second joint degree (JD) symposium after the first symposium held in 2019 to commemorate the launching of four new international graduate programs with two overseas universities. The following are the symposium schedule: Day 1 - Main Symposium (in the morning of December 8) hosted by the Tokai National Higher Education and Research System (THERS) Day 1 - Academic Session (in the afternoon of December 8) moderated by Gifu University Organization for Promotion of Glocalization (GU-GLOCAL) Day 2 - Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session (in the afternoon of December 9), also moderated by GU-GLOCAL.

At the Main Symposium held under the main theme,"Joint Degree Programs in the Post-Coronavirus Era" with a subtitle, "Internationalization of Education and Research & Regional Revitalization," Mr. Yoshinori Hakui, Director-General, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, gave a keynote speech regarding international educational exchanges in the post-pandemic world, measures to promote exchanges and examples of individual projects. It was followed by online lectures on the status and prospects of the four joint degree programs (JDP) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG, India), and the National University of Malaysia (UKM, Malaysia)), as well as overview of Nagoya University's JDP.

Later, with Professor Yoshihiko Uematsu (Executive Director of GU-GLOCAL) as a chairperson, discussions continued regarding goals, merits and growth potentials of JDP. When Professor Uematsu proposed an establishment of a consortium among Japanese universities implementing JDP, Mr. Kuniaki Sato from Higher Education Bureau, MEXT expressed his willingness to support this nationwide JDP consortium initiative.

In closing the Main Symposium, President of Gifu University Hisataka Moriwaki (THERS Vice Chancellor) pledged that in close cooperation with the MEXT, the university takes a leading role in establishing JDP consortium to further facilitate robust international exchanges throughout Japan.

In the following Academic Session, Professor Hiroyuki Koyama, GU-GLOCAL Associate Director led the session to discuss "Glocalization for Sustainable Development of Regions." Participants exchanged ideas on regional initiatives, development plans and case studies of eco-friendly, smart technologies initiated by local industries.

At the final "Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session" on December 9, under the subtitle of "Regional Revitalization (with a special focus on the Tokai region (Japan), Northeast India and Malaysia) through International Joint Degree Programs," participants shared information and engaged in discussions on programs/projects conducted within the framework of industry-government-academia-banking institution collaboration while reviewing the previous Academic Session. Representatives from domestic businesses, financial organizations, government and university officials presented their thoughts about regional revitalization, advantages that JDP could bring for the benefit of local communities, etc.

For two days, a total of 325 people attended the symposium (166 for Main Symposium, 81 for Academic Session, and 78 for Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session). Thanks to a kind support and dedication from all people concerned, "Gifu Joint Degree Symposium 2020" shed new light on various aspects of JDP and left another important milestone in the history of JDP.