International Symposium

enior Vice President of JICA from August 2018. Inside JICA he is in charge of general affairs department, information system (CIO), Media and Public relations, personnel department, Operations strategy department and Development partnership.
Before assuming his current position, he had served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia for 3 years and worked for many ODA infrastructure projects like MRT in Jakarta (first subway system in Indonesia) and Patinbang Port (eastern part of Jakarta) and human capital development programs including grassroots donation for elementary schools and Islamic schools. He participated in many seminars regarding innovation and renewable energy and gave lectures about Japanese culture and diplomacy at many universities and high schools.
Having joined Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987, he has more than 30 years of diplomatic experience, including Director for Financial Affairs Division at Minister’s secretariat (2013-15) and Director for Development Assistance Policy Coordination (2011-2013) and Director for Country Assistance Planning Division I (Asia Pacific Countries, 2007-2009) at the International Cooperation Bureau. He had also served as Director for Mexico, Central American and Caribbean Affairs Division (2009-2011). He has worked for many developing countries thorough ODA programs and cooperation with international organizations. He served in overseas posts at the Japanese Embassies in Mexico, Spain and Indonesia. He is fluent in English and Spanish and has acceptable knowledge of Indonesian. Born in Tokyo.

Dr. Shinobu Yume YAMAGUCHI assumed leadership of UNU-IAS in November 2019. Her fields of specialisation include international development and cooperation, ICT in education, reform and policy of education, science and technology policy, and the application of technology in world heritage site preservation. Prior to this post, Dr. Yamaguchi worked at Tokyo Institute of Technology as an Associate Professor (2002‒2006) and then full Professor (from 2006). In 2005‒2007, she concurrently served as Advisor to the President.
Before joining Tokyo Institute of Technology, Dr. YAMAGUCHI worked for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), first at the Paris headquarters, and then in the Beijing Office. While with UNESCO, she was involved primarily in the development of education systems in China, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Pakistan.
Dr. YAMAGUCHI is an Associate Member of the Science Council of Japan, and an active member of the Comparative and International Education Society, the Japan Society for International Development, Educational Research Association, and the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. She also has served on numerous committees focused on international activities and comparative educational studies, including those organised by the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Dr. YAMAGUCHI holds a PhD in Economics of Education from Columbia University (New York). She has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications and conference/seminar presentations.
More details about the international symposium will be informed later.

ABEST21 International Symposium on “Nurturing Global Management Professionals and Quality Assurance of Management Education” held on July 18 was authorized as one of the commemoration projects by the 60th Anniversary of Japan-Indonesia Diplomatic Relations Steering Committee. The Symposium was held on Salemba Campus of Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta.

The Symposium was opened by ABEST21 President Fumio Itoh with greetings and explanation of the aim of this Symposium. Then from the host school Universitas Indonesia, Professor Ari Kuncoro, Dean of Faculty of Economics and Business, greeted the participants. His speech is summarized as follows: With the mission given by the university to promote globalization, we have been making efforts such as to invite more faculty members from foreign countries and increase the number of foreign partner schools. Although we have achieved certain results within Indonesia, accreditation within the home country is not enough to promote globalization. To receive international accreditation and present our education capability in a visible form by data is part of the responsibilities required from a university by the society.

he following speech was given by the guest of the Symposium, Minister Ryo Nakamura, Embassy of Japan in Indonesia.

Minister Ryo Nakamura

The Embassy of Japan in Indonesia

Greetings by Minister Nakamura for the ABEST21 Symposium on Quality Assurance for Global Human Resource Training and Education, Professor Emeritus Dr. Fumio ITOH, President & CEO ABEST21 International, Dean Ari Kuncoro, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. My name is Ryo Nakamura and I am a Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia. Thank you very much for inviting me today to this symposium hosted by ABEST21. I would like to take this opportunity today to share a few words to open the symposium.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between Japan and Indonesia. At the Embassy, we are delighted that ABEST21 is hosting a symposium on “Quality Assurance for Global Human Resource Training and Education” during this milestone year, and we very much welcome this symposium.

ABEST21 is a third party evaluator that provides quality assurance for university education and research. It was established for the purpose of improving the quality of education and research on management at universities, and is recognized by the Government of Japan as an accreditation body that evaluates and certifies university courses on management and intellectual property.

As globalization has progressed, so has student mobility. In an age when studying overseas has become the norm, quality assurance in the education sector has become an urgent issue worldwide. The accreditation system is vital to ensuring quality education, and this function is crucial also to higher education institutions in Indonesia. I believe that it is deeply significant and timely that this symposium is being held during this time to feature the theme, “Quality Assurance for Global Human Resources.”

The purpose of accreditation is to conduct objective and ongoing evaluations of a university by a third party that is external to the institution in question, to guarantee the quality of education that it offers. Universities are evaluated based on the education they offer and research they conduct, and assessed on their overall organizational management and facilities. The results of the evaluation are then made public. This will allow universities to be judged by the public and make changes to improve their institution based on the evaluation results. While universities must expend much time and energy to undergo evaluation, once their work has been certified, they will be able to strengthen their education and research activities. Needless to say, universities can also use the evaluation results as a strategic tool to actively promote their education and research.

The presence of universities whose quality is guaranteed through accreditation is indispensable to cultivating outstanding talent. I believe that their presence will have a significant impact on the future development of Indonesia and on nurturing talent that can tackle global issues.

Moreover, the impact will most likely spread beyond Indonesia to also promote university exchanges with Japan. Accreditation serves to guarantee the quality of education for institutions such as universities. As such, universities that have obtained evidence to attest their quality will attract students and faculty, as well as the attention of other universities.

This will result in more intense inter-university exchanges including faculty exchange as well as an increase in the number of Indonesian students studying in Japan and Japanese students studying in Indonesia. It will lead to mutual exchanges that are of high quality. I also firmly believe that it will contribute to further promoting friendly relations between Japan and Indonesia.

I believe that this symposium will be highly informative for many universities, and I look forward to seeing Indonesia’s universities gain competitive advantage on the international stage and develop into institutions that can stand shoulder to shoulder with universities across the world.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge and express my deepest thanks to Mr. Itoh, the President of ABEST21, and to all other stakeholders for your incredible work. I would also like to wish all the best to all those present today, and much success to ABEST21. I sincerely look forward to seeing the relationship between our two countries – Japan and Indonesia – continue to evolve to find greater depth.

Following the opening greetings and the guest speech, keynote speech was made by President Itoh on the theme of the Symposium, “Nurturing Global Management Professionals and Quality Assurance of Management Education”.
Background and knowledge required for global management professionals were explained, including strength of mind to cope with various problems in the diverse business society. To nurture management professionals who play active roles in the international competition in the age of globalization, quality assurance of education through international accreditation is a must. Accreditation is also indispensable to accelerate substantial international exchange in the future.

Following the keynote speech by President Itoh, the panel discussion focused more deeply on the theme “Nurturing Global Management Professionals and Quality Assurance of Management Education”.

●Dean Dr. Yudi Azis, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Padjadjaran

Detailed explanation on ABEST21 Accreditation System was made, with the introduction of the philosophy of ABEST21: While the process is standardized, the analysis contents can vary depending on the school’s uniqueness, mission, or the problems it faces. ABEST21 conducts kaizen on Accreditation Standards reflecting the need of the times, but analyses are made based on identical standards.

●Dr. Dony Abdul Chalid, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia

Since business schools are closely related to the industries, they have a different social role from the other departments. The needs of the industries vary among countries and areas. A question was raised to look into the difficulty of adapting an identical set of accreditation standards to all schools.

●Dr. Gancar Candra Premananto, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Airlangga

One of the aspects of human resources to be nurtured by the business schools is the capability to produce innovation. It was proposed to consider adding a standard to check if the school has an education programs to improve innovation ability.

●Q&A Sessions:

Questions were raised on details of the accreditation system such as analysis methods for each standard. The panelists responded that not only quantitative but qualitative analysis is required, analysis should be conducted not only on individual but on faculty base, and that diversity should be accepted. The Chair summed up the issues to promote Nurturing Global Management Professionals and Quality Assurance of Management Education before closing the Panel Discussion session.

●Closing Remarks:

Dean Suradso Kaderi Wiryono concluded that the standards are the least criteria to be fulfilled, and quality enhancement of education through accreditation is needed by the society. Also it is necessary to strengthen the network to accelerate the Nurturing Global Management Professionals and Quality Assurance of Management Education.

On Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at Sony University in Shinagawa, Tokyo, the symposium on “Creating the Future through Quality Improvement” was held, chaired by Professor Hirotaka Kawano (Dean, Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University). The theme was how to create an organization which develops and realizes the dreams for the future. This was an opportunity to think about the driving force of such development. At the symposium the keynote speech was given by Prof. Dr. Channarong Pornrungroj (Director of ONESQA, President of AQAN, Thailand) (photo) on the mission of AQAN (ASEAN Quality Assurance Network) and the role of ONESQA (Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment, Thailand).

On March 8, 2014 at the Tokyo Campus of University of Tsukuba, the international symposium 2014 was held focusing on “A Perspective on International Quality Assurance of Management Education in Asia”. Keynote speech was given by Dr. Zaleh Kamarudin (upper right in the picture), Professor and President of International Islamic University Malaysia, on “Enhancing the Quality of Management Education in a Globalized World”. The speech emphasized that nurturing of management professionals at business schools is indispensable for future sustainable growth in the Asian economies. In the panel discussion on “Improving the Quality of Management Education and the Peer Review System” chaired by coordinator Dr. Ruslan Prijadi (Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia), improvement of the Peer Review System was discussed by the following panelists who chaired the Peer Review Teams for schools accredited in 2013: Dr. Khaliq Ahmad (International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia), Dr. Arief Daryanto (Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia), Dr. Gugus Irianto (Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia), Dr. Sang Koo Nam (Gachon University, Korea) and Dr. Hiroshi Takamori (LEC University, Japan). Noteworthy suggestions were provided.

Keynote Address “Developing International Accreditation System and Enhancing the Quality of Higher Education in Asia” was given by Hiroshi Yoshimoto, Director of Higher Education Policy Planning Division, Higher Education Bureau, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. He mentioned that promoting student exchange in Asia is the urgent issue, and that it is necessary for Japanese universities to promote globalization and mutual student exchange through cooperation with universities in Asia, to nurture world-class management professionals in particular. Panel Discussion on “Developing Quality Assurance System of Management Education in Business Schools in Asia” was chaired by Dr. Fumio Itoh (President, ABEST21) with panelists Dr. Adil Basuki Ahza (BAN-PT, Indonesia), Assistant Dean Pichayalak Pichayakul (Chiang Mai University, Thailand), Professor John Benson (University of South Australia, Australia), Professor Emeritus Sang-Koo Nam (Korea University) and Professor Ming-Yu Cheng (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia). The discussion focused on the relationship between diversified Asian cultures and global standards to guarantee quality of education. In particular, the issue of balance between local standards based on the education systems in respective countries and global standards was discussed actively. It was mentioned that meeting western de facto standard is not the only means of educational globalization.

On Saturday, March 5, 2011 at International Conference Hall, Aoyama Gakuin University, the International Symposium on “Nurturing Management Professionals and Developing MBA Programs in a Globalizing World” was held with the participation of the business school experts from Japan and abroad. The symposium is a part of the Collaboration Program “Sharing Quality of Management Education and Development of Peer Review System”, under the “Programs for the Support of Strategic University Collaboration towards University Education Enhancement 2009” by MEXT.

On Saturday, March 6, 2010, international symposium on “Perspectives on Management Education in a Globalizing World” was held at Aoyama Gakuin University. Keynote speeches were given by Akio Fujiwara, Director, University Promotion Division, Higher Education Bureau, MEXT on “Management human resources development measures in Japanese higher education”, and by Kazutaka Yoshimura, General Manager of Toyota Institute, Toyota Motor Corporation on “Management human resources development at Toyota”. And, special speech was given by Ikujiro Nonaka, Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University, on Cultivating Leaders with Practical Wisdom.”