IReNe Project

Outline

In conducting educational cooperation including capacity building and technology transfer in developing coutries, it is important to understand what kinds of intellectual resources exist in Japan and what kinds of intellectual needs exist in the countries. If we develop appropriate training programs based on information of such intellectual resources and needs, it would be more effective than previous ones. To ensure the sustainable development all over the world, the Investigative Committee on Intellectual Resources and Needs Related to Water/Environmental Issues (IReNe-WE committee), Terrestrial Environment Research Center (TERC), University of Tsukuba, is carrying out the following projects supported by MEXT Japan (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan; "Monbukagakusho" in Japanese).

IReNe Mapping Project FY2006

As a preliminary research, IReNe-WE committee have conducted questionnaire surveys of intellectual resources on 38 selected organizations in Japan, and intellectual needs on China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Thailand, and Tunisia (approx. 30-50 organizations per country). Responses to the questionnaire are recorded and open to the public via WWW as IReNe-WE Database Ver. 0. Intellectual resources and needs data are used to construct a cognitive space of keywords that are assosiated with the data, and are projected on the space.

Expansion of IReNe Database FY2007

Questionnaire survey was conducted on all of universities and colleges in Japan not only in the field of Water and Environment but also in the fields of agriculture-forestry-fisheries, education, etc. In addition, the IReNe database was expanded to include data analysis modules, such as mapping. matching, etc.

Optimizing Educational Cooperation Model FY2007

Using IReNe database, an improved educational cooperation model on water resources, environment and disaster was proposed and optimized for China. The model entitled "On-the-Job Training Program for Water Resources Problem in China" was put into practice and its effects were validated.

IReNe-WE committee

University of Tsukuba

Tadashi Tanaka (*Leader)

Fujio Kimura

Maki Tsujimura

Tsutomu Yamanaka (#Manager)

National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention

Masayuki Maki

(Hiroshi Ohkura)

National Institute for Environmental Studies

Hideyuki Shimizu

Public Works Research Institute

Junichi Yoshitani

Kumamoto University

Jun Shimada

Hiroshima University

Ichirow Kaihotsu

Chiba University

Akihiko Kondoh