About WUDSN
Waseda University Doctoral Student Network
The Waseda University Doctoral Student Network (WUDSN) was founded in September 2006, inspired by the vibrant exchanges between PhD candidates at the Association of Pacific Rim Universities' (APRU) Doctoral Student Conference (DSC) in Singapore that year.
Based on the DSC model, the WUDSN seeks to provide opportunities for PhD candidates from Waseda University to present their work alongside other scholars within Waseda University as well as outside Waseda University.
The WUDSN also strives to create a stimulating environment in which participants can engage in horizontal and vertical exchanges with professors, experienced researchers, young scholars, activists, government officials, and business leaders.
From December 2007 the Global Institute for Asian Regional Integration (GIARI), located at the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Waseda University, has agreed to support and work with the WUDSN. Specifically, as part of this collaboration, the WUDSN will focus its lecture series on themes related to Asian integration including but not limited to politics, security, economics, society, and culture.
The Global Institute for Asian Regional Integration(GIARI)
The issue of regional cooperation and integration in Asia is currently being discussed extensively. De facto economic integration is accelerating thanks to trade and direct investment inside the region, accompanied by the increasing exchange of human resources over the last decade. Against this background, the East Asia Study Group (EASG), the East Asia Vision Group (EAVG) and other groups have proposed the forming of a regional community. The first East Asia Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005, made the construction of an East Asia Community even more likely. The Community's launch, however, was stymied by the rivalry between China and Japan for leadership of the community. On the other hand, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is making steady progress as an organization of regional cooperation. ASEAN now intends to establish an ASEAN Community that covers issues of security, economics, and culture by 2015, some years ahead of its original target.
When examining both progress made toward Asian integration and the conflicts impeding that progress, GIARI identified the most serious obstacle to Asian integration as a shortage of talented, expert individuals and immediately started cultivating such talent. Exchanges and cooperation across various fields such as economics, security, culture, environmental protection, and the prevention of infectious diseases are being furthered on a daily basis. These issues are already beyond the control of individual fields, and need to be addressed from the viewpoint and interests of the entire region, rather than the interests of individual countries. GIARI's project has three goals: 1) to establish an institute to cultivate talent; 2) to construct a theory of regional governance encompassing all the aforementioned fields; and 3) to build a network and mechanism to support regional governance and crisis management.
GIARI feels that the leadership and academic activities of the WUDSN epitomize our objectives of creating talented, capable leaders ready to embrace and lead the challenges of Asian integration. As such, we enthusiastically endorse and support their activities.
Dr. Satoshi Amako
Program Leader of the GIARI, Professor at the Graduate School of Asia- Pacific Studies, Waseda University
