Events
Young Academies of Lithuania and Japan Start Collaboration
24 03 2020
Dr Mangirdas Malinauskas, a recipient of the Lithuanian Science Prize 2019, a senior research fellow at the Laser Research Centre of the Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, and Specially Appointed Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), undertook a research visit to Tokyo Tech from 14 February to 13 March. On 6 March, he visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to attend the first meeting of the Young Academy of Japan (YAJ) and the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. The meeting, which opened with a presentation of the Lithuanian and Japanese young academies, was attended by Assoc. Prof. Akihiro Kishimura, Chair of the YAJ and a member of the Global Young Academy (GYA), Professor Yoko Shimpuku, Vice-Chair of the YAJ and a member of the Executive Committee of the GYA, and Assoc. Prof. Kazuyoshi Nishijima, a member of the YAJ.
The presentation was followed by a discussion about the similarities and differences between Lithuanian and Japanese young academies. The representatives of both young academies discussed specific nature of the administrative structure and member selection processes, internationalism, main activities and available measures, restrictions and problems. They also addressed the participation of industry representatives in young academies and the strategies of the distribution of the members of young academies by fields of research. Enhancing the prestige of young researchers and members of young academies and the impact of the status of the young academy member on the further research and academic career were also discussed at the meeting. At this meeting, Assoc. Prof. Kishimura, chair of the YAJ and a member of the GYA, invited the members of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences to take part in the competition for membership in the GYA.
This meeting is an exceptional event pointing to the international recognition of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. It is also a much appreciated and important beginning in the collaboration of the young academies of Japan and Lithuania.
As for Dr Mangirdas Malinauskas, on 13 March he safely returned to Lithuania and spent 14 days in self-isolation.
Prepared by Mindaugas Gedvilas, chair of the Young Academy, Diana Marčiulynienė, research secretary of the Young Academy, and Mangirdas Malinauskas, a member of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.
Left to right, Yoko Shimpuku, Mangirdas Malinauskas, Akihiro Kishimura, and Kazuyoshi Nishijima
