Post Conference Summary: EHE and University of Tsukuba Virtual Conference on Diversity and Inclusion

photo of O - H - I - O with Tsukuba leaders and EHE's Dean Don Pope-Davis, PhD

On February 11th, 2021, The College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE) and the University of Tsukuba (UT) in Japan presented a joint virtual conference, “Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives on Diversity and Inclusion: Effective Approaches in Education.” Thirty-three faculty members in the fields of sports sciences, sociology, psychology, education, and special education presented to approximately 100 attendees during the 3-hour event. The conference opened with remarks from EHE Dean Don Pope Davis, and UT Deans Sonoko Ogawa and Takeshi Nishiyasu. During the conference sessions, faculty discussed their research with a focus on potential collaborative research opportunities for scholars and students at EHE and UT.

Although the conference was originally intended to take place at the University of Tsukuba, the pandemic required a shift to the virtual format, which was successful and well received by all involved. Survey results indicate that attendees found the conference engaging, gained new knowledge related to their field of study, and learned more about the research at both EHE and UT. Additionally, results show that we have a great opportunity to increase collaboration among our faculty members, and that attendees are more confident in doing so as a result of participating in the conference.

Survey Results

98% of participants would recommend this event to a colleague.

76% of participants feel more confident in collaborating with other scholars after this event.

98% of participants feel that their knowledge of each university’s work was increased by this event.

89% of participants thought the platform and technology were easy to navigate.

91% of participants thought their knowledge of current trends and strategies in the field were better.

98% of participants thought the event was engaging and held their interest.

Comments from the participants

What did you like most about this event?

“Very positive attitude to make a difference in society and at the school.”
“I really enjoyed the exchange of opinions on the Tokyo Olympics between UT and OSU.”
“How much they value the importance of collaborating with the other institution in pursuit of providing a high quality education.”
“Being able to connect with scholars overseas and opening up the possibility of collaborations.”
“As an observer, I got to have a glance at what researchers in my graduated university/ visited university have been working on.”