The International Relations Office is excited to announce that the University has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Waseda University.

Based in Tokyo, Waseda University is Japan's leading university for sports-related education and research, in addition to being one of the largest domestic providers of English-language undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs. Established with the intention of fostering good global citizens and promoting independent scientific education and research, in a forthright and forward-looking manner against the challenge of preserving the global environment, Waseda’s institutional aims align closely with Bath’s four strategic pillars of supporting our community, excellence in education, high-impact research and strategic partnerships.

The MoU was signed at a formal ceremony on 11th September at the University of Bath, with senior representatives from both institutions in attendance, including Professor Hirotaka Matsuoka, Dean, and Dr Hiroaki Masaki, Associate Dean, from Waseda's Faculty of Sports Sciences, and Professor Julian Chaudhuri, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Global, and Professor Deborah Wilson, Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, from the University of Bath.

Building upon both prior and current research collaboration between the Graduate School of Sports Science at Waseda and the Department for Health at Bath, this agreement allows for doctorial students at both institutions to undertake a period of exchange for supervision and research purposes. The agreement will also allow teaching staff to be part of the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate courses at both universities.

Earlier this year, Dr Rui Biscaia, senior lecturer in the Department for Health, undertook a month-long visiting scholarship at Waseda University, during which he delivered a course unit to their MSc Sport Management students, worked on an ongoing research project with a Waseda collaborator and mentored PhD students.

Academic and research collaboration between the Waseda’s Faculty of Sports Science and the Department for Health at Bath has focused primarily on both institutions MSc in Sports Management programs. Current activity under this agreement includes the Department of Health hosting a Waseda PhD student at Bath from September to December 2023, during which time they will collaborate with Department for Health academics on their thesis, which centres around 'social anchor effects in mega sport events’.

Potential future collaborations between Bath and Waseda include an ESRC funding application currently being drafted by three researchers from the Department for Health (Dr Andrew Manley, Dr Haydn Morgan and Dr Rui Biscaia), which will include collaborators from universities in both Japan and China. As part of the application, the Department for Health plans to have Waseda University as the Japanese partner institution.

Dr Rui Biscaia, who led the MoU proposal along with Dr Andrew Manley, said:

This partnership provides a number of teaching and research opportunities for staff and students involved in sport-related courses of the University of Bath and Waseda University, and sets the basis for broader collaborations within the wider department and faculty.

The University of Bath is proud to formalise a relationship with Waseda University and looks forward to seeing the successes of this partnership.