On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, a renowned brain scientist, Dr. MOGI Kenichiro and a successful corporate management executive, Mr. SHIONO Makoto were invited to hold discussions with President YOSHIDA Kazuhiro of Gifu University (GU) at the Special Symposium of the International Month 2023. The theme of the symposium was "Where does globalization take us? We need to survive the threat from Chat-GPT. Is it English skills that helps us to adapt to internationalization?"

The symposium was held at the university auditorium and was attended approximately 280 people both from on-and off-campus. The symposium was also livestreamed through GU's "Glocal Lesson"*1 platform. An estimated 100 people viewed the discussions among three speakers in real time for about 90 minutes.

Assistant Professor MATSUI Mayumi (of GU-GLOCAL*2) moderated the discussions, which started with a question from a student, "Is studying abroad an advantage in finding a job?" The discussions continued with many questions from the audience, such as "Why we still need to study English or must study abroad in this day and age when people can use generative AI for English translation?"

Mr. Shiono quoted his own investment experiences and the success of his business in Finland, where English is not an official language. He said, "Closing deals in English is a perquisite in this globalization era." He then explained how English is used as the common language by millions of people around the world.

Dr. Mogi touched on some strong English accents used by many world business leaders, and he reiterated that speaking "flawless, perfect" Englis is not always very important.

When President Yoshida introduced the Joint Degree Programs (JDP)*3 conducted with the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG, India), and the National University of Malaysia (UKM, Malysia), Dr. Mogi said, "Going to foreign countries blessed with rich diversity and study at one of the best universities in the word gives you an enormous advantage in the future."

"As a corporate manager, if I find JDP diploma in a potential hire's entry sheet for job application, I will become excited to see him or her in person. I know that these applicants are quite different from others," said Mr. Shiono.

The three also spoke of generative AI, which is making exponential progress these days. When Mr. Shiono said, "Thinking about AI is thinking about humans," Dr. Mogi stood up and yelled to the audience, "Let's be more aggressive in absorbing knowledge!"
Heated discussions among speakers continued throughout the symposium.

At the end of the symposium, the three speakers gave their thoughts about the skills that are needed to work for the international community in the future. The symposium wrapped up with strong words of encouragement and wishes for the success of GU students.
The Glocal Lesson is providing the video for the International Month 2023: Special Symposium through an on-demand service.

GU is currently carrying out JDP at the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology (master's), the Graduate School of Engineering (PhD), and the United Graduate School of Agricultural Science (PhD).
We look forward to welcoming your application for JDP!

*1 Online study platform offered by GU-GLCOAL(https://www.gu-glocal.com/ )
*2 Gifu University Organization for Promotion of Glocalization
*3 Educational program jointly operated with GU’s overseas partner university with a view to cultivating businesspersons and researchers equipped with global mindsets. A student engages in research activities overseas for a fixed period, and without extending his/her enrollment period at the university, a student can obtain an international joint degree diploma from GU and its overseas partner university.

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  Speakers discussing on stage

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