The University of Stirling and Nagasaki University are exploring closer collaboration on fisheries research following a visit by a Japanese delegation to Stirling’s National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub.
Senior representatives from Nagasaki University visited the Scottish campus this week, where the institutions discussed opportunities for cooperation in fisheries science and student exchanges under a memorandum of understanding signed last year.
The delegation also toured Stirling’s £21 million National Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Hub, which was funded through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal and supports aquaculture research and innovation.
Takeshi Nagayasu, president of Nagasaki University, said the discussions had revealed “real potential for collaboration in fisheries science, exchange between our students, and other fields”, building on an academic partnership between the two institutions that dates back more than a decade.
Professor Neville Wylie, senior deputy principal (internationalisation) at the University of Stirling, said the visit had provided an opportunity “to explore opportunities to enhance our partnership” and strengthen the universities’ growing relationship.
The visit also included the planting of 30 Japanese cherry trees, or Sakura, on the Stirling campus as part of the UK-wide Sakura Cherry Tree Project, which has donated more than 8,000 trees across the country.