In September, 2014, the 5th International Academic Consortium for Sustainable Cities (IACSC) International Symposium/General Assembly was held at Vietnam National University. The three units, Environment, Urban Planning, and Public Health brought up lively discussions on how sustainable cities should be from perspectives of each field. The 6th IACSC International Symposium/General Assembly will be hosted by Yokohama City University, and IACSC continues to expand and enrich its activities.
The International Academic Consortium for Sustainable Cities (IACSC) is a network among universities mainly in Asia, making collaborative efforts with cities and international organizations in solving urban issues.
37 students who are in the Environment and Urban Planning Units at YCU participated in the International Symposium. Activities such as international student workshops and fieldworks let them interact with students from Vietnam National University, which boost the exchange with universities abroad, mainly in Asia.
As a main activity, students in Urban Planning unit conducted a student workshop to come up with 100 ideas to make Ho-chi-Min city more attractive, and students in Environment unit held the one regarding visits to the environment related institutes and environmental policies in each country. Oversea research training group, who participated for the first time this year, visited Cho Ray Hospital. At the International Symposium, students presented these activities in poster presentation sessions. They explained their activities in English to the visitors, which was a good educational and practical opportunity.
