Overview

Conducted by GCI since 2016 in collaboration with the City of Yokohama, YUSS is a program that accepts overseas graduate students and young researchers from Academic Consortium member universities and overseas partner universities. The participants, who have specific research themes, learn about the urban policies of Yokohama for approximately 10 weeks.

In addition to lectures by and interviews with Japanese experts in the fields of the participants' research themes, the program offers field trips including a tour of Yokohama City University Hospital, visits to private companies and to Yokohama City's Departments of Waterworks (in the village of Doshi), Transportation, and Resource Recycling.

After studying the cosmopolitan city of Yokohama's experiences and know-how concerning medical systems, urban development, urban planning, and processes for overcoming urban issues, participants are able to make use of the acquired knowledge in research activities back in their home countries.
YUSS aims to enable alumni to reflect the findings of their studies in Yokohama in their dissertations back home, and to make use of those findings in future teaching and research in lecturer or other positions at their home universities. The strong alumni network is a valuable asset to YCU as well, with graduates holding alumni reunions, serving as SUDP lecturers and facilitators overseas, and acting as bridges to their home universities when YCU faculty members visit those countries.
The program was conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, with know-how gained from the experience compiled in reports. Even since the subsiding of the pandemic, the program has made use of the acquired know-how to conduct online lectures and group work before and after face-to-face sessions, operating more effectively in a hybrid format.

As a new initiative and adjunct to individual participant research, in 2023 YUSS launched a program to conduct joint research based on shared themes. YUSS, a program that addresses various issues related to sustainable urban development, has taken and up will continue the theme of carbon neutrality, a key issue in countries worldwide. In 2023, participants shared information on their countries' and universities' carbon neutral initiatives during the online period, and investigated the energy consumption of buildings using data from YCU's Kanazawahakkei Campus during the face-to-face period. In the final debriefing session, faculty members from participants' universities joined in to share findings from analyses and discuss how the findings can be used in their respective countries. GCI plans to continue discussing the shared topic of carbon neutrality not only within the YUSS program but also in other international exchange programs conducted by GCI, and to expand the topic into joint research with IACSC member universities.

Past Record of Acceptance

  • 2023 Hasanuddin University (1), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-HCMC (1), Universiti Sains Malaysia (1)
  • 2022 University of the Philippines, Manila (2), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-HCMC (1), Universiti Sains Malaysia (1)
  • 2021 Hasanuddin University (2), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-HCMC (1), University of the Philippines, Los Baños (1), Yokohama City University International Students (1)
  • 2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19
  • 2019 University of the Philippines, Los Baños (1), Universiti Sains Malaysia (1)
  • 2018 Czech Technical University (1), University of British Columbia (1), University of the Philippines, Los Baños (1), University of the Philippines, Manila (2), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-HCMC (1)
  • 2017 University of the Philippines, Los Baños (2), University of the Philippines, Manila (1), Hasanuddin University (2), University Sains Malaysia (1)
  • 2016 Universiti Sains Malaysia (3), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-HCMC (3)

Research topics of past participants

  • Spatial Distribution, Accessibility and Service Quality of Healthcare Facilities in Ho Chi Minh City
  • A Comparative Analysis on the City-level Greening Programs of Yokohama City and Quezon City
  • Effect of Elderly Fitness Gymnastics(EFG) to Insomnia and Body Fitness in the Elderly during COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Comparative Study on the Spatial Planning Policy in Yokohama City and Makassar City
  • COMPARATIVE STUDY on sewerage services and system betweenPenang (Malaysia) and Yokohama (Japan) in assessing environmental sustainability
  • Impact of the Mandatory Face Shield Use in Addition to Mask during the Pandemic: The Philippine Experience
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB case notifications in Japan
  • Mapping and Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services of Urban Parks: Residents Perception and Park Management in Japan
  • Strategies for Implementing an Efficient Solid Waste Management System in the Penang Island City Council
  • Strategies and experiences of Japanese Healthcare Professionals in Communicating Health
  • Information Related to the Prevention Complication of Diabetes Mellitus: An Interview-Based Review