Attending the meeting on behalf of Waseda University were Professor Yanagizawa Akira – Director of the Faculty of Humanities (Waseda University), Professor Kawajiri Akio (specializing in Japanese History), and Professor Tabata (specializing in Archaeology).
In his opening remarks, Professor Yanagizawa Akira expressed his delight that the two universities had officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding on academic exchange, and also expressed his hope that both sides would soon realize specific cooperation contents, aiming towards substantive and long-term joint research activities.
On behalf of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Professor Hoang Anh Tuan, the Rector of the University, expressed his gratitude to Waseda University for welcoming the delegation led by Dr. Pham Hoang Hung (Head of the Department of Oriental Studies) to visit and work at Waseda University in February 2025. This event laid an important foundation for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two sides.
During the meeting, Professor Hoang Anh Tuan proposed inviting a professor from Waseda University to teach at the University in 2026, and also expressed his desire to expand student exchange programs between the two universities. Professor Hoang Anh Tuan affirmed that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is always ready to create opportunities for students to participate in short-term exchange programs, and hoped that Waseda University could consider granting scholarships and recognizing credits for students from both sides. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is also ready to receive students from Waseda University for exchange, contributing to promoting academic exchange and training cooperation between the two universities.
Discussing the direction of research cooperation, Rector Hoang Anh Tuan emphasized the importance of jointly organizing academic activities, seminars, and publications, especially in the fields of history, archaeology, and Japan-Vietnam studies. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is currently one of four institutions in Vietnam licensed to conduct archaeological excavations, with a team of experienced experts. Therefore, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is ready to cooperate with experts from Waseda University to organize large-scale, comprehensive, and long-term excavation and research projects in the future.
On the partner side, Professor Yanagizawa Akira expressed his appreciation for the goodwill and cooperation of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and extended an invitation to experts from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to attend the International Academic Forum organized by the Institute of Arts and Letters – Waseda University in November every year. The Professor expressed his desire to invite three experts from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to the Forum, tentatively scheduled for November 2026.
The online exchange took place in an open, sincere, and highly academic atmosphere, contributing to strengthening the strategic partnership between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Waseda University – one of Japan's leading universities – and opening up many new prospects for cooperation in training and research in social sciences and humanities between the two sides.
The Institute of Humanities at Waseda University, formerly the Faculty of Humanities established in 1890, was formed in 2004 through the restructuring and consolidation of undergraduate, graduate, and research units in the social sciences and humanities at Waseda University. Currently, the Institute of Humanities comprises: the School of Culture, Media and Society; the School of Humanities and Social Sciences; the Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences; and the Research Institute for Letters, Arts and Sciences.
