Opening of the Research Center for Sustainable Development

****** “Practical Research on Sustainable Development in Central American and Caribbean Countries” ******

Recently, it has become urgently necessary to take actions toward realizing sustainable development, and we must resolve various issues in the field of education, natural resources, energy, environment etc. To address these interdisciplinary issues, we must integrate and coordinate knowledge and expertise across a range of specific disciplines, and it is important to build up a structure that enables the coordinated cooperation of the advanced nations and the developing countries.
The Research Center for Sustainable Development aims to conduct practical interdisciplinary research on various issues and plans to establish a system under which its research outcomes can be put into practice in the Dominican Republic and other Central American and Caribbean countries, through collaboration (including joint research) with these partner nations. By pursuing such research activities, the Center aims to nurture advanced researchers equipped with international perspectives.



＜Research Overview＞

■Development of education and training of “Dominican-style” manufacturing
～Practice of environmentally focused, Japanese-style manufacturing education:
Putting the Japanese-style of environmentally focused manufacturing into practice while taking into account the national characteristics and customs of the partner country. The Center will pursue not only research from the engineering perspective, but also interdisciplinary research from various other fields. The Center works to establish a system to promote local manufacturing education and to develop “Dominican-style” manufacturing.


■Economical development and environmental protection
～Studies on the actual conditions of coastal oil pollution and consideration of pollution control measures:
As in the Dominican Republic oil pollution is becoming obvious, the Center will conduct a series of research to identify the causes of marine pollution and devise measures for rehabilitating polluted oceans.
The Center will seek to create a model system for realizing a sustainable society in a maritime country that can achieve both economical development and environmental protection.


■Utilization of Japan’s experience as an education-orientated country
～Conducting research to improve the system for developing next-generation human resources who will lead in the sustainable development of developing countries:
The Center will strive to establish a model that facilitates improvement of the system for developing next-generation human resources in developing countries, utilizing Japan’s successful experiences as an education-oriented country.
The Dominican Republic has been selected as a fieldwork venue, where the Center will investigate the actual conditions of teacher education, analyze the characteristics and problems of such education, and consider recommendations for improvement.