The 5th Lecture Series on Science and Technology
The “5th Lecture Series on Science and Technology” hosted by the Yamaoka Memorial Foundation was held on March 24 in the Symposium Hall in the International Science Innovation Building of Kyoto University.
In view of the situation of the novel coronavirus, we held this year’s event in a hybrid format, both on-site and online, while taking all possible measures to prevent the spread of the virus. A total of 158 audience members from Japan and abroad participated.
This lecture series is concerned with the current global issues of “global warming” and “food.” This year, German and Japanese researchers held lectures on the topic of "Fermentation and Food Culture," specifically on how food and agriculture can contribute to the formation of a sustainable society.
Based on questions from the audience, an active exchange of opinion took place between the presenters and the audience, making the lecture a very meaningful event.
- Ayaka Ito, Ph. D.
Associate Professor/Lecturer, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine,
Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University
- Prof. Dr. Doris Rauhut
(Senior Researcher and Academic Director)
Hochschule Geisenheim University
Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry
During the general discussion, Prof. Dr. Umeda, professor emeritus of Kyoto University, served as moderator again this year. In addition to the presenters Dr. Ito and Prof. Dr. Rauhut, two other panelists were invited: Mr. Matsumura, a student at the Graduate School of Agriculture at Kyoto University, and Ms. Vien from Vietnam, who is also a student at the Graduate School of Agriculture at Kyoto University. In addition to questions from the panelists to the presenters, they discussed "how to promote fermented foods that are good for one’s health." This led to a lively discussion among people from various backgrounds such as Japan, Germany, and Vietnam.
Moderator : Prof. Dr. Mikio Umeda
Lecturer : Ayaka Ito, Ph. D.
Prof. Dr. Doris Rauhut
Panelist : Fumiki Matsumura
Dinh Thi Thuc Vien
In the audience questionnaire, some participants answered that the event had prompted them to rethink their diet: "Now that I know that fermented foods are good for me, I am going to improve my diet." We also received a lot of encouragement for future lectures, such as “I learned a lot, and I would like to view the next lecture series at the venue.”