Sylff News

Sakurai, standing third from left, and members of Sylff Association secretariat.

The Sylff Association secretariat was delighted to receive a visit on October 2, 2018, from Mihoko Sakurai, a 2013 Sylff fellowship recipient at Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus, where she received a PhD from the Graduate School of Media and Governance.

Sakurai had just returned from Norway, where she worked as an associate professor at the University of Agder. She was appointed senior research fellow and associate professor at the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM) of the International University of Japan in September 2018.

She is dedicated to helping build a more sustainable society through her research on resilient information systems. In the wake of the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, she examined, while still a graduate student, how local governments could build disaster-resilient communication systems. She has continued to work in this field and is now addressing issues related to the building of resilient smart cities.

While receiving a Sylff fellowship at Keio University, she applied for and received an SRA award to study abroad at the University of Georgia in the United States. This experience strengthened her desire to pursue a research career from an international perspective. After earning her doctorate, she took a position as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University Agder, participating in the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

Sakurai expressed gratitude for Sylff’s support in enabling her to broaden her professional horizons. The Sylff Association secretariat, too, is happy to hear from her and wishes her much success in her professional pursuits.

Read about Mihoko Sakurai on the Sylff Fellows profile page and the GLOCOM website.