A public event celebrating the 10th anniversary of e-ASIA Joint Research Program (JRP) was held in a hybrid format on 11 July 2022 at Mercure Bangkok Sukhumvit 24. The event - which was co-hosted by NSTDA, Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) – aimed to showcase research achievements made by e-Asia JRP in the past decade.
Established in 2012, e-ASIA JRP is a multilateral international R&D program among East Asia Summit member countries, aiming to energize collaborative science & technology activities and jointly tackle common challenges in this region. Currently, the program is joined by public funding institutions from 18 countries (10 ASEAN member countries, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, China, India, Korea, Russia and the U.S.).
The event was kicked off with opening and welcome remarks provided by Japanese Embassy representative Mr. Keisuke Hosono, NSTDA Executive Vice President Prof. Prasit Palittapongarnpim, and e-ASIA JRP Secretary General Ms. Emi Kaneko. The program featured an overview of e-Asia JRP achievements and the showcase of research projects in seven fields of cooperation, namely agriculture, disaster, health, alternative energy, environment, advanced interdisciplinary research and materials. Speakers in the showcase session included 1) Dr. Anh Nguyen from Institute of Agricultural Genetics (AGI), Vietnam; 2) Dr. Arturo Daag from DOST Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS), the Philippines; 3) Dr. Virak Khieu from National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, Ministry of Health, Cambodia; 4) Dr. Bounphanmy Somchanh from National University of Laos, Lao P.D.R.; 5) Dr. Yuming Guo from Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Australia; 6) Dr. Taikan Oki from The University of Tokyo, Japan; and 7) Dr. Tararaj Dharakul from Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand. Audience was made up of 60 on-site participants and 45 online participants.
A meeting among e-Asia JRP member organizations took place on 12 July 2022 with an objective to discuss the way to improve the program by way of expanding its international collaboration and re-evaluating fields of research cooperation.