2021.Nov.12

REPORTS

Report on the 2021 Academic Exchange Session of the China-Japan Young Elite Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University: “Proposal to Utilize Digital Transformation to Promote Gender Equality”

From August 23 (Mon.) to 29 (Sun.), 2021, the 2nd China-Japan Youth Elite Program was held by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Tokyo. 40 students who were selected through an application process participated in the program. Atsuko Sano, a project researcher of the B’AI Global Forum, was in charge of one of the academic exchange sessions in the program and gave lectures on the theme of “Proposal to utilize digital transformation to promote Gender Equality” and facilitated discussions among the students.

 

This program is positioned as one of the global competence certification systems for undergraduate students (Go Global Gateway） at the University of Tokyo. It aims to encourage students to improve their Chinese language skills, deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and society, and at the same time, acquire communication skills, the ability to think flexibly and accept diversity, and a sense of global perspective, so that they will be able to think about what they can do to contribute to the further improvement of China-Japan relations and the building of a future society.

 

All lectures were held online, and the morning session consisted of Chinese language classes suited to each student’s level, while the afternoon session consisted of various exchange events. Dr. Sano was in charge of the afternoon academic exchange session with the theme of “Digital Transformation (DX) for Gender Equality in Society,” where she gave lectures and led discussions with four students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and four students from the University of Tokyo. Following the lecture, the students drafted a proposal to apply digital technology to the realization of gender equality, and after brushing up their proposal through discussions, they made a final presentation on the last day for the whole group.

 

In the first three days of the lecture, the students learned about the global trend of gender equality, such as SDGs, and how ICT is expected to solve these issues, as well as the negative effects that the implementation of AI and machine learning may bring to society, such as the possibility of reinforcing gender bias such as the digital skills gap. Then, referring to the measures taken in Japan and China and the suggestions from female researchers in the digital field, each participant worked out a proposal to make use of digitalization for gender equality while being careful to avoid risks. In the later part of the session, the participants were divided into small groups to exchange opinions and brush up their respective proposals for the final presentation. The student who was chosen as the best presenter by the group’s pre-presentation vote gave a five-minute presentation on a proposal to use a Chinese e-commerce site for empowering rural women, while the other students summarized their proposals into a one-page PowerPoint and a presentation of one to one and a half minutes.

 

The students deepened their relationships through discussions on the importance of promoting gender equality in the world of today and shared common tasks for both countries, and ended the program with a promise to see each other face-to-face after the pandemic is over.