NOVA University Lisbon took part in Expo 2025 Osaka with a strong focus on international cooperation and the promotion of academic excellence. At the Portuguese Pavilion, the Memorandum of Understanding with Nagasaki University was renewed, reinforcing a partnership centred on the fields of History and Art History, as well as Global Health and Tropical Medicine. “This collaboration is not only about shared knowledge—it is about building bridges between cultures and turning research into real-world impact,” said the Rector of NOVA, João Sàágua, during the ceremony. The partnership involves NOVA’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH) and the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT NOVA), and aims to deepen joint research, academic mobility, and cultural initiatives between Portugal and Japan.
NOVA also formalised a new agreement with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, consolidating an existing relationship through student exchange programmes and Erasmus+ cooperation. The new Memorandum of Understanding expands the scope of collaboration to include cultural and literary studies, with a particular focus on the historical interactions between the two countries. The initiative foresees student and staff mobility, the organisation of joint workshops, and collaborative research projects, further strengthening academic and cultural ties between Portugal and Japan.
At Osaka University, a new agreement was signed, marking the beginning of a more dynamic phase in the partnership between the two institutions. Following mutual institutional visits, NOVA and Osaka University committed to developing projects in the areas of Portuguese cultural studies, life sciences, and data science. NOVA expressed its enthusiasm for working with the university’s new leadership, highlighting the importance of an active, dynamic, and impactful collaboration that promotes academic exchange, joint events, and applied research.
As part of its visit to Asia, NOVA will also take part this Sunday in the inauguration of the Sino-European Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (SEAM), at Nanjing University of Information, Science and Technology, in China. This new research facility results from a partnership between LIBPhys-NOVA and IMIC and aims to drive innovation in artificial intelligence applied to medicine. The SEAM initiative, which also includes a Summer School and an International Symposium, symbolises the spirit of discovery and innovation that unites Portugal and China, drawing inspiration from the great maritime explorations of the 15th century to launch a new era of global scientific collaboration.
More information: NOVA University Lisbon officially launches its participation in Expo 2025 in Osaka