2025 Activity Report vol.10:The University of Tokyo

Program

Highlights of the Program

The Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology/Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo has been advancing innovative research across a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences by actively incorporating cutting-edge scientific and technological methods. This invitation program was implemented with the aim of providing students from the University of Delhi with opportunities to directly observe and experience such research practices, thereby deepening their understanding of emerging possibilities in the humanities and social sciences, while further promoting academic exchange between India and Japan.

The University of Tokyo and the University of Delhi have maintained a university-wide academic agreement since the 1980s, and over the years have developed exchange activities through faculty-level agreements in diverse fields such as philosophy, religious studies, history, and literature. The present invitation program is positioned as an initiative to further strengthen this longstanding academic partnership.

This program is certified as part of an international humanities project led by the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology at the University of Tokyo, and has received support from the entire graduate school.

At the core of this program was the practice of “Convergence of Knowledge,” which seeks to integrate state-of-the-art technologies into traditional humanistic and social scientific research. Participants were introduced to a range of advanced research, including 3D model analysis in archaeology, the study of ancient sculpture using three-dimensional measurement technologies, practical approaches to Digital Humanities, and the development of AI-based optical character recognition (OCR) for Devanagari script. These initiatives represent innovative endeavors that extend beyond conventional interdisciplinary work between the humanities and the sciences.

By engaging with such diverse and advanced research fields, participating students were able not only to learn about new directions in the humanities and social sciences, but also to recognize the potential for mutual illumination between science and the humanities; an interaction that may lead to the creation of entirely new forms of innovation. As with the programs conducted in 2023 and 2024, this year's program resulted in substantial achievements and further momentum for the promotion of international academic exchange.

Through this program, students from the University of Delhi gained multifaceted insights into the cutting-edge research undertaken at the University of Tokyo in the humanities and social sciences, and deepened their concrete understanding of Japan's graduate education and academic environment. Many participants expressed positive impressions, such as: “My interest in studying in Japan has increased,” “I became strongly interested in the potential of Digital Humanities and AI-based textual research,” and “The experiences shared by Indian researchers and students at the University of Tokyo were valuable for considering my future academic path.”

The longstanding academic exchange between the University of Tokyo and the University of Delhi is expected to continue serving as a foundation for sustaining and expanding human networks between Japan and India. It is anticipated that this program will lead to further developments in academic collaboration, including future graduate studies in Japan, long-term exchange, and joint research initiatives.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those involved in the Sakura Science Program for their generous support in making this invitation program possible. We are committed to applying the insights and experiences gained through this program to future academic endeavors and contributing to the further development of educational and research exchanges between Japan and India.