• upage_Osaka

    Osaka University
    Osaka, Japan

    Osaka University is committed to contributing to global society through the upholding of its motto, “Live Locally, Grow Globally.” It prides itself in successfully conducting research and educating the next generation of scholars in a multitude of disciplines ranging from humanities, social sciences, medicine, dentistry and pharmaceutical science, to life and engineering sciences.

    Osaka University was founded as Japan’s sixth national university in 1931 and has evolved into one of the country’s most prominent institutions. As part of the efforts to strengthen international activities, Osaka University opened four overseas offices. They are the North American Center for Academic Initiatives in San Francisco, USA, in 2004, European Center for Academic Initiatives in Groningen, The Netherlands, in 2005, ASEAN Center for Academic Initiatives in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2006 and East Asian Center for Academic Initiatives in Shanghai, China, in 2010.

    Furthermore, Osaka University’s strong education and research capacities were enhanced by merging with the former Osaka University of Foreign Studies in 2007, creating a synergy to improve international cooperation and research on global issues. We also established a new center for international cooperation named the “Global Collaboration Center” in 2007. It aims to draw strength from networks, both local and international, cooperating with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the National Museum of Ethnology as well as other government and international organizations, agencies, industries. We hope that it provides a new mechanism for inter-university collaboration.

    Website: https://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en

    VSE Season 1, 2021-22: Courses offered by Osaka University


    Application Deadline

    APPLICATION CLOSED
    Students must submit an application to the VSE Central Office before:
    Aug 10 2021, 12:00 noon Hong Kong Time (UTC+8)


    Course Information

    Click on the course titles to reveal full course details:

    Number of Credits2
    Offering DepartmentSchool of Human Sciences
    Course TeacherPaola Cavaliere
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassOct 1, 2021
    Last Day of ClassFeb 4, 2022
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous
    Meeting Time1330-1500
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionThis course explores contemporary Japanese religion and society through the exploration of common themes in worldview of the Japanese people and its changing patterns in contemporary Japan. The course will be divided into thematic modules: the pervasiveness of religion in everyday life; the meaning of ‘religion’ in the Japanese context; the intimate bond between religion and the nation; and the gendered aspects of Japanese religions. We will consider a variety of issues, including how religious ideas may tell us about Japanese families today; what the importance of purification, specific rituals, and amulets reveal about the everyday lived religion; how religions have been adopting new strategies to meet individuals’ needs (marketing strategies and media); and how gender norms are shifting in contemporary Japanese religious institutions as they are in contemporary Japanese society. Students will not only gain broad knowledge of core aspects of Japanese religions and culture but will also be encouraged to think critically and compare these themes with similar situations abroad. Although some background knowledge of Japan is helpful, it is not required.
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsThis is not a course on History of Japanese religions. Therefore, some familiarity with main Japanese religious traditions and related religious doctrines is required.
    Points to Note for StudentsThe course will introduce to main ideas and theories in sociology of religion. Students are expected to engage in careful reading and study about academic study of religion and its research methods.
    Number of Credits2
    Offering DepartmentCenter for the Study of CO*DESIGN
    Course TeacherBARRETT BRENDAN FRANCIS DOMINIC
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassOct 1, 2021
    Last Day of ClassJan 21, 2022
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous
    Meeting TimeFri 1300-1430
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionThis course connects classrooms at university partners across Asia Pacific via videoconference. Students are introduced to the theory and practice of socio-technical and socio-ecological transformations. The focus is on the development of socially, ecologically and economically resilient strategies and solutions designed to respond to the mega-challenges of today including climate change and energy security. Students apply their learning through the examination of national and subnationa decarbonization strategies in the region and explore a range of issues including the impact of sea level rise, the transition to renewable energy and climate change adaptation.
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsN/A
    Points to Note for StudentsThe lectures are delivered live via video conferencing connecting Osaka University students with those at our partner universities. The video conference connection is normally established 15 minutes before each class commences. Due to Covid-19 this course will only be implemented in the online mode.
    Number of Credits1
    Offering DepartmentCenter for Global Initiatives
    Course TeacherYoshinori SUMIMURA
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassTBD
    Last Day of ClassTBD
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous
    Meeting TimeTBD
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionThis course is designed to understand about industry and development in the modernization of Japan. Particular university-industry collaboration of Osaka University and others will be given as examples.
    Course OutlineDownload
    Number of Credits1
    Offering DepartmentCenter for Global Initiatives
    Course TeacherYoshinori SUMIMURA
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassTBD
    Last Day of ClassTBD
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous
    Meeting TimeTBD
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionThis course is designed to gain knowledge about Social development in the modernization of Japan. Some endevors of medicine of Osaka Unviersity and others are given as examples.
    Course OutlineDownload
    Number of Credits0.5
    Offering DepartmentGraduate School of Frontier Biosciences
    Course TeacherAkihiko ISHIJIMA
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassTBA
    Last Day of ClassTBA
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingAsynchronous
    Meeting TimeTBA
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionThe objective of this lecture is to understand life science, the basics and the methodology, quantitatively based on physical methods. The goal of this lecture is to understand biology using mathematics, statistical mechanics, etc. rather than just understanding biology as knowledge. Especially, we will focus on the observing and measuring method by using optical microscope. In the second half of the lecture, lectures will be given on the latest research methods using biophysics, focusing on bacterial flagellar motors and chemotaxis. Since preparation of biological samples for measurement requires knowledge of molecular biology, gene manipulation techniques using molecular biology are explained according to the actual flow of research.
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsN/A
    Points to Note for StudentsN/A
    Number of Credits0.5
    Offering DepartmentGraduate School of Frontier Biosciences
    Course TeacherTetsuro HIROSE
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassOct 25, 2021
    Last Day of ClassNov 8, 2021
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingAsynchronous
    Meeting TimeTBA
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionIn postgenomic era, transcriptomic analyses revealed numerous transcripts with unknown function are produced from mammalian genomes, then they were termed genomic dark matter. This lecture will include multiple topics of lncRNAs including the transcriptomic analyses, the features, function and evolution of lncRNAs. Furthermore, some recent topics such as the epigenetic control and nuclear architecture by lncRNAs, their involvement in various diseases and advanced technologies for lncRNA research will be introduced.
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsN/A
    Points to Note for StudentsN/A
    Number of Credits0.5
    Offering DepartmentGraduate School of Frontier Biosciences
    Course TeacherTamotsu YOSHIMORI
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassOct 25, 2021
    Last Day of ClassNov 1, 2021
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous
    Meeting TimeMon 1330-1640
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionEukaryotic cells are equipped with the intracellular traffic network by which a variety of macromolecules intercommunicate among organelles. The traffic is executed by dynamic membrane movement. so-called membrane traffic. In the course, I provide a general introduction of membrane traffic, and then focus on autophagy, one of the membrane traffic pathways of which mechanisms and roles have been understood recently as an example.
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsN/A
    Points to Note for StudentsThe course will be held over two days (Oct 25 and Nov 1).
    Number of Credits0.5
    Offering DepartmentGraduate School of Frontier Biosciences
    Course TeacherShinichi KIMURA
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassOct 26, 2021
    Last Day of ClassOct 28, 2021
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous
    Meeting TimeTBD
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionPhysics is the most basic explanation of natural sciences including bio- and life-sciences. The aim of this lecture is to understand the relation of the physics including classical and quantum mechanics to biosciences.
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsN/A
    Points to Note for StudentsThe course will be held over two days (Oct 26 and 28).
    Number of Credits1.0
    Offering DepartmentGraduate School of Engineering Science
    Course TeacherHiroshi UMAKOSHI
    Language of InstructionEnglish
    First Day of ClassOct 1, 2021
    Last Day of ClassNov 26, 2021
    Course ComponentLecture
    Mode of TeachingSynchronous/Asynchronous
    Meeting TimeFri 1650-1820
    Time ZoneUTC+9
    Course DescriptionThe basics of chemical engineering are introduced. By employing chemical process as a case study, students will understand a conventional strategy on "Chemical Engineering": (i) Mass Balance (Unit Operations), (ii) Physico-Chemical Approach (Transport Phenomena /  Equilibrium), (iii) Process Design. At the final stage, students will learn (iv) a new strategy utilizing self-organizing system, called as "Bio-Inspired Chemical Engineering".
    Course OutlineDownload
    RestrictionsN/A
    Points to Note for StudentsAll the lectures will be given "on-demand" by using Osaka University CLE. So, students will be able to join to this course at any time during the "Autumn" term (in OU academic calendar). However, students will have to pay their attentions to "Deadline" of "Brief-Report", "Mini-Essay", and "Mini-Examination". All of them would be automatically closed after the deadline.


    The number of credits is shown as provided by the course offering university. The credit structure at the course offering university may be different from the one at your home university. Please contact the VSE Coordinator of your home university for credit transfer information.

    Course enrollment is subject to final approval from your home university and the course offering university.