Kyutech and JAXA jointly participated in a TICAD7 (the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development) Official Side Event in Yokohama from 27th - 30th August. The JAXA and Kyutech booth displayed how Kyutech's BIRDS Project and Space Engineering International Course (SEIC) have been contributing to human development for African nations. The booth attracted several government officials from Zimbabwe, Egypt, Tanzania, Sudan, Senegal, and Uganda. Kyutech was therefore able to have high-level meetings with: (1) the Honorable Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development (MHTESTD) of Zimbabwe, and (2) the Honorable Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MoSTI) of Uganda.
TICAD-7 had TICAD’s first forum dedicated to space affairs. Called “Africa Space Forum”, it was chaired by Kyutech’s Prof. Mengu Cho. The lead organizer of the space forum was the Cabinet Office of Japan. The aim of the forum was to discuss peaceful applications of space and to discuss how to move forward with space development in Africa. This TICAD-7 “Official Side Event” ended with great success for Kyutech to promote its nano-satellite development project (BIRDS) and its space engineering capacity building program (SEIC).