Enhancing partnerships involves strengthening relationships and collaboration between individuals, organizations, or entities. Whether in business, academia, or any other field, effective partnerships can lead to mutual benefits and success. It requires ongoing effort, commitment, and a focus on building strong, collaborative relationships. Regular communication, a clear understanding of goals, and a commitment to mutual benefit are keys in achieving success in any partnership. To promote collaborations, the School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Japan and the Department of Urban Bioresources of the Faculty of Urban and Aquatic Bioresources, University of Sri Jayewardenepura entered into a mutual understanding to engage in collaborative research approaches, engage in guest lectures, talks and conferences.
As a result of the visit of Prof. Takashi Ikeda, Professor in the Department of Agriculture, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Japan and the Director of the Advance Plant Factory Production Center of the University from the 21st of March to the 24th of March 2023, the initiations were made to establish a collaboration between the two institutes. Based on his experience gained while working in the Ministry of Agriculture, Japan, he joined Meiji University and currently, he serves as the Associate Dean of the School of Agriculture, at Meiji University. He is an expertise in the areas of production systems, horticulture and instrumentation engineering. This captivating opportunity provided a vast array of partnerships for future collaborations between the two universities.
Therefore, the foundation was created to enter into an agreement between the two universities. Concurrent with the ongoing partnership, a discussion was held between the two universities on 01st December on a virtual platform. With the graceful presence of Senior Prof. M. M. Pathmalal, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Senior Prof. Pradeep Jayaweera, Dean of the Faculty of Urban and Aquatic Bioresources, Dr. Surani Chathurika, Head, Department of Urban Bioresources, Dr. Udari Rathnathunga, Senior Lecturer, Department of Urban Bioresources and the Academic Coordinator of International Affairs at the Faculty of Urban and Aquatic Bioresources, and Dr. Anusha Ekanayake, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Urban and Aquatic Bioresources, Prof. Takemoto Tamotsu, Dean, School of Agriculture and Prof. Takashil Ikeda, Associate Dean, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, this discussion was a huge success.
