KEYS 2025 International Conference: A Franco-Japanese Meeting on Ecological Transitions with the University of Kitakyushu

Launched in 2018, this conference aims to foster dialogue and cooperation among students and researchers from the University of Kitakyushu and Université Paris Cité, around scientific and interdisciplinary issues related to sustainable cities, ecological transition and territorial resilience.

François Bouteau, Professor at the Laboratoire des Energies de Demain and co-head of the Master’s programme Ecological Spaces and Environments Territories (EMTE), affiliated with the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions, looks back on the origins of this initiative.

“I have been collaborating with Japan, particularly with Tomonori Kawano, Professor of Environmental Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Kitakyushu, for over 20 years. He had already visited as a guest professor and suggested bringing Japanese students to Université Paris Cité. We thought it would be a great opportunity to bring our Master’s students together. We formalised this idea as a day of scientific exchanges, designed as a mini international conference. The aim is to enable students to present, in English, the research they are conducting at their respective universities.

Today, we are seeking to expand and further internationalise this project: Professor Tomonori Kawano has organised a first KEYS conference in Vietnam!

This year marks an important milestone: for the first time within the framework of the Graduate School, the conference was opened to students from the Master’s programme in Risk and Crisis Engineering (IRC). As you can see, the event is growing in scale, with more than fifty participants, including twenty students from Japan.”

Studying the ecological transition at the territorial level: an approach at the heart of the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions

The organising committee deliberately chose a broad theme in order to address a wide range of rich and diverse topics, such as:

• «Resilient Campuses Facing Heatwaves: Towards Sustainable and Adaptive Universities» presented by the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions, UPCité
• «Population dynamics of marine photosynthesis organisms», presented by the University of Kitakyushy
• «Adapting the French Railway Network to Extreme Heat: The Bordeaux–Marseille Case» presented by the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions, UPCité
• «Imaging Brand Value of the Local area through Ideas and Activities by Young People» presented by the University of Kitakyushy
• «Social and environmental study of Arcueil, a city south of Paris»presented by the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions, UPCité
• «From Challenges to Hope: The Future of Education in Kenya» presented by the University of Kitakyushy
• «Science popularization with a focus on creating a serious game on environmental issues (sponsored by association STS)» presented by the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions, UPCité
• «Tuning in to the Community: The FM radio Internship Story» presented by the University of Kitakyushy

These presentations highlight the diversity of scientific and methodological approaches developed within the Graduate School’s programmes, bringing together life sciences and social sciences, and closely aligned with contemporary challenges related to sustainability and resilience.

A day to open up to the world and share perspectives

From the Japanese perspective, this international exchange is also seen as a major educational and cultural lever.

Manabe Kazuhiro, Professor in the Department of Regional Development at the University of Kitakyushu, emphasises the importance of this exchange:

“It is important to meet other students in order to exchange views on shared issues such as global warming and the challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our department focuses on regional development, which means that students generally concentrate on a single region. This opportunity is therefore essential for them to broaden their vision and perspective of the world. Japanese students do not generally speak English, so this conference also represents a valuable opportunity for them to practise it.”

An event particularly appreciated by students

“Together with Alice Labaume, we presented our project on how SNCF Réseau and the French railway system adapt to extreme heat, focusing specifically on the Bordeaux–Marseille line. We highlighted the high vulnerability of this route, which is likely to increase with climate change. This resonated strongly with the situation in Japan, as several Japanese students shared the vulnerabilities their railway networks face. This meeting was therefore a fantastic opportunity to expand the scope of our project and to consider another context that shares many similarities with our own. It also allowed us to challenge ourselves by opening our analysis and thinking to an international perspective, and to meet people of rare kindness.”

Yoann Wagner, Master’s student in Risk and Crisis Engineering (IRC)

“Together with my classmates, I presented our study on the socio-environmental diagnosis of the city of Arcueil. Above all, I really appreciated the moments of exchange. This cultural mixing allowed me to learn a few words in Japanese, while also adopting more attentive listening and a more flexible attitude. By taking part in this KEYS event, I understood that it was not about comparing cultures, but rather about understanding how each perspective enriches collective reflection.”

Geneviève Oumbouke, Master’s student in Ecological Spaces and Environments Territories (EMTE)

A sustainable partnership

A memorandum of understanding aimed at promoting exchanges and developing cooperation between the University of Kitakyushu and Université Paris Cité was renewed in 2024 for a period of five years. This strategic partnership is fully aligned with the internationalisation strategy of the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions, providing students with regular opportunities for academic and scientific exchanges abroad.

Through the KEYS conference, the Graduate School Sustainability and Transitions reaffirms its commitment to research-based education, open to the world and attentive to the major contemporary environmental challenges.