ICU Professor Eckhard Hitzer received a JICUF faculty program grant to host the “Sustainable University Development (SUD) Workshop – How Universities Can Promote Sustainability through Renewable Energy.” The workshop will be held on Saturday, May 27th on the ICU campus.

The SUD workshop was organized by a group of ICU professors who regularly meet to discuss renewable energy and energy efficient building. Members of the group include:

• Eckhard Hitzer (Physicist, College of Liberal Arts)
• Mark Langager (Professor, Department of Education)
• Nobuyuki Miyazaki (Professor, Department of Economic and Business)
• Takashi Kibe (Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies)

This one-day workshop will bring together researchers in Japan and from abroad to present their research on what Japanese universities could do to switch to renewable energy.

Key aspects covered during the workshop include:

• Planning (technology, siting/building, permissions, contracting, etc.)
• Design
• Financing (investments, credits, loans, business models)
• Operations and Maintenance
• Economic Benefits

The opening remarks will be given by the Ambassador of Iceland to Japan, His Excellency Hannes Heimisson. The keynote address will be given by Prof. Gudni A. Johanneson, Director General of the Icelandic National Energy Authority. Simultaneous translation (English/Japanese) will be available.

The workshop is open to the public. Registration is not required but HIGHLY encouraged. To RSVP, email Prof. Hitzer at hitzer@icu.ac.jp. For more information on the workshop and list of speakers, visit https://sudworkshops.wordpress.com.