Webinar Series on "Climate Resilience and Sustainable Communities in Southeast Asia Series" (2025) 

Date: January 22 

Location: Zoom

Time: 8:00 AM EST, 8:00 PM Vietnam time 

A new webinar series on Climate Resilience and Sustainable Communities in Southeast Asia, part of a project funded by the U.S. Department of State through the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, will begin in January 2025. The goal of this project is to establish long-term partnerships with regional partners through jointly addressing themes of common interest related to climate change, clean energy, environmental sustainability, and societal resilience. 

The first webinar in a series of five will be on Wednesday, January 22 at 8:00 am EST, 8:00 pm Vietnam time. Please register for the webinar here. It will be one hour long and feature opening comments by Dr. Yadu Pokhrel of Michigan State University and a presentation by Dr. Thanh Ngo-Duc of the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH), followed by at least 20 minutes of open discussion. Dr. Thanh will focus his talk on "Recent Regional Efforts in Developing Gridded Climate Data and Future Projections" in line with the theme of this webinar series.

Dr. Thanh is the Co-Director of the Department of Space and Applications (DSA), and Co-Director of the LOTUS International Joint Laboratory at USTH, Vietnam. Using modeling and remote sensing tools, his research focuses on the topics of natural disasters and climate change. He is the lead author of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of IPCC (2021). Dr. Thanh is currently the Chairman of the Scientific Committee in Earth and Environmental Sciences of the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED). He received his engineering diploma and master's degree from the Ecole Polytechnique (France) in 2001 and 2002, respectively. He obtained his Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Paris VI in 2005.

Global Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Conference: Building Inclusive Campus Communities (2025)

Dates: May 15-16, 2025

Location: Korea University, Seoul, South Korea

Cost: Registration is free. Participants are responsible for their travel and lodging expenses.

Join us in Seoul for the inaugural Global JEDI Conference, where thought leaders, scholar-practitioners, and students from Michigan State University, Korea University, and Southeast Asian institutions will gather to explore innovative strategies for fostering inclusive campus environments on a global scale.

Participants will engage in plenary sessions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities to share diverse perspectives on global justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. This two-day event will include inspiring conversations and networking opportunities with peers across continents.

Hosted by MSU's Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Asia Hub, and International Studies and Programs in partnership with Korea University, this conference aims to foster lasting global partnerships and a shared commitment to inclusive excellence.

To submit a proposal visit this site. 

Training Workshop on " Building Earth Observation Capacities to Address the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Asia" (2024) 

Dates: November 9-11 

Location: Chiang Mai University, Thailand 

This is a strategic initiative within the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus community to enhance the utilization of Earth Observations (EO) in decision-making. It builds upon ongoing regional efforts by the Asia Hub partners, leveraging collaboration with MAIRS-FE and NEXUS GRNs. The goal of this workshop is to enhance regional capacity, expanding the scope of EO applications within the framework of Future Earth’s WEF Nexus studies and other relevant GRNs. The technical skills through this workshop should help enhance the local capacity to advance WEF Nexus research.

Speakers: 

• Jiaguo Qi, Asia Hub/MSU

• Yadu Pokhrel, Asia Hub/MSU

• Shiqi Tao, Asia Hub / NAU

• Sanchai Jatursitha, CMU

• Richard Lawford, EO4WEF

• Quentin Paletta, ESA

• Tanita Suepa, GISTDA, Thailand

• Siam Lawawirojwong, GISTDA, Thailand

• A.K.M. Saiful Islam, BUET, Bangladesh

Webinar on Exploring the Nexus of Water-Energy-Food: Contemporary Insights into Sustainability Policy and Plan in Thailand and ASEAN
Date: April 29, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM EST

Asia Hub organized the second webinar of the series called "2024 Asia Hub Forum on Addressing Emerging Challenges on Water-Energy-Food in Asia" on April 29, 2024, featuring Chiang Mai University (CMU), Thailand. The session's featured speakers Professor Dr. Sanchai Jaturasitha and Professor Dr. Wongkot Wongsapai discussed the topic "Exploring the Nexus of Water-Energy-Food: Contemporary Insights into Sustainability Policy and Plan in Thailand and ASEAN". The session was attended by 30 participants from different Asia Hub member institutions across Asia and from MSU and ended with a question-and-answer session.

Moderator:

• Dr. Jiaguo Qi, Director of Asia Hub

Presenters:

• Professor Emeritus Dr. Sanchai Jaturasitha
  Director
  Multidisciplinary Research Institute
  Chiang Mai University
• Professor Dr. Wongkot Wongsapai
  Deputy Director
  Multidisciplinary Research Institute
  Chiang Mai University

Webinar on "Co-designing Climate Resilient Communities under the Lens of WEF Nexus
Date: February 28, 2024 | 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM EST

Asia Hub organized the first webinar of the series called "2024 Asia Hub Forum on Addressing Emerging Challenges on Water-Energy-Food in Asia" on February 28, 2024, featuring the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER), BRAC University of Bangladesh. The session's featured speaker. Dr. Mukherjee discussed the topic "Co-designing Climate Resilient Communities under the Lens of WEF Nexus," focusing on the impact of natural disasters in Bangladesh and how poverty exacerbates the vulnerability of the affected communities. He highlighted the common occurrence of home loss in such disasters and discussed their team's approach to designing flood-resilient homes for increased community resilience. The session was attended by 50 participants from different Asia Hub member institutions across Asia and from MSU and ended with a question-and-answer session.

Moderator:

• Dr. Jiaguo Qi, Director of Asia Hub

Presenter:

• Dr. Nandan Mukherjee,
  Lead,
  Climate Change Adaptation,
  UNESCO Centre for Water Law Policy and Science,
  University of Dundee and
  Research Fellow,
  C3ER BRAC University

An Asia Hub Webinar on Land Use, Land Cover, and Soil Research: Thailand 
Date: September 7, 2023 | 8:30 - 10:30 PM EST

This webinar was a follow up from the 2023 Asia Hub Annual Meeting in Hainan, China. One of the working groups at that conference focused on soil health, and this webinar allowed presenters who did not have an opportunity to attend the working group a chance to present and share their expertise and ideas for engaging with Asia Hub.

Watch the Video Recording of the webinar here. 

Moderator:

Prof. Charlie Navanugraha, Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand

Presenters:

• Dr. Chuleemas  Boonthai Iwai, Khon Khean University, Thailand 
• Dr. Sasirin Srisomkiew, Land Development Department, Thailand (presentation link)
• Dr. Pariwate Varnakovida, King Mongkut University of Technology, Thailand (presentation link)