The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon was awarded during the Autumn 2021 conferment to Osaka Prefecture University Distinguished Honorary Professor Andreas Dengel, a professor at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and Executive Director of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (German : Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz, DFKI) in Kaiserslautern, for his highly-acclaimed contributions to the promotion of academic exchange and mutual understanding between Germany and Japan.

Comments on the Award Conferment

Dr. Andreas Dengel, Distinguished Honorary Professor, Osaka Prefecture University

I am very honored to receive such a meaningful award. Friendship and exchange between Japan and Germany based on a common AI philosophy have been an issue close to my heart for many years.

As a high-tech nation, Japan and I share the goal of using AI for the benefit of people and society. I hope to further deepen the existing good relationship and cooperation we have with Japanese universities, research institutes, and companies.

Dr. Masahiro Tatsumisago, President, Osaka Prefecture University

Congratulations on this prestigious decoration.

I would like to express my sincere congratulations to you for receiving this award in recognition of your many years of research and other contributions to academic exchange between Germany and Japan.

The faculty and staff who have had the opportunity to interact with Prof. Dr. Dengel in various ways, as well as the students who have studied under him, are all very happy.

I hope that you will continue to play an active role in the development of education, research, and international academic exchange activities, as well as in AI-based industry-academia-government collaboration and the development of human resources for digital transformation.

Mr. Hirofumi Yoshimura, Governor of Osaka Prefecture

Congratulations on receiving the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

Innovating is the key to overcome the various societal challenges we face today, such as with the SDGs and the need to adapt to a digital transformation.

I hope that Prof. Dr. Dengel will continue to help the new university, Osaka Metropolitan University (Note), to become a world-class advanced research university and a center of knowledge that will drive the development of the metropolis of Osaka.

On this auspicious occasion, I would like to express my sincere wishes for his continued good health and success in the future.

History of Academic Exchange with Osaka Prefecture University

The Technical University of Kaiserslautern and DFKI, to which Distinguished Honorary Professor Andreas Dengel belongs, and Osaka Prefecture University have been engaged in the academic exchange of faculty members and students for more than 20 years, and have conducted several joint research projects, including JST CREST and Japanese-German-French AI research.

To date, 18 students from our university have studied at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, and two of them have earned doctoral degrees in Germany.

One of our graduates, Shoya Ishimaru, studied in Germany for half a year during his senior year, and after completing his master’s degree at our graduate school, he received his doctorate with the highest rating (summa cum laude) while working as a researcher at DFKI.

While working at DFKI, he developed his research on learning that he had conducted while he was at Osaka Prefecture University and started his own business. In 2021 he became a Junior Professor at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern.

Shoya Ishimaru, Junior Professor, Technical University of Kaiserslautern

Junior professors can have their own labs, so I would also like to focus on building networks inside and outside the lab.

Thanks to the opportunity to study at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and DFKI when I was a student at Osaka Prefecture University, I am where I am today, and I am very much looking forward to being in a position to strengthen international exchange with Osaka Metropolitan University. I would also like to thank everyone who has helped me with this appointment.

Contribution to SDGs

4: Quality education
17: Partnerships for the goals

Related links

• German Research Center for AI Intends to Open a Lab at Osaka Prefecture University (January 22, 2021)
• Prof.Dr.Prof.h.c. Andreas Dengel received the Distinguished Honorary Professorship from OPU (March 27, 2018)
• Shoya Ishimaru of the OPU Engineering Dept selected for the IPA Mitoh Program (July 20, 2015)