The URJC and Casa Asia celebrate the IX Meeting of Asian Studies

During the event, held today at the Quintana headquarters, the presentation of the Guide to Asian Studies in Spain took place, coordinated by Professor Raúl Ramírez Ruíz.

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

The rector, Javier Ramos, opened this meeting together with the general director of Casa Asia, Javier Parrondo. Ramos pointed out in the opening that, “the URJC has a very good relationship with China and, furthermore, it is important to expand contacts with the rest of the Asian continent. Spain is in an ideal place between Asia, Latin America and Europe. The URJC and the Spanish universities can serve as a bridge in this regard”. In addition, the rector recalled that internationalization is one of the strategic axes of the university, pointing out that "it is important to be present everywhere and share knowledge" and added that this presence should not only be made available to students "but also to PDI and PAS”.

Within the framework of the IX Meeting of Asian Studies, the presentation of the Guide to Asian Studies in Spain took place, a joint project of the URJC and Casa Asia, coordinated by Professor Raúl Ramírez Ruíz. The objective of this publication is to "update the White Paper on Supply and Demand for Asian Studies in Spain, published in 2002, to carry out an analysis of the past, present and future of these studies in Higher Education centers and to compile the offer offered by public and private universities”, as explained by Casa Asia.

Next, a debate took place in which members of Casa Asia and the URJC discussed different topics to be addressed at the X Meeting of Asian Studies.

Guest country, the Netherlands

The Netherlands have been the country invited to the event. For this reason, the conferences 'Asian studies in the Netherlands' have been held, given by Paul Van der Velde, secretary of the 'International Congress for Asian Scholars' (ICAS) and responsible for the publications of the International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS), and 'Presentation of ICAS12-13', by Martina van den Haak, coordinator of seminars and executive manager of ICAS. Javier Parrondo, general director of Casa Asia, recalled that "The Netherlands is a European benchmark in Asian studies".

VII Conference China: Economy, Power and Future

Within the framework of the meeting, the URJC, through the Spain-China Relations Research Group, and Casa Asia are holding a conference focused on analyzing the panorama of the last 20 years of Asian Studies in Spain. To this end, this afternoon and on Wednesday the 27th several round tables will be held with the participation of academics from the URJC such as Professor José Manuel Azcona and Professors Raúl Ramírez Ruíz, Cristina del Prado and Felipe Debasa Navalpotro. In addition, academics specialized in Asia from universities such as UCM, UAB, UMA, UOC, UAM, UPF and experts from Casa Asia will participate.

They will address aspects such as the practical nature of Asian studies, the current situation of a changing and constantly evolving field, the need to create real interest in these studies within Spanish society, the reality of research on Asia -Pacific in Spain, and the analysis of these qualifications with the perspective that 20 years of existence give in the academic offers of the universities. These sessions can be followed through Teams and an ECTS credit will be awarded.