T he 2nd SIP International Seminar on Infrastructure Asset Management, “Present and Future Road Infrastructure Maintenance in Vietnam and Japan,” was held at the National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE), Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 17, 2015, with the support of the Concrete Committee of the JSCE.
Videos of the presentations are available on the SIP project website. Please visit
http://www.nagai.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/sip/openaccessdata/2ndseminar/2ndseminar.htm
to watch the presentations.
SIP, which stands for Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program, is steered by Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. “Infrastructure Maintenance, Renewal, and Management Technology” is one of SIP’s projects and aims to develop and implement infrastructure asset management technologies abroad as well as in Japan. This seminar was organized by the international team of the SIP project to describe the current status of damage to roads and bridges, introduce maintenance technologies, exchange information between the two countries, and discuss efficient maintenance practices for future infrastructure management.
Table 1 Program of the seminar
Since this seminar aimed to discuss practical issues of infrastructure management, the presenters were selected not only from academic fields, such as university professors, but also from non-academic fields, such as the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam and NEXCO Central. A total of 142 people participated in this seminar. The chart below shows their affiliations. Most of the participants were from non-academic fields, such as Vietnamese government agencies and companies.
Figure 1. Affiliations of the participants
The seminar featured lots of discussion and exchanges between the speakers and the participants, which improved understanding of the topics. Many of the questions asked by Vietnamese experts were fully addressed by Japanese experts. To ensure the success of the SIP project in Vietnam, it is necessary to create a cooperative network for promoting research and technology transfers in the fields of road inspection, maintenance, and repair. The presentations at the seminar provided experts from Japan and Vietnam with a scientific forum to share their experiences and discuss research proposals for developing Vietnam's infrastructure.
Photo 1. Presentation by Dr. To
Photo 2. Questions from the floor
Photo 3. The presenters and organizers
The local TV company, HANOITV, came to the seminar to gather information. Dr. Nagai was interviewed by HANOITV. Also, the seminar was reported on the evening TV news program.
Photo 4. Dr. Nagai is interviewed by HANOITV