Yamaguchi University confers honorary degree of Doctor to Dr. Bakta

On December 17, the honorary degree of Doctor was conferred by Yamaguchi University on Dr. Bakta, the former rector of Udayana University, Indonesia. Udayana University is one of the important partner universities of Yamaguchi University.

Dr. Bakta currently heads the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine at Udayana University. His research area is hematology, particularly iron deficiency anemia. He has made significant contributions to the development of clinical medicine through his life-long research, and has opened up avenues for curing patients suffering from hematologic disease.

Further, since the conclusion of the academic exchange agreement between Udayana University and Yamaguchi University in 2007, he has made every effort to pursue joint projects between the two universities, such as the disaster and environment prevention research and education project using a remote sensing system, and the reforestation project using symbiotic microorganisms. The two projects have been satisfactorily progressing with support from the Indonesian government, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

To acknowledge their admiration of Dr. Bakta’s research achievements and pay respect to his contributions to the promotion of international cooperation with Yamaguchi University, we proudly conferred the Yamaguchi University honorary degree of Doctor on Dr. Bakta.

In the ceremony, President Marumoto praised Dr. Bakta’s achievements and stated that Yamaguchi University wished to contribute to the development of academic research with the larger aim of improving the world around us by learning vastly from Udayana University. He also stated that this conferment exhibited the cognizance of the role of Yamaguchi university in society. After that, vice-president Hattori showed his respect for Dr. Bakta’s attitudes towards research and gratitude for his sophisticated generosity in conferring President Marumoto with the status of professor emeritus of Udayana University for his work on May 21, 2013.

President Marumoto conferred the Yamaguchi University honorary degree of Doctor to Dr. Bakta to a grand applause. Dr. Bakta appeared unable to hide his joy. Finally, Dr. Bakta delivered a speech. In his speech, he expressed his gratitude to President Marumoto and others involved with Yamaguchi University, and expressed his happiness at receiving such a great honor. Further, he expressed his hope that the relationship between Yamaguchi University and Udayana University would further develop under the leadership of Rector Suastika. He also introduced his research to an attentive audience

Yamaguchi University hopes that this conferment will accelerate the progress of Dr. Bakta’s research, and that the cooperative relationship between Udayana University and Yamaguchi University will become more stable and productive.