A collaborative doctoral supervision programme between the Graduate School of Business Administration (GSBA) at Kobe University and the School of Business and Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) is steadily progressing, reflecting both institutions’ shared commitment to advancing international education and research collaboration.

Initial discussions for collaboration began in 2023, when representatives from VU Amsterdam visited Kobe University. Later that year, Prof. Svetlana Khapova, then Head of Department, invited a Kobe University delegation to visit VU Amsterdam. The delegation included Prof. Miyao (Director of the MBA Program), Prof. Yan Ma (Director of KIMAP), and Asst. Prof. Yiting Weng (Manager of KIMAP).

Since then, faculty-level exchanges between the two institutions have continued to expand. Kobe University has hosted several visiting professors from VU Amsterdam, including Prof. Khapova, Assoc. Prof. Neil Thompson, Assoc. Prof. Oli Mihalache, Prof. Meindert Flikkema, and Assoc. Prof. David Kroon, who contributed to the KIMAP in Management program. Conversely, from Kobe University, Prof. Ryuta Suzuki and Assoc. Prof. Bumpei Sunaguchi have visited VU Amsterdam, further strengthening the academic ties between the two schools.

Building on early exchanges, both sides worked closely—under the leadership of Dean Prof. Katsuhiko Kokubu and with the coordination of Prof. Yan Ma and Asst. Prof. Yiting Weng—to design an academic framework that integrates the strengths of both institutions. From 2023 onward, the two institutions engaged in a series of discussions to align research supervision structures, degree requirements, and quality standards.

After this period of preparation, in March 2025, GSBA and the School of Business and Economics at VU Amsterdam officially signed the Agreement on the Joint Supervision of Doctoral Studies Programme, establishing a solid foundation for collaborative doctoral education and long-term research cooperation. As part of this collaboration, the first doctoral student, Mr. Lingfeng Zhou, is currently pursuing his PhD under the joint supervision of Kobe University and VU Amsterdam.

Following the signing, Dean Prof. Kokubu, together with Prof. Ma and Asst. Prof. Weng, visited VU Amsterdam in October 2025. They met with Dean Prof. Arjen van Witteloostuijn and Associate Dean Prof. Khapova to discuss the programme’s next steps and future collaboration in postgraduate education and research. The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both universities to strengthening their partnership and fostering international engagement in management education.

Through this partnership, GSBA aims to provide students with unique opportunities to gain academic perspectives and professional experience in both Japan and the Netherlands. The initiative represents an important milestone in Kobe University’s ongoing efforts to expand its global academic network and foster cross-cultural understanding.