Tokyo Tech-RWTH Aachen Joint Symposium for International Industry-Academia Collaboration

On March 30, 2015, Tokyo Tech and RWTH Aachen University (RWTH) held a joint symposium for international industry-academia collaboration at Tokyo Tech Front, Kuramae Hall. Tokyo Tech and RWTH, leading universities in science and technology in their respective countries, have established an international cooperation agreement to pursue joint activities in both research and education. In attendance at the joint symposium were the rector of RWTH, Ernst Schmachtenberg, as well as nearly 200 people from industry and academia.

President Mishima and Rector Schmachtenberg introduced their institutions and strategy in international industry-academia collaboration. RWTH professor Fritz Klocke gave a presentation on symbiosis of information technology and engineering science, while Tokyo Tech professor Hidenori Shinno presented recent trends in machine tool engineering and a roadmap to industrial usability. Both speakers stressed the crucial role of universities in applying their research findings to bring forth innovation.

A panel discussion on international industry-academia collaboration was held consisting of participants from Japanese government and Japanese and German industry. Panelists spoke on existing challenges and future prospects in international collaboration. Audience members also contributed to the discussion by providing useful comments and questions to the panel.

Panel discussion

Tokyo Tech is actively implementing reforms in research and education to achieve its goal of becoming one of the world's top 10 research universities by 2030. Key to these efforts is the promotion of international industry-academia collaboration with top universities, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with whom we held an international workshop on January 7, 2015.

This symposium with RHTW is another important step in our collaboration efforts.

Utilizing the knowledge gained through this symposium, Tokyo Tech will continue working to build international industry-academia collaborations, and we hope to hold the next joint symposium at RWTH this summer in Germany. We greatly appreciate the continued support from our partners in industry, government, and public organizations in both countries. For further information, feel free to contact us through the email address below.

• Tokyo Tech-RWTH Aachen Joint Symposium for International Industry-Academia Collaboration