Tokyo Tech News

2nd Imperial College London - Tokyo Tech joint workshop

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Published: October 10, 2017

Tokyo Tech's synthetic biology, data science, and neurotechnology experts met with Imperial College London (Imperial) counterparts to explore further collaborations at the 2nd Imperial-Tokyo Tech Workshop on Bioscience and its links with Technology, held this time in the British capital on September 27 and 28, 2017.

Imperial Provost James Stirling
Imperial Provost James Stirling
Photo courtesy of Imperial College London

Tokyo Tech President Yoshinao Mishima
Tokyo Tech President Yoshinao Mishima
Photo courtesy of Imperial College London

Opening the workshop was Imperial's Provost James Stirling, who noted the striking similarities between the Institute and Imperial with their "aligned missions and parallel histories." Stirling also highlighted that collaborations between the two institutions have continued for many years, providing a strong base from which to "expand to new areas and topics."

Tokyo Tech President Yoshinao Mishima also presented his opening remarks, echoing the excitement generated by the event. He noted some of the collaborations already underway with Imperial, including those at the Biointerfaces Unit and Advanced Data Analysis and Modeling (ADAM) Unit, and expressed confidence that the workshop would "create more opportunities for open, interdisciplinary research."

In his greeting, Japan's Ambassador to the UK Koji Tsuruoka concluded that "Tokyo Tech is a very appropriate counterpart to Imperial" as both institutions "contribute to the future prospects of the whole world — not just the UK and Japan."

Provost Stirling (center left) welcoming President Mishima

Provost Stirling (center left) welcoming President Mishima
Photo courtesy of Imperial College London

Tokyo Tech Vice President for Institute Strategy Isao Satoh and Imperial's Associate Provost for Academic Partnerships Maggie Dallman, both of whom played key roles in bringing researchers together in the past year, also provided opening remarks.

Assoc. Provost Dallman
Assoc. Provost Dallman
Photo courtesy of Imperial College London

Long-term Tokyo Tech collaborator Prof. Rod Smith
Long-term Tokyo Tech collaborator Prof. Rod Smith
Photo courtesy of Imperial College London

This year, researchers kicked things off with an academic speed dating session, giving everyone a chance to present their current research in a fast-paced environment. Keynote speeches and presentations followed. Day One ended with a roundtable session bringing together researchers and corporate representatives from Japan and the UK, who outlined their joint research and discussed opportunities for further collaboration.

Day Two was reserved for parallel sessions, which allowed thematic groups formulated during the November 2016 workshop in Tokyo — Bioscience and Synthetic Biology, Data Science and Complexity, and Neuroscience and Robotics — to focus more deeply on:

  • Jointly tackling global challenges
  • Identifying complementary expertise
  • Matching projects to funding
  • Discussing possible student exchange

Academic speed dating session

Academic speed dating session

The second day concluded with a wrap-up session, during which each of the groups proposed several collaborative research projects involving students and faculty from both institutions. The Imperial-Tokyo Tech Workshop Follow-on Seed Fund, established during the course of this workshop, will be utilized to launch and accelerate these joint projects.

Imperial's Prof. Henrik Jensen (left) and Tokyo Tech's Assoc. Prof. Misako Takayasu outlining ideas of Data Science and Complexity group

Imperial's Prof. Henrik Jensen (left) and Tokyo Tech's Assoc. Prof. Misako Takayasu
outlining ideas of Data Science and Complexity group

Biointerfaces Unit's Prof. Yasuharu Koike explaining outcomes of Neuroscience and Robotics group

Biointerfaces Unit's Prof. Yasuharu Koike explaining outcomes of Neuroscience and Robotics group

Imperial's Prof. Mark Isalan (left) and Tokyo Tech's Assoc. Prof. Takashi Suzuki announcing conclusions of Bioscience and Synthetic Biology group

Imperial's Prof. Mark Isalan (left) and Tokyo Tech's Assoc. Prof. Takashi Suzuki
announcing conclusions of Bioscience and Synthetic Biology group

Contact

Institute Initiatives Group, Planning and Evaluation Division

Email tokyotech.plan@jim.titech.ac.jp

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