OMU News

Making Osaka a smart city and urban think tank in Asia will require the cooperation of stakeholders at various levels, which is why OMU’s Multilevel Co-Creation (MulCo) Project has been drawing attention.

A near capacity crowd of about 330 attended the J-PEAKS MulCo Project Kickoff Symposium at the Knowledge Theater in Grand Front Osaka on September 3, 2024. Business leaders, academics, and government officials were on hand to learn about the five co-creation research units: Smart City, Smart Energy, Smart Agriculture, Smart Healthcare, and Future Society for Children.

When the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) selected educational institutions for its Program for Forming Japan’s Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS) in the 2023 fiscal year, Osaka Metropolitan University was the only one chosen that was not a nationally run or private university.

OMU President Masahiro Tatsumisago opened the symposium by expressing his commitment to “accelerate collaborative research through the Innovation Academy project, while aiming to form an urban think tank that is trusted by society and serves as a brain for governmental administrations.”

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama, and MEXT Science and Technology Policy Bureau’s Deputy Director-General Takuho Senzaki followed with messages of encouragement for the future.

In addition, Norifumi Fujimura, Vice President of Industry-Academia-Government Collaborative Creation and Intellectual Property of OMU, gave a lecture on the contents and prospects of this project, followed by a keynote speech by The Kansai Electric Power Co. President Nozomu Mori.

A panel discussion with corporate executives and government officials on new challenges and issues in multisector collaboration was also held.

In closing, Shinichi Fukushima, Chairperson of the University Public Corporation Osaka that runs OMU, stated, “We would like to contribute to the co-creation and development of Osaka’s industries by connecting diverse research projects to social implementation through collaboration with the industrial world.”

A networking event was then held with OMU faculty members from the five co-creation units, artificial intelligence researchers, and the symposium participants. 

This step toward deeper collaboration among industry, academia, and government inspired high hopes for the future.

Program

Opening address by OMU President Masahiro Tatsumisago Archived video (Japanese)
Greeting from Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura Archived video (Japanese)
Greeting from Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama Archived video (Japanese)
Greeting from Takuho Senzaki, Deputy Director-General,  Science and Technology Policy Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Archived video (Japanese)
Lecture by Norifumi Fujimura, Vice President of Industry-Academia-Government Collaborative Creation and Intellectual Property of OMU Archived video (Japanese)
Keynote speech by Nozomu Mori, Director, Representative Executive Officer and President of The Kansai Electric Power Co. Archived video (Japanese)
Discussion panelists, from left: Kazushige Nobutani, Director-General, Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry Junko Ikeda, Director General of Growth Strategy Bureau, Osaka Prefectural Government, Department of Policy and Planning Hironobu Azuma, Principal, The Japan Research Institute Limited Masahiro Tatsumisago, President of OMU Toshiyuki Matsui, Vice President of International Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development of OMU Norifumi Fujimura, Vice President of Industry-Academia-Government Collaborative Creation and Intellectual Property of OMU   Archived video (Japanese)
Closing address by Shinichi Fukushima, Chairperson of University Public Corporation Osaka Archived video (Japanese)

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