Kyoto University holds international symposia in collaboration with selected partners around the world as a means to share knowledge and new research developments, promote international interdisciplinary research collaboration, and accelerate the generation of new ideas and innovation for the benefit of global society. These goals are in accordance with Kyoto University’s WINDOW Concept, which was formulated in 2014 as a comprehensive strategy to guide the institution in its current phase.

Kyoto University will co-host the 3^rd Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium in collaboration with the University of Bordeaux. The symposium seeks to advance innovative research in cutting-edge areas of the medicine and engineering fields, with an emphasis on industry-academia collaboration.

Research collaboration in diverse fields between Kyoto University and the University of Bordeaux has already made significant progress through the 1^st Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium, which was held at the University of Bordeaux in May 2014, and the 2^nd symposium, which was held at Kyoto University in May 2015. The 3^rd edition of the symposium will include substantial involvement by participants from the industrial sector in order to create further opportunities for industry-academia collaboration.

• Program (PDF)

The 3^rd Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium (June 29–30, 2017)

The 3^rd Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium was held at the University of Bordeaux in France on June 29–30, 2017. The Kyoto University delegation comprised fourteen members, including Prof. Nagahiro Minato, executive vice-president for research, planning and hospital administration, Prof. Fumihiko Matsuda, assistant to the executive vice-president for international affairs, and several other faculty members and administrative staff members in charge of international affairs.

Kyoto University has been deepening its collaboration with the University of Bordeaux since the 1^st Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium was held in 2014. Efforts have included the establishment of an international associated laboratory in 2015. Kyoto University was designated as a strategic partner by the University of Bordeaux in January 2017.

Under the theme of “Creating Science and Technology Innovation in Cutting-Edge Medical Engineering,” the symposium focused on industry-academia collaborative research and development in the fields of medicine and engineering. Kyoto University invited nine researchers from seven of its partner companies to the symposium in order to explore further opportunities for future industry-academia collaboration (see list of participating partner companies below). Fourteen researchers from the University of Bordeaux attended the symposium, as well as twenty researchers from its industrial partners, and two researchers from National Taiwan University, which is a partner university of both Kyoto University and the University of Bordeaux.

The symposium opened with addresses by Prof. Minato, Prof. Vincent Dousset, vice-president for international relations of the University of Bordeaux, and Prof. Pierre Dos Santos, vice-president for research of the University of Bordeaux. A keynote lecture was then given by Prof. Pierre Dos Santos on the theme of “Technology Transfer from University to Industry.”

The symposium comprised four sessions in total: two sessions under the themes of “Cohort Study and Human Biology” and “Diagnostic Equipment and Bio-Materials” on the first day, and two sessions under the themes of “Medical Imaging” and “Drug Development” on the second day. The sessions featured presentations by the participants on research achievements and research application, which were followed by lively discussions. Poster presentations and an exhibition of new

The two-day symposium provided significant opportunities for the participating researchers not only to share their collaborative research results, but also to network and explore possibilities for future collaborative research and development.

On June 28, the day preceding the symposium, another event called Innovation Day was also organized by the University of Bordeaux. During the event, Prof. Teruyuki Kondo of Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Engineering gave a presentation about a successful industry-academia collaboration initiative: The Innovative Techno-Hub for Integrated Medical Bio-Imaging Project, which is a joint research project between Kyoto University and Cannon Inc. (CK Project).

Participating Kyoto University Partner Companies:
Chanel, IBM Japan, PreXion Corporation, JSR Life Sciences Corporation, Shimadzu Corporation, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Tokyo Medical Systems Corporation.