5th interdisciplinary idea competition concludes (27 October 2017)

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Researchers may at times hit upon an extremely intriguing or fascinating idea (one that President Juichi Yamagiwa would describe as omoroi ) that at the same time seems beyond what can be properly addressed in an academic paper or presentation.

Kyoto University's Gakusai Kenkyu Chakuso Contest ("interdisciplinary research idea competition") offers researchers a chance to share and discuss such ideas with peers from diverse disciplines. Participants present their thoughts as a single A3-sized diagram, demonstrating the depth of their explorations.

In this fifth competition, held on 27 October 2017, ten teams selected based on submissions delivered three-minute oral presentations, and discussed their ideas in a poster session. One team was selected for the top honor, the Kanae Prize, earning one million yen in research funding.

Discussion during the poster session

Poster session

Event venue

Judges (1)

Judges (2)

Oral presentation

After the award ceremony

Winning topics

  • Evolution and upper-air viruses: What can happen on the "Cosmic Shore"?
  • From "written history" to "experiential history"
  • "Massaging a herd": Developing a "tactile logic" approach to relax our society
  • Derivations of "when a human begins to disintegrate"
  • Student perspectives on a foundation for a discussion on higher education

Judges

From Kyoto University

  • Juichi Yamagiwa, President
  • Kota Asano, Professor, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies
  • Yoshiko Takahashi, Professor, Graduate School of Science
  • Shoko Suzuki, Professor, Graduate School of Education
  • Yasuko Takezawa, Professor, Institute for Research in Humanities
  • Yoshimasa Nakamura, Director, Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research (C-PIER) / Professor, Graduate School of Informatics

From outside the University

  • Norio Wada, Executive Advisor, NTT
  • Hiroshi Fujiwara, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, BroadBand Tower, Inc
  • Hideki Sasaki, President, Nihon Bunkyou Shuppan Co, Ltd
  • Yoshiaki Nishimura, Representative Director and Chairman of the Board, Sumitomo Riko Company Limited

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