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

Published on

2017/07/09

On 29–30 June 2017, the 3rd Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium was held at the University of Bordeaux, France. Kyoto University was represented by 14 officials, including: Dr Nagahiro Minato, executive vice-president for research, planning, and hospital administration; Dr Fumihiko Matsuda, assistant to the executive vice-president for international affairs; and other faculty and staff in charge of international affairs.

Since holding the inaugural Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium in 2014, Kyoto University and the University of Bordeaux have maintained an active collaborative relationship, establishing an international associated laboratory in 2015, and forming a strategic partnership in January 2017.

The third symposium was themed “Creating Science and Technology Innovation in Cutting-Edge Medical Engineering”, focusing on industry-academia collaboration in medical and engineering research and development. Kyoto University invited nine researchers from seven of its partner companies (listed below) to the event to explore further collaboration opportunities. They were joined by 14 researchers from the University of Bordeaux and 20 from the university's industrial partners. Two researchers from National Taiwan University, a partner of both Kyoto University and the University of Bordeaux, were also in attendance.

The event opened with addresses from EVP Minato and University of Bordeaux Professors Vincent Dousset, vice-president for international relations, and Pierre Dos Santos, vice-president for research. Vice-President Dos Santos also delivered a keynote lecture on “Technology Transfer from University to Industry”.

The main program was comprised of four sessions, conducted over two days. Day one featured “Cohort Study and Human Biology” and “Diagnostic Equipment and Bio-Materials”, and day two, “Medical Imaging” and “Drug Development”. At each session, presenters talked on the latest research achievements and application, which was followed by lively discussions. There were also poster presentations and an exhibition of newly developed equipment, held by the participating companies to show examples of practical applications of technology.

The two-day symposium provided the participating researchers with significant opportunities to share the results of their collaborative efforts, and to network and explore possibilities for future research and development collaboration.

The event was preceded on 28 June by Innovation Day, also organized by the University of Bordeaux, where Professor Teruyuki Kondo of the KyotoU Graduate School of Engineering presented on a recently concluded industry-academia research project: the Innovative Techno-Hub for Integrated Medical Bio-Imaging Project (CK Project), a successful joint undertaking between Kyoto University and Cannon Inc.

KyotoU partner companies represented at the 3rd Bordeaux-Kyoto Symposium: