Prof. Ian Rowlands (center), Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi (right), Prof. Yuka Sakamoto (left)
On October 16, Prof. Ian Rowlands, who is Associate Vice-President (International) at the University of Waterloo visited Tohoku University. He met with Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi and visited the Startup Incubation Center.
Vice President Yamaguchi told Prof. Rowlands that since the conclusion of an academic exchange agreement between the two parties in 2006, exchanges have taken place mostly through short-term student exchange programs. He also introduced the support being given to startup creation and some of the research projects being carried out at the university.
Prof. Rowlands introduced a number of the University of Waterloo’s initiatives, such as its ‘Co-op program’, which combines university education and internships, and ‘Velocity’, its startup program. He also said that the University of Waterloo has strengths in materials science and semiconductors, and that he would like to see a strengthening of collaboration in both research and education in these fields.
The visited continued at the Institute of Engineering Education’s Entrepreneurship Education Department, where Prof. Rowlands met with Specially Appointed Associate Professor Takeshi Kato and Assistant Professor Stephane Yu Matsushita. They introduced the Michinoku Academia Startup Platform (MASP), a platform created by 10 universities in Tohoku and Niigata, and discussed related matters with Prof. Rowlands.
Prof. Rowlands was introduced to entrepreneurship education at the Institute of Engineering Education
Prof. Rowlands next visited Aobayama Garage and met with Prof. Shinya Ishikura of the Startup Incubation Center. Prof. Ishikura introduced Tohoku University’s initiatives to support startups such as its entrepreneurship programs, the GAP Fund Program, and the Tohoku University Venture Partners Fund, and he also explained the ‘Sendai Startup Campus’ plan, which is an industry-academia-government collaboration. Discussions followed on issues surrounding the creation of university-based startups.
At Aobayama Garage
It is hoped that this visit will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen collaboration in research and education between the two universities.