Project overview

For the local economy to enjoy sustainable growth, it is becoming increasingly important to create new businesses and industries by maximizing the strengths and resources unique to the region. Osaka boasts that it has, in its central area, a good number of manufacturing companies with excellent technologies in a variety of industrial sectors, as well as iversities and public research institutions engaged in advanced research activities. The Central Area of Osaka is currently implementing a project for "research and development of anomaterials for use in the next generation of sheet devices.” The success of the project is based on bringing the competencies of the Industry-Academia-Government consortium together.

The project is an Industry-Academia-Government collaboration comprising four research institutions and nine business organizations. It implements research and development within the framework of three major research themes, which will be described below. It aims to establish constituent technologies indispensable to the realization of the “next-generation sheet devices”, which will not only lead to a highly advanced, ubiquitous information society, but also help to develop and manufacture smaller, lighter and more flexible electronic devices. In addition, the Osaka Urban Industry Promotion Center, the core organization of the project, undertakes a range of activities to promote the commercialization of research results. This includes surveys of technology trends and market demand, presentation of research results, study meetings and seminars, provision of programs on the cultivation of human resources and others. The project for the Central Area of Osaka, which is expected to run for three years from 2007 to 2009, has been adopted, as one of the regional areas targeted as part of the implementation of the “Projects for Collaboration among City Area Program (Basic stage)*”, by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

It is anticipated that not only will these project activities build a network which links academic researchers and business organizations in the Central Area of Osaka, but it will also strengthen the foundation for the Industry-Academia-Government collaboration, thus leading to the creation of new businesses and industries that can drive forward the region’s economy.

* This Program instituted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan is focused on utilizing technical seeds or intelligence of universities as well as industrial potential in the region. It aims to create new business and foster local industries of research and development through promotion and encouragement of Industry-Academia- Government joint research that utilizes unique regional resources.