1. Regional Cooperation

• Office for University-Industry Collaboration
• The Office for University-Industry Collaboration was set up in April 2008 for the purpose of promoting cooperation with industries and contributing to the betterment of society and the world based on the outstanding research and education at Osaka University.
• In order to achieve progressive innovation, what we are striving to achieve is (1) developing personnel displaying leadership, (2) creating innovative research seeds, (3) forming research bases, (4) improving international cooperation, (5) establishing systems to realize these goals, and (6) further promoting university-industry cooperation. Osaka University will work on pursuing greater innovation through activities by the Office for University-Industry Collaboration
• Center for Advanced Science and Innovation
• As the point of contact for cooperation among the university, government, and industry, the Collaborative Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the Venture Business Laboratory, the Center for Advanced Science and Innovation, and business incubation facilities were all integrated in April 2004, thus establishing the Center for Advanced Science and Innovation.
• With its flexible organizational management, the Center for Advanced Science and Innovation is the core facility for the promotion of (1) collaborative research in advanced science and technology with the industrial world, (2) research which will make possible future key industries, (3) research funded by the government and other organizations, and also (4) research to create new industries and businesses.
• In close cooperation with the (1) Osaka University Intellectual Property Office, the (2) Technology Licensing Organization (TLO), and (3) external university-industry-government organizations, Osaka University moves forward in university-industry-government cooperation and the transfer of technology as a contribution to society. Through related research, as well as through university-industry-government cooperation, the University also endeavors to nurture creative junior researchers.
• Osaka University Nakanoshima Center
• Osaka University Nakanoshima Center (ONC), which serves as a university extension, opened in downtown Osaka in April 2004. The ONC facilitates education research, cooperation between the university and industry, sharing information with society, and communication and exchanges between the university and society.
• Museum of Osaka University
• Established in 2002, the museum houses numerous valuable examples of scholarship belonging to the University. By storing these items in a protected environment and gathering the information about them into one location, the University aims to assist research and education of all faculties. Moreover, by making these items more widely available, Osaka University aims to share its intellectual property with society.
• The museum consists of two sections: the Research and Education Section and the Materials Section.

2. Osaka University Nakanoshima Center

Following the establishment of the Suita, Minoh, and Toyonaka campuses, the Nakanoshima Center was established in Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka City in 2004 as the fourth Osaka University campus. Through its three main functions--education and research, information sharing with society, and social exchange, the Nakanoshima Center opened with the goals of contributing to the development of the district and evolving into a frontier for the communication and exchange of global intellectual information.

The Nakanoshima Center was founded on contributions from the industrial world, Osaka University alumni, and individual lecturers, as part of the university’s 70th Anniversary celebration.

3. Offering Open Lectures to the Public

• Nakanoshima Courses
• In 1968, Osaka University was the first Japanese national university to begin holding lectures open to the public. Such open lectures, held for the purpose of sharing knowledge necessary for work and everyday life, as well as for the purpose of advancing general education, have communicated the research results and achievements of Osaka University to society.
• Open lectures offered from the beginning of April 2004 have been renamed “Nakanoshima Courses,” and will continue to be offered to and for the general public as “Nakanoshima Courses.”
• Some of the classes are offered through the official website of Osaka University as online audio-visual classes.
• Open Classes
• A portion of the basic classes in the general education program open to the public are especially directed at high school students.