Collaborative agreement signed between OU and Mitsui Fudosan toward the promotion of education, research, and co-creation projects at EXPOCITY

On Friday, March 16, 2018, Osaka University and Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. concluded a collaboration agreement for creating a space in EXPOCITY for visitors to experience the enjoyment of learning, with the objective of contributing to local communities.

In order to create a space for making learning fun, Osaka University researchers will perform education, research, and joint activity at the large-scale complex EXPOCITY, operated by Mitsui Fudosan. This is the first agreement that Osaka University has concluded with a real estate company with the aim of developing and reinvigorating local communities.

In January 2018, Osaka University, which was established with support from society, set up the Co-Creation Bureau, under the motto of “Live Locally, Grow Globally.” In the spirit of “University in Society, University for Society,” the university has been pressing on with “co-creation,” i.e. the creation of new “knowledge and power” through the combination of “knowledge and power” in society and the university.

Osaka University, a collection of scholars, and Mitsui Fudosan, an urban developer, will work together to promote the development and revitalization of local communities centered around the Hokusetsu region, the northern part of Osaka. Under this agreement, the two parties, using their strengths, will cooperate in a wide range of fields, such as human resource development, performing verification experiments, and holding science cafés (events for discussing science with researchers).

At the signing ceremony held at EXPOCITY, Tetsuo OGAWA (Osaka University Executive Vice President of Co-Creation) and Masatoshi OZAKI (Executive Managing Director, Kansai Branch, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.) signed the agreement and shook hands, affirming their intent to cooperate in the future.

For more details on future collaborative efforts between Osaka University and Mitsui Fudosan, please click here. (link in Japanese)