1st Industry-Academia Co-Creation Symposium: Leading the Future held

On August 28, 2026, the 1st Industry-Academia Co-Creation Symposium: Leading the Future, jointly organized by UOsaka, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Osaka International Convention Center Corp., was held at Osaka International Convention Center (Grand Cube Osaka).

Held for the first time in AY2025, the symposium aimed to capitalize on the growing momentum for industry-academia co-creation sparked by Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, further strengthening collaboration to address global challenges and generate new industries from the Osaka-Kansai region.
Over 500 participants from a wide range of sectors, including academia, industry, government and support organizations, and overseas diplomatic missions, attended the symposium.

The symposium opened with KUMANOGOH Atsushi, President of UOsaka and TORII Shingo, Chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry signing a comprehensive collaboration agreement between the two organizations. After signing the agreement, they expressed their strong commitment to strengthening mutual cooperation and collaboration in the years ahead to co-create new value and translate it into tangible social impact.

This was followed by a keynote lecture from Distinguished Honorary Professor SAKAGUCHI Shimon. In his lecture, titled “Regulatory T Cells: From Their Discovery to the Development of New Immunotherapies,” he discussed the potential of regulatory T cells and the translation of drug discovery research into real-world applications.

The symposium continued with the advanced research presentations, where six researchers from UOsaka presented six representative examples of our world-leading research.

　・Professor HOSEN Naoki (Graduate School of Medicine)
　・Professor OMASA Takeshi (Graduate School of Engineering)
　・Professor NAKANO Takayoshi (Graduate School of Engineering)
　・Professor MORI Yusuke (Graduate School of Engineering)
　・Professor NEGORO Makoto (Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology)
　・Professor FUJIOKA Shinsuke (Institute of Laser Engineering)

The panel discussion which followed the presentations was moderated by OZAKI Noriaki, Vice Representative Director of TX Entrepreneur Partners with IIMURA Akiko, Senior Vice President of UOsaka serving as commentator. Joining the discussion were Professor HOSEN, Professor NEGORO, and Professor FUJIOKA who had presented their advanced research beforehand, along with President KUMANOGOH, KONO Futoshi, Deputy Director-General, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and KAWAHARA Katsumi, Executive Officer of DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD. and Vice Director of the Technology and Innovation Center.
Under the theme of “Industry-academia co-creation for translating cutting-edge research into social implementation: how should companies engage in priority investment areas?”, participants from government, academia, and industry engaged in a lively discussion on how these advanced research outcomes can be translated into real-world applications and how companies can contribute to and support that process.

Concluding the symposium, FUJIO Yasushi, Senior Executive Vice President of UOsaka and SAGARA Gyo, Vice-Chair of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed their expectations for the further advancement of industry-academia co-creation, highlighting the symposium's role as a catalyst for future collaboration.

The networking reception following the symposium featured panel displays by our researchers and startups founded based on research from UOsaka, in addition to the symposium speakers. Discussions and exchanges continued among participants throughout the venue, bringing the event to a successful close.

[Related links]

Graduate School of Medicine: https://www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/

Graduate School of Engineering: https://www.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/

Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB): https://qiqb.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/home

Institute of Laser Engineering: https://www.ile.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/