A ceremony was held on May 29, to mark the opening of the Tokai Open Innovation Complex (TOIC), a new center for nurturing startup companies and promoting collaboration between industry and academia in the Tokai region of central Japan. One building is on the Higashiyama Campus of Nagoya University and the other is at Gifu University.
The ribbon cutting was attended by about 60 distinguished guests, including government officials from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI). Other guests were from industry and academia in the Tokai region of central Japan.
TOIC aims to promote industry-academia exchange, provide support to start-up companies, and facilitate collaborative research. The new building on the Nagoya University campus consists of seven floors. The facilities include a dedicated co-working area exclusively for members, an incubation space for start-up companies, and a shared research area for collaborative projects with Nagoya University faculty and partnering companies.
Along with providing physical space for collaborative work, TOIC will host events to encourage interaction between the private sector and academics. It will act as a hub for startup companies to operate before and after they launch. Tokai Higher Education and Research System Chancellor Seiichi Matsuo said, "Along with developing human resources and producing research, an important mission of universities is to give back to society".
For more on TOIC, please click here to visit the website [in Japanese only]