"KNIT a Network! Role Model Roundtable" is a project that invites various guests involved in the world of science and research, and interviews them to talk about their lives, work, and more.
The sixth session, held on Thursday, September 10th, was part of our series on jobs within universities. We interviewed Rikako Shirono and Mika Chiwaki, Industry-Academia Collaboration Managers in the Innovation Creation Division of the Industry-Academia-Regional Collaboration Promotion Organization, on the topic of "The Career Path of Two Hokkaido University Industry-Academia Collaboration Managers" - Hokkaido University's Industry-Academia Collaboration Initiatives and More.
Both of them belong to the Industry-Academia-Regional Collaboration Promotion Organization, which handles tasks related to patent applications, maintenance, and inventions to bring research results to society, as well as initiatives to nurture entrepreneurs who start businesses based on research seeds, and procedures related to the export and import of research results and necessary research samples overseas.
We received questions from our viewers such as, "What kinds of businesses have people who have started businesses after graduating from Hokkaido University started?" and "Where can I make inquiries?"
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Ms. Jono and Ms. Chiwaki for their clear and insightful explanations of many valuable topics. Furthermore, we received applications and participation from approximately 20 people from both within and outside the university. Thank you very much to all the participants.
Please see the "Report" below for the rest of the story.
The next KNIT a Network! Researcher Exchange Meeting will be held on Thursday, September 24th, from 12:20 to 12:50. Our guest will be Midori Kawamura, Assistant to the President (Diversity) and Professor of Applied Chemistry at Kitami Institute of Technology.
We look forward to your participation!
For details, please see “Notices from the Career Support Office” onCLICK HERE
Report
The two appeared remotely, maintaining an appropriate distance with a large capybara doll called "Distance-kun" placed in the middle. Industry-academia collaboration manager Shirono works at Hokkaido University after completing a doctoral program in the Graduate School of Engineering.
Similarly, Chiwaki, who is also an industry-academia collaboration manager, says that she studied at the university's CoSTEP program while working, and that she has arrived at her current position by choosing work that addresses the issues she herself has felt compelled to tackle.
In addition to patent application and maintenance, the Industry-Academia-Regional Collaboration Promotion Organization's main activities include entrepreneurship education, facilitating joint research with companies, and handling procedures related to the export and import of research results and necessary samples overseas.
In their introductions to their work, the two speakers provided a clear and easy-to-understand explanation of Hokkaido University's intellectual property system, which is something researchers should be aware of.
We learned about the patterns of collaboration in joint research conducted at our university, the budget for patent applications (the amount for patent applications is budgeted by the Industry-Academia-Regional Collaboration Promotion Organization, so it does not need to be budgeted from research funds), and the benefits of filing a patent (patents and a portion of sales are returned to researchers as licensing revenue). This was information that is useful not only for researchers but also for those of us working at the university.
Furthermore, the two of them have been very active, such as establishing the "Mountain Climbing Cooperation Club" to climb Mount Yotei, and starting the "Nora Club" to grow vegetables and interact with people on campus.
The two speakers created an approachable atmosphere, and questions were asked one after another throughout the roundtable discussion.
When asked what kinds of businesses have been started by Hokkaido University graduates so far, the answer was that those who have started businesses are from IT, agriculture, and pharmaceutical fields.
To the question, "Where should I inquire about bringing in or taking out technology and samples from overseas?", the answer was, "The Industry-Academia-Regional Collaboration Promotion Organization's website has inquiry forms for each field, so please feel free to ask any questions, no matter how small!"
Both of them said that what makes their work rewarding is being able to help researchers and receiving "thank yous" from them, since they are in a position to support them. They also said that if you have any questions at all, experts in each field at the Industry-Academia-Regional Collaboration Promotion Organization will support you! Don't hesitate to ask anything.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Ms. Jono and Ms. Chiwaki for their clear and insightful explanations of many valuable topics. Furthermore, we received applications and participation from approximately 20 people from both within and outside the university. Thank you very much to all the participants.
