In 2017, the Global Innovation Division was newly established at the Center for the Collaborative Research & Community Cooperation.
When comparing the word “innovation” with its synonym “invention” which means new ideas, the innovation means “to create unprecedented value”. Researchers and inventors personally create new ideas, but they do not assume general customer, that is, a market transaction, and the impact can be limited.
On the other hand, the innovation premises profitable corporate activities, forms a market with organizational efforts and gives an impact to our society.
This is exactly one of the themes undertaken by Center for Collaborative Research & Community Cooperation promoting collaboration between industry, academia and government, and Global Innovation Division takes a mission to focus on its activities with an international perspective. By continuously expanding the impact of innovation from the Hiroshima region to the world, Hiroshima University will form an innovation ecosystem in this area.

1) Promotion of collaboration in Latin American region

• Hiroshima University (HU) signed an MOU with University of Guanajuato (2015), National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) (2017) and National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) (2017). Further MOU agreement with Latin American universities and collaboration with private enterprises are under way.
• HU invited a lecturer from the Autonomous National University of Mexico for collaboration on entrepreneurship (2017).
• Hiroshima University Guanajuato Center opened in Guanajuato University (2017), as the information dissemination base in Latin America and to deepen industryacademia collaboration.
• HU held a seminar on the environment at the Guanajuato University and Center for Collaborative Research & Community Cooperation (2017). These seminars will continuously be held in the future.
• Training of three Mexican trainees for JICA Mexico-Japan Strategic Global Partnership Program (2017) is under way.

2) Promotion of collaboration in Asia

• HU has continuously conducted training program for local engineers with Bandung Institute of Technology, MOU partner, at the Japanese industrial park in Indonesia.
• HU hosted a seminar on the environment (2016) and food and agriculture (2017) in Vietnam with Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Hiroshima Prefecture and HU’s partner companies.
• HU held a seminar on transportation in Myanmar jointly with HU’s partner enterprises, local government agencies and local universities (2016). HU will continue the seminars on the theme that meets local needs.
• The university agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras was concluded (2017). Comprehensive agreement with an Indian company was concluded and employee education in progress (2017).

3) Promotion of collaboration in Europe and America

• Collaborate with the University of Munster, a partner university, on industry, academia and government collaboration, and entrepreneurship. HU invited a lecturer from University of Cambridge to continuously hold lectures on international industry, academia and government collaboration (since 2015).
• HU will develop a framework for collaboration with European and American companies.

4) Supporting Japanese companies actively expanding overseas

• English brochure “Industry-Academia and Community Collaboration at Hiroshima University”
• English HP
• Collection of products born from collaborative researches (Japanese · English · Chinese)
• Templates of various agreements includeing collaborative/sponsored research and patent license
• Introduction of the latest technology of HU via the Hiroshima University Quarterly Technology Newsletter in English (since December 2010)
• Web version Himawari “Research outcome database”