Tokyo Tech Director-General of IIR ProfessorToru Hisabori
On March 20, 2018, the Tokyo Institute of Technology was selected as a Designated National University by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in recognition of the Institute’s ability to develop educational and research activities at an international level. The Designated National University program was established with the aim of carefully selecting the very best national universities in Japan and fostering their development as world-class institutions in an competitive international environment. Globalization of education and research is one of the key initiatives of this program.
With the aim of further strengthening our research capabilities, the Tokyo Institute of Technology conducted a major reorganization of our research structure, culminating in the establishment of the Institute for Innovative Research (IIR) and on April 1, 2016. Made up of approximately 180 researchers, the IIR is a new organization that promotes research in new and integrated fields. The IIR currently has four research laboratories with independent missions, four research centers, and twelve smaller research units that conduct cutting-edge research.
As an additional part of our globalization efforts, the Tokyo Institute of Technology established the Tokyo Tech World Research Hub Initiative (WRHI) in 2016 with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The WRHI was formed with the objective of accelerating international collaborative research, primarily by inviting top-level researchers from overseas to carry out collaborative research in integrated fields, thereby encouraging the globalization of our institute. Four international hub groups make up the WRHI: the Information and Artificial Intelligence Research Unit, the Cell Biology Research Unit, the Materials and Devices Research Unit and the Social Implementation Research Unit. By actively inviting world-class researchers and promoting joint research with researchers in our institute, the WRHI enhances international collaborative research with each of our hub groups and all researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
The WRHI will continue to strongly encourage interdisciplinary research and international collaboration.
On behalf of all the members of IIR, I appreciate your support of our activities.
April 1, 2020
Toru Hisabori
Chairman of Tokyo Tech WRHI Committee, ProfessorMasaki Azuma
Tokyo Tech World Research Hub Initiative (WRHI) was established as a part of the Institute of Innovative Research and is the driving force behind our aspiration to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange between the world’s top researchers as well as acting as a center for groundbreaking research. Seven principal investigators from abroad are permanently running research groups at the IIR and many of the world’s top researchers are invited to visit us for months at a time to carry out collaborative research with our researchers. The WRHI program is open to all Tokyo Tech staff members and provides funding and support to invite researchers from abroad. In addition, we dispatch young researchers from Tokyo Tech overseas to establish new international collaborations in all fields of science and technology. The WRHI also organizes meetings and seminars to promote scientific communication and exchange between our researchers and leading academics from around the globe.
The WRHI has already begun to yield novel results and opportunities for the development of our young staff through accelerated international collaboration. Many further exciting outcomes are promised as the program ramps up, so make sure to come back and check our website for news and announcements. Thank you for your interest, participation in and support of this bold and exciting initiative to further enhance the leading research at Tokyo Tech.
Masaki Azuma