Research ActivitiesWaseda University

Contribution

Contributions to the Waseda Open Innovation Valley Initiative

1. Purpose

As a part of research promotion efforts to transform Waseda into a leading university that shines on world stage, Waseda University has established the “Waseda Open Innovation Valley Concept” with the aim of developing bases for industry-academia collaboration and technology creation in the Waseda area, in a way that is similar to Silicon Valley in the United States.

This initiative encompasses projects such as the development of a research environment and research support functions to promote industry-academia collaborative research, aimed at transforming the Waseda area into a base for open innovation where corporations, attracted by the business opportunities in Waseda, come together to create new technologies.

We look forward to receiving your generous support to advance various projects toward the realization of the Waseda Open Innovation Valley.

★Click here for the contribution prospectus

 

 

2. Overview

Contribution guidelines

[Contribution period] There is no specific contribution period.

[Donors] Corporations/Organizations, alumni, parents, and all other donors who support this initiative

[Amount] There is no specific amount for contributions.

Recognition on donor plaques, etc.

[Publication of the names of donors] The names of donors and the amount of contribution will be published in The Book of Donors, a booklet accompanying the alumni magazine Waseda Gakuho (donors may also choose to remain anonymous).

[Recognition on donor plaques, etc.] Donors who make contributions above a certain amount will be honored with the engraving of their names on a donor plaque installed inside the new Research Innovation Center (Building No. 121).

Name of plaque (provisional)  Individual donors Corporate/Organizational donor
Gold plaque 1,000,000 yen 3,000,000 yen
Silver plaque  300,000 yen 2,000,000 yen
Bronze plaque 100,000 yen 1,000,000 yen

 

3. Waseda Open Innovation Valley Concept

In the Waseda area, open innovation bases are amassed, including industry-academia collaborations, and achieve synergistic effects through networking of the bases with the purpose of creating new “knowledge”

The aim is to develop bases for industry-academia collaboration and technology creation in the Waseda area, similar to Silicon Valley in the United States that is the “holy grail” to IT companies and start-ups, and to build a global open innovation environment centered around research bases such as the new Research Innovation Center (Building No. 121 completed in March 2020, Green Computing Systems Research and Development Center, Smart Energy System Innovation Center, Center for Entrepreneurship, Kagami Memorial Research Institute for Materials Science and Technology, and Waseda Arena.

Center for Entrepreneurship

■Provides entrepreneurship support to students, faculty and staff of Waseda University

■ Develops spaces and facilities for venture companies

Kagami Memorial Research Institute for Materials Science and Technology

■Designated “Joint Research Center for Environmentally Conscious Technologies in Materials Science” by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT)

Waseda Arena

■ Completion of the multipurpose facility “Waseda Arena” in December 2018

■ Promotes research in health and sports science

Smart Energy System Innovation Center

■ Designated as a Center of Innovation (COI) satellite under the “Center of Innovation Science and Technology based Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (COI STREAM)” of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

■ Collaborates widely with researchers within and outside Waseda University as a base for research and development on storage batteries

Research Innovation Center

■ Construction of a base for industry-academia collaboration at a total cost of 10 billion yen (independently funded) (Completed in April 2020, with six floors above ground and two below, and a total floor area of 18,000m2)

■ Engages in various research support activities (one-stop center for industry-academia collaboration, research promotion and strategy, TLO, contract support, outreach functions)

■Promotes the “Open Innovation System” development project by MEXT

■ Built through the support of the Mi

Green Computing Systems Research and Development Center

■ Built through the support of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) under its Project for Industrial Technology Research and Development Facilities (2011)

■ Promotes research and development in areas such as next-generation multicore/many-core hardware and software, and applied technologies

■ Develops human resources who can create the next generation of high value-added technology through industry-academia collaboration

 

Sustaining the cycle of industry-academia collaboration, development of highly intellectual doctoral human resources, creation of intellectual property, and venture creation, to bring about the realization of open innovation  

This initiative aims to bring about the realization of a complete ecosystem in industry-academia-government collaborative research. In this ecosystem, graduate students, especially those in doctoral courses who represent the next generation, participate actively and in collaboration with industry partners in efforts to address difficult problems that reflect the needs of society. The results of their research are sent out into the world from the industrial sector as high value-added goods and services, such as “world’s only…” or “high performance…” A part of the profits is then reinvested in the university to create even more highly skilled human resources and advanced technology, and a part of the intellectual property that is created or derived from that process contributes to the development of ventures originating from the university. The profits from these ventures are, in turn, invested into next-generation research to complete the cycle.

 

4. Uses of contributions

Contributions will be used widely in projects related to the “Waseda Open Innovation Valley Concept” detailed below.

Revitalization of research

Employment of doctoral students, employment of top researchers, enrichment of basic research for young researchers, provision of industry-academia collaborative research spaces in competitive fields, granting of incentives to researchers/research organizations, support for publication in top journals, support for presentation of papers at international conferences, etc.

Promotion of industry-academia-government collaboration

One-stop center, support for creation of intellectual property, support for utilization of intellectual property, support for matching with industries (including WOI), introduction of seeds technologies, establishment of internal teams to fulfill needs, contract support, support for research fund management and attending research ethic courses, etc.

Venture creation and development

Enhancement of intellectual property licensing, creation of incubation communities comprising entrepreneurs and venture capitalists/investors, matching support with a view to enhancing value, etc.

*Please refer to the section below for specific examples of projects.

 

5. Application method

Please submit an application using the form below.

* Click here to find out more about tax benefits for donors.


▶Specific example of project: Industry-academia collaborative research spaces

In March 2020, Waseda University completed constructing the Research Innovation Center (Building 121), a new research and development building in the research and development center area of Waseda Campus, in order to establish a research environment and research support capabilities for promoting world-leading collaborative research between industry and academia. (The total construction cost was around 10 billion yen. The building has two floors below ground and six above, with a total floor area of approximately 18,000 m2.)

The Research Innovation Center plays a central role in the realization of the “Waseda Open Innovation Valley Concept.”


▶Specific example of project: Support for matching with industries

This project offers a space to support the matching of industry with academia to bring about the creation and development of new innovation through advanced technology seeds and the outcomes of industry-academia collaboration. Industry, venture and start-up companies, researchers/technicians, and students who support the “Waseda Open Innovation Valley Concept” come together in this space that provides lectures by industry leaders who are driving innovation in Japan and abroad, panel discussions on themes related to start-ups and ventures, and booth exhibits, including technological demonstrations.


▶Specific example of project: Support for young/mid-career researchers

By promoting team-based research and providing organizational support to young researchers, this system aims to nurture young researchers who will play a leading role in establishing Waseda’s position as an international research university. Efforts are made to provide customized research support and create an environment for researchers who will form the core of next-generation research. Young and mid-career researchers with future potential are selected based on an evaluation of their research achievements and research contents, and the contents of the support provided are determined in consultation with the selected researchers. These researchers should be equipped with the ability to bring a team together, collaborate with other organizations, and acquire large-scale external funds toward the development of their research. They should also engage in international joint research that contributes directly to the appraisal of the university’s research capabilities.


Inquiries

◆ Inquiries on the purpose and uses of contributions

Research Promotion Division, Waseda University

Email: [email protected]

 

◆ Inquiries about contribution procedures

External Affairs and Fund-Raising Section, Waseda University

Email: [email protected]

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