We held the Kochi Open Innovation Days

Release Date:March 17, 2026

　With the aim of opening our university’s research and co-creation hubs to the broader public and creating future value in collaboration with stakeholders from the local community, industry, government, and educational institutions, we held the “Kochi Open Innovation Days” over two days on Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4, 2026.This initiative served as an opportunity to widely share the vision of i³K (Kochi University Innovation & Social Impact Initiative)—a research support organization scheduled to be reorganized in April 2027—and to promote research and innovation university-wide.

[Day 1] Opening Ceremony & Campus Tour
The first day began at the Monobe Campus with the opening ceremony for the “Fisheries and Agricultural Sciences Co-creation Facility.”
　With as many as 120 stakeholders in attendance, we received warm messages from Hiroki Hirano, Director of the Center Formation and Regional Promotion Office at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Kenji Hamada, General Deputy Director of Kochi Prefecture; and Hiroshige Nishina, President of Ehime University. The new facility and the university’s future strategies were also introduced.
　During the subsequent campus tour of the various research centers at the Monobe Campus, participants visited the newly established Fisheries and Agricultural Sciences Co-creation Facility and the Aquatic Organism Rearing Research Facility, as well as the Marine Core Research Institute（MaCRI）, the IoP Co-creation Center, and the Warm-Climate Field Science Education and Research Center. The tour facilitated interaction between participants and the university’s researchers and students, providing a valuable opportunity for attendees to see and learn about Kochi University’s research facilities firsthand.

[Day 2] i³K (i-Cube-K) Kickoff Symposium
The following day, the i³K (Kochi University Innovation & Social Impact Initiative) Kickoff Symposium was held at the Asakura Campus, attracting over 200 participants.
　In presentations by Norihito Sato, Vice President of Okayama University, and Hiroyuki Inoue, President and CEO of Techno Network Shikoku, the speakers discussed the potential of research universities and the future of technology transfer from diverse perspectives.
Additionally, during the poster session led by researchers, a total of 140 posters were displayed. Lively discussions took place among the participants, and the venue was filled with a lively atmosphere from start to finish.