Organization and Participating Institutions

Based at Kanazawa Institute of Technology, the Organization for Advancement of COI Research (COI-KIT) is one of the twelve COI sites in Japan adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan (MEXT) under its new COI Science and Technology based Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (COI STREAM).

We have selected "establish a sustainable society with vitality" as one of the visions proposed in the program and are working on research toward realizing next-generation infrastructure systems built with innovative composite materials with a focus on carbon fibers. COI-KIT was established to facilitate these research and development activities.

Working Groups

Each institution and company participates in working groups where they can utilize their expertise.

Working Group 1: Development of innovative materials

Development of highly functional thermoplastic resins (high modulus, long term durability, self-healing, flame retardant and other properties), and bio-based materials that do not use fossil fuels

Working Group 2: Development of innovative manufacturing processes

Establishment of high-productivity, low-cost, low-energy innovative manufacturing processes through development of advanced integration technologies for reinforcing fibers and resins, and development of continuous molding processes and manufacturing equipment for long and large structural members

Working Group 3: Development of applications

Aiming to implement in society various social infrastructure (roads, tunnels, bridges, high rise buildings and other infrastructure where maintenance costs can be reduced), city and housing infrastructure (infrastructure that enables flexible design and is easy to relocate) and marine infrastructure (sailing vessels, offshore wind power generation, deep ocean drilling and other infrastructure not possible with existing materials)

Working Group 4: Development of recycling technologies

Establishment of reuse technologies and recycling systems capable of handling high volumes at low cost, issues that will become more important going forward

About the MEXT Science and Technology based Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (COI STREAM)

Japan is in the midst of severe international competition. Right now though, there are very few Japan-developed innovations so it is essential that we begin continuously creating unbeatable innovation if we are to regain our international competitiveness.

For this reason, MEXT has set the following three visions as areas of need for Japan going forward. These visions do not follow the technology-driven frontcasting approach of setting goals to achieve targets proposed in specific areas of science and technology. Rather, they follow the user-driven backcasting approach of setting goals to adopt areas of science and technology that meet the needs of society.

Vision 1
Ensuring sustainability as an advanced country with an aging society and low birth rate
Vision 2
Building a prosperous living environment toward becoming a reflective, respected country
Vision 3
Building an active, sustainable society

In addition, MEXT launched the Center of Innovation Science and Technology based Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (COI STREAM) in fiscal 2013 to realize innovation through industry-academia collaborations that would be impossible to achieve by industry alone. The program sweeps aside the barriers presented by existing disciplines and organizations and identifies innovative research and development goals based on these visions, but focused ten years into the future.

As part of this, Visionary Teams composed mainly of industry experts with considerable knowledge of science, technology and other fields invited ideas from companies, universities and other institutions to realize these visions, after which they decided on a site image and accepted applications into COI sites.

The Visionary Teams investigated the optimal makeup of the sites based on the proposals and, with universities mobilizing their resources and companies taking the business lead, a total of twelve large sites for industry-academia collaborations were established.
Each site is provided with a maximum of approximately one billion yen per year for a period of up to nine years as research and development support to enable all twelve sites, as Centers of Innovation able to compete globally, to continuously produce results that have an impact on world markets.

From a total of 190 submissions, twelve bodies were adopted as COI sites:

  • Tohoku University
  • Kyoto University
  • Institute of Industrial Promotion Kawasaki
  • The University of Tokyo (two sites)
  • Hirosaki University
  • Hiroshima University
  • Osaka University
  • Kanazawa Institute of Technology
  • Nagoya University
  • Shinshu University
  • Kyushu University

Related Websites

MEXT Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (COI STREAM)
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/kagaku/coi/ (Japanese only)
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Center of Innovation (COI) Program
http://www.jst.go.jp/tt/EN/platform/coi.html (English page)

Contents

  • Organization and Participating Institutions