Japan, once a leader in technological innovation, is now lagging behind. The number of researchers and published papers has steadily decreased, causing a decline in global competitiveness. The underlying issue is a shortage of talent that forms the foundation for scientific and technological innovation, particularly the decreasing number of students pursuing doctoral programs.

The “Kobe future doctors dōjō for middle school students,” launched in 2022, provides elementary and junior high school students with the opportunity to learn by encouraging their spirit of inquiry. The program fosters the abilities to envision and to pioneer the future, both of which are essential for Japan’s next generation of doctoral candidates.

Kobe University fosters academic exchange with universities in many countries and has more than 1,000 international students. To support currently enrolled international students in finding their first post-graduation employment, the university has established a system that focuses on career development from a global perspective. We interviewed IKEMURA Akiko, a project associate professor who supported international students’ job-hunting activities at the Career Center and who has been involved in the Global Career Development Program at the Graduate School of Agricultural Science since 2023, about past efforts and achievements as well as about current projects.

Kobe University is committed to supporting university-launched startups that create new businesses based on research results. The university’s long-term “KU VISION 2030” includes consistent support from entrepreneurship education to fundraising. A range of projects are now underway in fields that are Kobe University strengths, such as biotech manufacturing.

Researchers at the University of Electro-Communications have introduced an innovative approach to improving system security. The new framework uses advanced techniques to analyze business process logs and ensure that role-based access rules are properly followed. By combining specialized languages and intelligent analysis tools, it can uncover potential security risks and help organizations address them effectively. Tested on real and simulated systems, this flexible and scalable approach provides a powerful way for organizations to improve security and protect sensitive data.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed an innovative method for rapidly creating laser light sources in large quantities using an inkjet printer that ejects laser-emitting droplets. By applying an electric field to these droplets, the researchers demonstrated that switching the emission of light on and off is possible. Furthermore, they successfully created a compact laser display by arranging these droplets on a circuit board.

In order to uncover the relationship between structure and function, researchers used microfluidic devices to study neuronal networks.

A research team at Yokohama National University has developed a way to study how the orientation and behavior of electrons in titanium influence its physical characteristics. Their findings, published in Communications Physics on December 18, 2024, could pave the way for the development of more advanced and efficient titanium alloys.

There have been dramatic advances in the natural sciences thanks to inventions such as telescopes and microscopes that enable us to see things invisible to the naked eye. The arrival of X-ray photography, CT (computed tomography), and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) has transformed healthcare, and the pioneers of CT and MRI both received Nobel Prizes. Professor KIMURA Kenjiro has developed a technology that can produce 3D images of the inner structure of an object by applying waves (for example, radio waves) to the object and measuring the wave scattering.

He has recently drawn attention for advances in microwave mammography technology, a system that revolutionizes breast cancer screenings by visualizing the cancer to a high level of accuracy using very faint microwaves. He has also used magnetic fields to develop a system that visualizes abnormal electric currents in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and the memory of advanced semiconductors. With research that pursues the science of visualization and a startup to ensure that their findings can benefit society at large, Kimura and his team are contributing to the health and security of humanity.

Mathematicians at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) are developing a new approach to detect cancer early. This technique could provide a powerful new tool against the disease and involves solving partial differential equations (PDEs). 

Prof. Ugur Abdulla, head of the Analysis and Partial Differential Equations Unit, joined OIST with the goal of making it one of the world’s leading centers in mathematics. "We want OIST to be a key place for sharing math knowledge globally," he said. "Our work with partner institutes helps us connect with different parts of the world, sharing knowledge and providing opportunities for PhD students to work on cutting edge problems in the frontline of mathematics."