There’s a reason that electric vehicles (EV) in salvage yards are kept by themselves and spaced far apart. Their lithium-ion batteries can hold a lot of energy, and if one catches fire, it’s sometimes hard for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

Avoiding digital censorship can sometimes feel like a game of whack-a-mole, with the same success rate, especially when the opponent runs one of the world’s most sophisticated surveillance networks, such as China’s so-called Great Firewall.  But what if out-maneuvering censors was played with a longer view and finer strategy, more like chess?

Tuberculosis remains a public health crisis. The World Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Report released in November 2024 painted a sobering picture; approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, the highest number since the organization began global TB monitoring in 1995. A major challenge in tuberculosis treatment has been the long duration needed to effectively treat the disease.

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 will establish a new “Department of Medical Device Engineering” in April 2025 for the development of medical devices through the fusion of medicine and engineering. The tentatively-titled new department will have a special focus on education, especially through integration with the medical device engineering major established in April last year in the Graduate School of Medicine. Building on the experience and knowledge gained from the joint development with industry of “Hinotori,” the first surgical robot produced in Japan, the department’s aim will be to cultivate human resources to lead the development of cutting-edge medical devices “made in Kobe” through collaboration among industry, government and academia. We interviewed MURAGAKI Yoshihiro, professor and director of the Center for Advanced Medical Engineering Research & Development, who himself is involved in the development of a number of medical devices, including the “SCOT: Smart Cyber Operating Theater,” a smart operating room, and who is playing a leading role in promoting the new department, about the objectives of the new department, its educational content and future goals.

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.

Led by interns from multiple DOE programs, a newly expanded dataset allows researchers to use easy-to-obtain measurements to determine the elemental composition of a promising carbon storage mineral.