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ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ and Japan’s Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have signed a new five-year research and education partnership.

The agreement between Imperial and will begin a new phase of closer collaboration between the two institutions.  

This new partnership with the Institute of Science Tokyo comes at a pivotal moment in strengthening science and technology ties between the UK and Japan." Professor Peter Haynes Provost and Deputy President of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½

Imperial and Science Tokyo will expand research and education activities in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering biology, advanced materials, and clean technologies.

The partnership will enable several key initiatives between the universities including collaborative research projects, research fellowships and PhD mobility programmes.

There will be opportunities for ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ and researchers to work closely together and spend time in each other’s laboratories in London and Tokyo, working on joint projects and sharing knowledge and data.

The Imperial-Science Tokyo partnership signals the growing collaborations between scientists in the UK and Japan. In February the UK and Japan announced a major package of science and technology collaborations, strengthening ties between two of the world’s leading innovation hubs.  Japan has also associated with the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

Professor Peter Haynes, Provost and Deputy President of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, said: “This new partnership with the Institute of Science Tokyo comes at a pivotal moment in strengthening science and technology ties between the UK and Japan.

“Through expanded exchanges, joint research opportunities and new initiatives to support early-career researchers, we are creating stronger pathways for collaboration.

“In critical fields such as AI, robotics, biotechnology and clean technologies, partnerships like this will be essential in accelerating discovery and translating innovation into real-world impact.”

"Our two institutions can drive forward both research and talent development, and help deliver a better future in an increasingly uncertain world." Professor Naoto Ohtake President and CEO, Institute of Science Tokyo

Professor Naoto Ohtake, President and CEO, Institute of Science Tokyo, said: “Through this visit, I was once again struck by the long history of collaboration with Imperial, our shared commitment to translating cutting-edge science into real-world impact, and the strong alignment with Imperial’s Convergence Science Tokyo Visionary Initiatives.

"With the UK–Japan Science and Technology Partnership now in place, I am confident that by working closely together across key areas—sustainability, energy and resilience; health, MedTech and responsible innovation; artificial intelligence, cooperative systems and advanced technologies; and space, security and telecommunications—our two institutions can drive forward both research and talent development, and help deliver a better future in an increasingly uncertain world.”

The agreement was signed following a roundtable of academic and industry leaders on UK-Japan Deep Tech Partnerships for Impact, which was hosted at Imperial. 

 
Professor Mary Ryan, Imperial’s Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) gave opening remarks alongside Professor Yujiro Tanaka, president and chief academic officer at Science Tokyo, and Mr Takuma Kajita, Minister for Economic Affairs, Embassy of Japan in the UK.