GRANITE Networking Event with Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology, Germany
- Share
- Tweet
- Send to email
On May 25, 2021, Shinshu University, which is a key member of GRANITE (German Research Ambassadors Network for Industrial Technology Endeavors), took part in a GRANITE networking event, “Boosting Transcontinental SME Collaboration between Germany and Japan”, hosted by the Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB). More than 50 participants from Japan and Germany joined this virtual event.
From Shinshu University, Vice-President Prof. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Prof. Daisuke Tsuda, and Assist. Prof. Amanda Schuetze (Center for Global Education and Collaboration) participated as core members of the project.
GRANITE aims to foster international collaboration by building networks to connect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany and Japan with digital transformation experts, initiating active dialogue between companies, research institutes, local administrations and governments.
Core members of the GRANITE project: Sabine Ganter-Richter (top left), Dr. René Reiners (top right), Prof. Kiyoshi Tanaka (bottom)
At the event, the following networks were introduced.
- GRANITE supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education within the framework of the research marketing campaign “The Future of Work”
- Shinshu University and the Shinshu IT Valley Concept
- Competence-Center SMEs 4.0: eStandards
In his presentation, Prof. Tanaka introduced Shinshu University and its role as a collaboration hub promoting global networking between academia, local government and industry. He focused on the Shinshu IT Valley Concept with the aim of encouraging German and Japanese SMEs to use the network to share knowledge and experience, and to collaborate in taking digital transformation to the next level. Participants learned about the incentives being offered by Nagano Prefecture to promote this initiative and about other on-going projects.
Prof. Tanaka introduced Shinshu University and the Shinshu IT Valley Concept.
After the presentations, attendees could put their questions directly to the experts in breakout-room networking sessions.
The event was a great opportunity to promote Shinshu University’s and Nagano prefecture’s activities and to strengthen our networks with our partners in Germany and Japan.
Past and Future Highlights in the Shinshu University-GRANITE Collaboration
Shinshu University hosted a GRANITE event in October 2019 at the Faculty of Engineering and entered into an agreement with Fraunhofer FIT in January 2020.
We will continue to expand our collaboration with Germany through joint events, and the setup of a Shinshu University Satellite Office at Fraunhofer FIT is planned for this year.
Thanks to the GRANITE network, Shinshu University students could complete an internship at Fraunhofer FIT in 2020, Germany.
