The 8th round of "Shimane Advanced Metal Materials Base Creation Project Conference" (B Conference) was held on 20 July, 2022. This Conference is held twice a year for discussions for the Project of Subsidy for Regional University / Regional Industry Creation, "Creation of a Global Base for Advanced Metals -Next Generation TATARA Project-".The conference was held online, likewise the previous time, connecting Shimane University, the collaborating researchers in the UK, including Professor Roger Reed of the University of Oxford, the Director of the Next Generation Tatara Co-Creation Centre (NEXTA), the Cabinet Office in Tokyo, and other related organizations.

  At the beginning of the conference, Mr. Mouri, the project manager, gave the opening remarks, saying, “We are in in the midst of turbulent times having many issues to such as Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, materials and electricity, as well as its impact on economic activities such as exchange movements. While in such a hard time, the need for resource/ environment saving is getting higher centering promotion of SDGs. There is now an expectation of new materials and it’s very important for us. Considering that this Tatara project will be developed more, I think this fiscal year will be a significant one.”

During the conference, the leaders from the Aircraft Project, Motor Project and Human Resource Development Project made a presentation of their achievements as well as the plan for this fiscal year. The committee members showed appreciation and expectations hearing the achievements. They also pointed out the importance of the activities to make the specialized human resources trained with NEXTA wish to stay in the region, as well as the activities of outreach to the local junior and senior high school students, and also reaffirmed the continued importance of cooperation with each other including with other educational institutions.

  At the end of the conference, Professor Roger Reed, the director of the NEXTA, remarked, “I appreciate all the progress, hearing all the reports. Especially, even in this difficult circumstance because of the pandemic, you made all the achievements. You all have high morale and we have been making progress on the technology side as well, so I believe together we will be able to move further. I appreciate your cooperation.”
 The next B-conference is scheduled for December 2022.