Under the Cabinet Office’s Regional University and Regional Industry Revitalization Grant Program, “Creation of a Global Hub for Advanced Metallic Materials – Next Generation TATARA Project” (adopted as an “Expansion Framework” since FY2023), the NEXTA Forum was held on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at the Faculty of Materials for Energy Building, Shimane University.

The NEXTA Forum, organized by the Next Generation TATARA Co-Creation Centre (NEXTA) at Shimane University, has been held since April 2021 as an opportunity to promote the social implementation of research results and to create new value through open innovation with a wide range of companies and researchers. This was the 24th forum in the series.

At the beginning of the forum, Shingo MATSUMOTO, Vice-President for Industry-Academia Collaboration and Innovation, explained the features of Shimane University’s industry-academia collaboration initiatives and the challenges faced by regional universities. This was followed by a lecture titled “Materials Research and Business Development at Oxford” by Professor Roger Reed, Director of NEXTA and Professor at the University of Oxford. In addition, Professor Catherine Rae, Visiting Professor at Shimane University and Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge, delivered a talk on “Collaborative R&D between Industry and Academia at the University of Cambridge.” Simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and English was provided for both lectures.

A total of 115 participants joined the event, including university faculty members and industry representatives. Approximately half participated online, and 27 students from Shimane University also attended.

The speakers shared insights into common challenges faced by both Japan and the UK in creating sustainable social value through knowledge exchange and co-creation between universities and industry in the field of materials engineering—such as differences in timelines between rapid business development and academic publication, as well as issues related to intellectual property.

Reflecting on the event, Professor Roger Reed commented:
“I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those who attended this workshop. I myself learned a great amount! I hope we can do this again!”

NEXTA will continue to connect with global leaders in materials engineering, provide cutting-edge technologies and information, and contribute to fostering students’ intellectual curiosity and revitalizing the local community.

Comments from the Speakers
Professor Shingo MATSUMOTO, 
Vice-president for Industry-Academia Collaboration and Innovation, Shimane University
I am very pleased that the 24th NEXTA Forum, “Designing Materials Research,” was successfully concluded, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Roger Reed, Professor Catherine Rae, and all the participants.
Through the lectures by both professors, I was able to feel the remarkable dynamism with which the world’s leading universities strategically transform cutting-edge science into social value. Their talks also reaffirmed my conviction that our University’s initiatives—fostering interdisciplinary integration through “Materials” as a common language and building an ecosystem that connects research outcomes to societal implementation—are fully aligned with the most advanced global trends.

I would like the students to be keenly aware that NEXTA serves as a true “hub of knowledge” directly connected to the world. Here, you can access world‑class expertise and cultivate a broad perspective on how your own research can transform society.
I hope you will make full use of this privileged environment and cultivate the ambition to spark innovation from Shimane to the world.

Professor Catherine Rae, 
Visiting Professor at Shimane University and Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge
It was a great pleasure to contribute to the NEXTA 24th Forum in December and to share some of the insights I have gained working with Industry over the last 40 years. The industrial scene is changing fast, and companies need to innovate to stay competitive.  

Universities can play and important role in this both contributing to that innovation directly but also educating students about the specific needs of industry.  These include a pragmatic approach to problems, delivering within a prescribed timescale often dictated by commercial cycles and the need for confidentiality. These can be very far from the norms of academic research, but can make for a fast moving and focused research environment. Working with industry can also be a very effective route for students to find jobs, and for companies to recruit talented staff. It is important too for companies to understand how industrial research contributes to the role of the University, both in terms of educating young people and also in their research mission.  

Universities need to publish their work in the open literature – a requirement often clashing with the need for confidentiality. This requires imaginative and skillful construction of projects which include elements of general understanding which can be published, and specific insights and innovation which can either be protected by patents or remain confidential. Often a deeper understanding leads to innovation in a way simple contract research does not, but companies often need to be persuaded of this.

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