President Naoshi Sugiyama led a delegation of officials to Singapore from September 4 to 7, 2025, advancing ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s decade-long collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and expanding research partnerships across the city-state.
The highlight of the visit was a meeting with NUS President Tan Eng Chye, where both universities discussed expanding their student exchange programs and establishing new research facilities. Approximately 100 ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø students participate annually in the various programs held in Singapore, while the number of NUS students coming to Nagoya should double to 80 this fiscal year.
The delegation also met with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jui Lim of SG Innovate, Singapore¡¯s deep tech innovation agency, which manages a S$200 million fund supporting research-driven startups. The discussions covered topics such as deep tech startup internships, venture building training, and potential investment opportunities in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s research ventures and startup ecosystem.
Another important meeting was with Executive Director for Academic Research Subodh Mhaisalkar of the National Research Foundation (NRF). Through cooperation with CREATE (Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise) under the NRF, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø hopes to strengthen its research foundation by setting up a physical laboratory in Singapore. It has already established 32 satellite (virtual) research labs in Singapore across 10 ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø graduate schools. Professor , , joined the meeting as a representative of the Materials Process Engineering major¡ªa group that set up a satellite campus last year¡ªand shared updates on the lab¡¯s research activities.
During the visit, students from four of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s flagship programs participated in several of the activities. They included six students from the ; three NOC (NUS Overseas Colleges) inbound students completing a ; eleven students from the (DII); and five from , an entrepreneurship education program for students at universities in central Japan. All the students met with the delegation and received words of encouragement from President Sugiyama at a welcome session at the start of the week-long visit.
The trip included meetings with Ambassador Hiroshi Ishikawa at the Embassy of Japan in Singapore and NUS¡¯s Mechanobiology Institute, where NUS Associate Professor Yusuke Toyama gave a lecture to the DII students. These connections reflect ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s strategy to create partnerships in Singapore that will serve as gateways to further research collaboration across Southeast Asia.
The visit concluded with the establishment of the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Alumni Singapore Branch, bringing together graduates working across the region. The new branch already has around 120 members, with 60 attending the founding ceremony. Minister Yusuke Hotta and First Secretary Yuko Aihara from the Embassy of Japan in Singapore also joined the celebration.
With collaborations spanning a diverse range of fields, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s activities in Singapore represent one of the most comprehensive international research initiatives by a Japanese national university.
