Visit to Biocommunity Kansai - BiocK

On Thursday February 29, the Science & Technology Diplomatic Circle Kansai (S&TDC) was honored to visit the Osaka University Photonics Center, an event coordinated by the Biocommunity Kansai (BiocK). Renowned for fostering synergy across governments, corporations, organizations, universities, and research institutions, BiocK aims to create a thriving ecosystem in the bio-fields within the Kansai region. The visit was in line with the ongoing initiative of one of BiocK's project teams, the "Subcommittee on Photonics Life Engineering", which is championing cutting-edge research focused on photonics technologies.

The day kicked off with opening remarks from Dr. Marco Prencipe, Consul General of Italy. Following this, Dr. Tsuneaki Sakata, the Vice-Chairman and General Coordinator of BiocK, gave a presentation on the organization's activities, which led to an insightful Q&A session.

Demonstrating the practical applications of their studies, Prof. Dr. Yasushi Inoue and Prof. Dr Satoshi Fujita from Osaka university shared a presentation on the Photonics Center and the impactful COI-NEXT project. The audience was then ushered for a highly anticipated highlight of the day — an hour-long tour of the Photonics Center, where the breadth and depth of research were brought to life in the university's laboratories.

Concluding the visit, Mr. Marc Kuipers, Consul General of the Netherlands, offered insightful closing remarks before the event officially ended with a group photo. Attendees departed at midday, inspired by the dedicated efforts of the Osaka University Photonics Center and BiocK in elevating the sphere of photonics research and its real-world applications.

The S&TDC extends its sincerest gratitude to Biocommunity Kansai and Osaka University for receiving the delegation, and to Consul General of Italy, Dr. Marco Prencipe, and Consul General of the Netherlands, Mr. Marc Kuipers, for organizing this insightful visit.