Kyoto University Short-Term Academic Research (KU-STAR) Program is a research internship launched in May 2024 by the Division of Graduate Studies. Its 18 inaugural participants, representing six Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), visited Shimadzu Corporation 3 June as per the Comprehensive Collaborative Agreement that the University and the company signed in 2022. The occasion featured facility tours and a workshop, aimed at helping the students enhance their understanding of research applications and work culture in Japan.
The visit began with tours of the corporation's Science Plaza and factory, where participants were excited to view and experience cutting-edge medical equipment and analytical instruments, which are normally off-limits to visitors.
The students then took part in a workshop exploring solutions to issues of interest affecting Indian society. They first raised several specific problems, including energy shortages, climate change, and health care issues such as anemia among women as well as mental health concerns. Shimadzu employees from Kazakhstan and China then shared their work experiences and examples of academia-industry collaboration at the company. Their presentation and insights facilitated the students' subsequent work on clarifying – via a process similar to that of project planning – the possible underlying causes of those issues and the resources needed to address them. The workshop concluded with the participants sharing either ideas for solutions or takeaways from the event. Dhruv from IIT Bombay, for example, reflected that thinking about social ethics helped him gain valuable insights for aligning his future goals with those of others.
This was followed by a networking session, where the students enjoyed an opportunity to speak with Shimadzu's international employees. One participant, Zafira from IIT Kharagpur, later commented that she was impressed with her hosts' thorough dedication to precision and quality and with their company's emphasis on diversity, with people from varied backgrounds actively contributing to their organization's success.
Aman, a junior from IIT Kanpur, reflected on the day as follows: "This visit allowed us to understand how an R&D department of a big corporation works and how we can contribute our knowledge to this type of industry."
