Collaboration across a distance of 10,000 kilometers: The Technical University of Ilmenau has signed a cooperation agreement with Kanto Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan. The agreement stipulates the expansion of academic and educational cooperation and the promotion of mutual understanding between the two universities. The agreement was initiated by the Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research Rudolstadt e.V. (TITK). The TITK has been an affiliated institute of the Technical University of Ilmenau for many years and has been working with the Japanese university since 2006 under a cooperation agreement.
Ilmenau/Rudolstadt - TITK Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer also used his visit to this year's World Expo in Osaka as an opportunity to act as an “ambassador for Thuringia.” In June, he not only took to the stage at the German Pavilion to present important innovations from TITK live to the Expo audience. He also met with representatives of the automotive OEM Isuzu and the management of Kanto Gakuin University (KGU), among others. In his luggage: a cooperation agreement signed by Ilmenau University President Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Sattler. This agreement has now been confirmed with a signature by KGU President Prof. Dr. Yoshinari Koyama in Yokohama.
The cooperation will focus on the exchange of students, faculty members, researchers, and administrative staff. It will also include joint research projects, lectures, and symposia, as well as the exchange of academic information and materials. Based on this central agreement, the faculties and institutes of both universities will now bring the cooperation to life through projects.
Professor Jens Müller, Vice President for International Relations and Transfer at TU Ilmenau, was delighted with the cooperation agreement: “In addition to cross-border research, it opens up great opportunities, particularly for the direct transfer of research results to industry, through our affiliated institute TITK in Rudolstadt – an advantage that cannot be overestimated in an increasingly globalized research and economic environment.”
Dr. Keiichiro Sano, who teaches symbiotic design at KGU, also played an important mediating role in the run-up to the agreement. Since 2006, Prof. Dr. Sano has spent one or two periods of several months each year at TITK, except during the COVID-19 pandemic, to exchange ideas and conduct joint research. The beginnings of this collaboration can be traced back to a shared interest in fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and research projects on plastic recycling strategies. International conferences with both partners have already been held on this topic.
Just a few days ago, TITK department head Dr. Thomas Reußmann visited Japan to give several lectures and prepare for another international recycling conference. This conference will, of course, also take place with the participation of the Technical University of Ilmenau.
