Towards Expanding University-wide Collaboration: Five-Member Delegation from the University of Ottawa Visits the Faculties of Engineering and Medical Sciences at the University of Fukui

The University of Fukui and the University of Ottawa, Canada, have maintained academic exchanges for more than 25 years through the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology within the Faculty of Medical Sciences. Last year, a delegation from the University of Fukui visited the University of Ottawa, where both institutions reached an agreement on the establishment of an international collaborative research consortium integrating medicine and engineering, as well as on its future direction.

As part of these ongoing efforts, a five-member delegation from the University of Ottawa, led by Professor Julie St-Pierre, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, visited the University of Fukui. On May 25, the delegation toured the Faculty of Engineering and the Research Center for Development of Far-Infrared Region, followed by a visit to the Biomedical Imaging Research Center on May 26. During their stay, they participated in a series of mini-workshop discussions with faculty members from various disciplines in both the Faculties of Engineering and Medical Sciences.

After learning about research initiatives in areas, such as solar power generation and molecular imaging of cancer, Professor St-Pierre commented, “The research activities introduced to us today were extremely interesting. I hope that our collaboration can expand beyond the Faculty of Medical Sciences to include engineering as well as the humanities and social sciences, fostering interdisciplinary cooperation across our universities.”

Professor Emeritus Benjamin Tsang of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa also expressed his expectations for future collaboration, stating, “We are already engaged in international collaborative research with several other universities and are conducting studies on radioactive imaging and biomarkers for the detection of ovarian cancer. I hope that we will also be able to develop joint interdisciplinary research projects with the University of Fukui based on previous research exchanges between the two medical schools.”

Building on this visit, both universities aim to establish a university-wide memorandum of understanding to further strengthen their partnership.