University of Tsukuba Night 2024: Showcasing Innovation in the U.S.

On September 5, 2024, the University of Tsukuba, with support from the Consulate General of Japan in Boston, hosted its second "University of Tsukuba Night" at the Venture Café Cambridge, located within the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC). This event follows the 2019 edition which saw the University of Tsukuba making history as the first Japanese university to host such an event at CIC.

The event aimed to showcase and support ventures originating from the University of Tsukuba and its overseas partner universities in the Boston area, a global innovation hub, while fostering new partnerships. Eleven ventures, including companies from the University of Tsukuba and four from its Campus-in-Campus (CiC) partner universities, presented their pitches to global and local investors.

The event opened with a video message from University of Tsukuba President NAGATA Kyosuke, who introduced the purpose and highlighted the participating companies. Following this, Consul General TAKAHASHI Seiichiro (represented by Economic Affairs Consul, Ms. ASAMI Yuki) and Maria Zuber, Presidential Advisor for Science and Technology Policy of MIT, shared their expectations for the event.

The venue reached full capacity as the event began, with standing-room-only crowds.

Vice President for Collaborative Research, NAKAUCHI Yasushi, of the University of Tsukuba introduced the university's previous industry-academia collaboration efforts, followed by flash talks from each venture. The poster session sparked an engaging Q&A with the roughly 500 investors and attendees.

During the networking session, company representatives held in-depth discussions with investors, including some from the Boston branches of Japanese corporations, signaling strong interest in future investments.

The event also attracted Japanese students studying in Boston, one of whom expressed excitement at seeing University of Tsukuba making an impact in the U.S.

Through events like this, the University of Tsukuba continues to promote and support the growth of university-based ventures.