Doctoral Students from Hokkaido University Visit Shimadzu’s Laboratory
Exchange Opinions with Employees through Research Presentations
On February 2, students from the graduate school at Hokkaido University visited Shimadzu Tokyo Innovation Plaza (Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture), a Shimadzu research and development center. This was part of a career support program “Business Research Site Visits” offered by the university. Eight doctoral students specializing in agriculture and life sciences toured the Shimadzu laboratory and exchanged opinions with Shimadzu employees.
Participants in Business Research Site Visits (the eight in the front row from the left)
Business Research Site Visits
Business Research Site Visits is a career support program implemented for Hokkaido University graduate students by the Center for Advanced Human Resource Education and Development, Hokkaido University. It started in 2013 as a program entitled “Support for Human Resource Exchanges by Matching Industry & Academia Seeds/Needs,” and was renamed to its current name in 2018.
In this program, the students present details of their research to the industrial researchers they are visiting and receive comments and advice from a business perspective, followed by an exchange of views. The objective is for students to come into contact with role models, and to gain a concrete image of the research output in the industrial world.
Tour of a "Fascinating" State-of-the-Art Laboratory
The venue was the Shimadzu Tokyo Innovation Plaza, a research center to be inaugurated by Shimadzu in 2023. This center, with its laboratory concept of “fascinate”, takes advantage of its proximity to Haneda Airport to deepen communication with customers in Japan and abroad, and takes initiatives to promote the development of the latest analytical methods and collaborative research.
Introduction to Shimadzu’s history and technology in the first-floor exhibition corner
Participants listening intently to a description of the laboratory
The participants were briefed on the history of Shimadzu and this facility and then toured the laboratory in which many analytical instruments are situated. One student, who had participated in such a visit to a business for the first time, commented that it was very impressive to see a real research facility and so many instruments.
Interior of Shimadzu Tokyo Innovation Plaza (four-story building)
*Move your cursor over the exhibit items on each floor to check the details.
Exchanging Opinions with Employees through Research Presentations
After the tour, students gave an oral presentation of their research to Shimadzu employees. Shimadzu employees commented and offered advice on the details of the research and related technology.
Participants listening to the research presentations
The research presentations were held in a tense atmosphere, but at a lunch meeting afterward, they openly discussed the joys and difficulties of work and how to spend free time outside of work.
Impressions of the Participated Students
I was familiar with Shimadzu instruments, and it was a very good opportunity to learn about what kind of research Shimadzu actually does during the tour.
It was a really nice opportunity to talk directly with Shimadzu researchers. I learned that Shimadzu also hire people whose research is not directly related to laboratory equipment, and that simulation-related technology is available and that there is a demand for it. I also found it fascinating to hear from people who had passed through the doctoral process, and were in their second or third year at the company, about what they are doing and their feelings about it.
Having a chance to actually see the facility up close deepened my interest in it, and made me realize that my own interests were broader than I thought. I also got a sense that my research could be used in an area other than my current field.
Comment from the Person in Charge
It seemed very positive and promising that these Ph.D. candidate students visit one of Shimadzu's cutting-edge laboratories and participate in a lively exchange of opinions with the engineers.
As a method of embodying Shimadzu's corporate philosophy of "Contributing to Society through Science and Technology," I hope that such exchanges with engineers will help the students plan their careers.
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