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On March 20, Shimadzu Corporation signed an agreement with Osaka University with the aim of improving their scientific and technical capabilities, developing human resources, and contributing to society through industry-academia collaboration. Shimadzu is launching the REACH Project^*1 to develop and recruit highly specialized, global human resources.

(From left) Osaka University Executive Vice President Tanaka Toshihiro, Osaka University President Nishio Shojiro, Shimadzu Corporation President Yamamoto Yasunori, Shimadzu Corporation Senior General Manager and Osaka University Shimadzu Omics Innovation Research Laboratories Director Iida Junko 

Shimadzu and Osaka University have been collaborating to help Shimadzu engineers and researchers obtain doctoral degrees within the REACH Lab Project since April 2021. The project involves assigning Shimadzu employees to work for 2 to 3 years in the REACH Lab, located in the Osaka University Shimadzu Omics Innovation Research Laboratories. There, they engage in joint research in key fields targeted by Shimadzu Corporation as doctoral students under the supervision of leading researchers at OU. Currently, seven Shimadzu employees are involved in researching nucleic acid drug analysis, measurement　informatics, antibody drugs, metabolomics, and other fields.

Recently, the REACH Lab Project has been expanded and the REACH Project was established in order to acquire human resources and develop leaders who can use research outcomes to the benefit of the society. After completing their master’s degrees, Osaka University graduate students will pursue their doctorates as employees of Shimadzu, working on joint research projects in doctoral programs.

Qualified job applicants are students in the master program at OU who work at a laboratory where Shimadzu employees are stationed for the REACH Lab Project, wish to work at Shimadzu, and need to obtain a recommendation from their doctoral adviser. Shimadzu will support participants by paying their tuition, salaries, and employee benefits.

With the launch of the new REACH Project, the joint research center will be relocated to the new IoC^*2 Plaza building at Osaka University in May and will be expanded to include an analytical instrument room, pretreatment room, and other new facilities. In addition, the scope of research will be expanded from the previous scientific fields to fields that combine science with humanities or social sciences. The REACH Project is part of the strategy in Shimadzu’s new medium-term management plan for developing advanced experts (PhDs and specialists).

Shimadzu and Osaka University set up their joint research program in 2015. In 2019, the joint research program was terminated in order to establish the Osaka University Shimadzu Omics Innovation Research Laboratories. Through collaboration with Osaka University, Shimadzu intends to develop human resources who can contribute to society through science and technology.

• *1:REACH = Recurrent & Re-skilling through Academia and Industry Collaboration for Higher Education
• *2:“Industry on Campus” or “Internship on Campus”