MIRAI

MIRAI aims at connecting Swedish and Japanese universities through research, education and innovation. The project is specifically directed at researchers at an early stage of their career, to lead future joint activities between universities in the two countries.

Within the project there are several activities, like seminar weeks, workshops etc. Project activities can be found on MIRAI:s web: www.mirai.nu

MIRAI 2.0 Research & Innovation Week 2023 in Umeå: 13-17 November

Connect with researchers within your field and join scientific sessions within ageing, AI, innovation and entrepreneurship, material science and sustainability. On November 13-17, 2023 the MIRAI 2.0 Research & Innovation Week will be held at Umeå University.
MIRAI 2.0 R&I Week 2023 at Umeå University

Call for Workshop Proposals & Presentations
Researchers, teachers and PhD students from MIRAI2.0 universities can apply to arrange a workshop lasting for two hours and/or give a presentation at the MIRAI 2.0 at the Research and Innovation week, Umeå University.
Read more

Apply for seed funding

To strengthen collaboration between Japan and Sweden in research, education, and innovation, MIRAI2.0 is launching seed funding to support promising collaborative initiatives. The objective is to encourage further development of existing and new collaborations between MIRAI2.0 member universities based on innovative projects and new ideas. This call is divided into two tracks, one for joint projects and the other for joint short courses for PhDs and postdocs.

The call will be open between 1 September and 1 December 2022.

Collaboration projects

Three collaboration projects from Umeå University have received seed funding: 

  • Living arrangement and healthcare utilization in aging societies: an intercountry comparison between Sweden and Japan; Rong Fu (Waseda University) & Mojgan Padyab (Umeå University)
  • Social economic status, lifestyle factors, and brain aging: comparison between Japanese and Swedish Community Cohorts; Izumi Matsudaira (Tohoku University) & Nina Karalija (Umeå University)
  • Pollution of surface water by human pharmaceutical use; Xuepeng Qian (Sophia University) & Irina Mancheva (Umeå University)

News

2023-04-24: Call for workshop proposals and presentations at MIRAI 2.0 R&I Week 2023
2023-01-13: JSPS Summer Program - STINT
2022-11-09: Umeå delegation at Japanese-Swedish MIRAI 2.0 R&I Week 2022
2022-10-20: The Ambassador of Japan to Sweden visited Umeå University
2022-10-03: Japanese Studies PhD Research Grants 2023
2022-09-14: Webinar - Sustainability in an Era of Climate Change
2022-08-29: Apply to MIRAI 2.0 Research & Innovation Week in November in Japan
2022-06-07: Breakfast meeting 17 June - collaborations with Souh Africa, Japan, South Korea and Italy
2021-12-17: Seed funding for 24 new collaborations within MIRAI2.0
2021-06-16: Many participants in the Japanese-Swedish Research & Innovation Week (in Swedish)
2021-05-24: Research and Innovation Week in university collaboration project with Japan

Focus areas

Ageing – Active and Healthy Ageing in Japan and Sweden – Individual, Group, and Population Perspectives

  • Demography and Determinants of Health
  • New Technologies for Aged Society
  • Health Promotion for Aged Society (including: Biological and medical sciences of ageing; Social innovations and future policies for aged society)

Materials Science

  • Materials for energy devices
  • Low dimensional materials and surfaces
  • Advanced characterisation of materials
  • Bioinspired materials

Sustainability (new energy techniques, water resources)

  • Carbon-neutral technology, including non-fossil-based energy generation such as hydrogen production, artificial photosynthesis, photo-voltaic system and carbon capture
  • Sustainable Automotive Control Technology
  • Global environment and energy technologies: Energy Devices, including fuel cells, solar cells and secondary batteries, and Hydrogen Technologies

Artificial Intelligence

Read more on mirai.nu

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Read more on mirai.nu

 

Participating universities

Eleven Swedish universities and nine Japanese universities are part of the project:

From Sweden:
Umeå University, Jönköping University, Karlstad University, Linköping University, Linneaus University, Luleå tekniska universitet, Lund University, University of Gothenburg, Uppsala University, Stockholm University and Örebro University

From Japan:
Hiroshima University, Hokkaido University, Kyushu University, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Nagoya University, Sophia University, The University of Tokyo, Tohoku University and Waseda University

From the University Management Blog

Katrine Riklund, Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

Photo:

Why do researchers need to meet in international contexts?
Umeå University is a part of several international collaborative projects in which researchers discuss academic topics. Building relationships and exchanging experiences, knowledge and expertise strengthens academia and can result in new research topics. MIRAI 2.0 is an example of such a collaboration.
Read the entire blog post

Contact

Project Manager
Jenny Ahlinder Hagberg

Materials Science
Ove Andersson

Sustainability
Carina Keskitalo

Ageing
Carl-Johan Boraxbekk

Umeå University reference group: 
Katrine Riklund (Pro-Vice-Chancellor), Greg Neely (Deputy Dean), Ingrid Svensson (International Office), Carl-Johan Boraxbekk (Ageing), Carina Keskitalo (Sustainability), Ove Andersson (Materials Science), Markus Naarttijärvi (AI) and Janina Priebe (The Faculty of Arts and Humanities).

Team for internationalisation

Internationaliseringsforum on Teams is aimed at departmental and faculty international contacts. It is also suitable for members of staff working with internationalisation in other ways.

For support with work related to exchange studies, as well as student, teacher and staff mobility.

David Meyers
4/29/2023