Q3: Is there a system in place to support the technology?

A3: There is a strong collaboration system between industry, academia and government to provide technical support.

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In addition to the intellectual infrastructure of research institutes and universities, the prefecture has a well-developed system of industry-academia-government collaboration that provides technical support tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, including the Prefectural Industrial Technology Center, the New Industry Research Organization (NIRO), and the Hyogo Manufacturing Support Center.

[Prefectural Industrial Technology Center]
It is a core technical support organization for small and medium-sized enterprises and other industrial parks in the prefecture. In order to support the advancement of technology based on corporate needs and the creation of marketable products, it provides technical consultation and support, as well as conducting joint research with universities and companies. In addition to its headquarters in Kobe (Suma Ward, Kobe City), it also has a Textile Industry Technical Support Center (Nishiwaki City) and a Leather Industry Technical Support Center (Himeji City).
Furthermore, in fiscal year 2017, we opened the Aviation Industry Non-Destructive Inspection Training Center, a training facility for non-destructive inspectors that complies with international certification standards for the aircraft-related industry, promoting improvements in the productivity and technical capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises and an increase in orders.
Furthermore, we have equipped the New Metal Materials Research Center with metal 3D printers, sand mold additive 3D printers, etc. to develop 3D additive manufacturing technologies in the fields of metal processing and casting, and by linking these with our existing resin additive 3D printers, we are realizing high-mix, low-volume, rapid production technologies.


[New Industry Research Organization (NIRO)]
Established in March 1997 with public and private funding for the purpose of earthquake recovery, the organization works to revitalize the region and promote industrial development by collaborating with universities, companies, and research institutes both in Japan and overseas to discover new technologies and systems that will lead to the creation of new industries that meet social needs, and to conduct research and development to commercialize and commercialize them at its research institutes.
Additionally, within the organization, we have established the Hyogo Prefecture Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Consortium, which serves as a general contact point for industry-academia-government collaboration in Hyogo Prefecture, providing consultation and mediation services; the TLO Hyogo, which promotes the patenting of research results from universities and other institutions; and the Technology Transfer Center, which transfers patents and technology from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises.

[Hyogo Manufacturing Support Center]
To foster next-generation growth industries, the prefecture has established the Hyogo Manufacturing Support Center headquarters within the New Industry Research Organization (NIRO), a public interest incorporated foundation, to support regional industrial development, focusing on cutting-edge technology fields that are expected to have a significant impact on the entire industry and show great growth, including (1) nano (ultrafine), (2) information and communications/electronics, (3) health and medicine, (4) environment and energy, and (5) artificial intelligence (robots). NIRO has deployed support personnel and established three Hyogo Manufacturing Support Centers (Kobe, Hanshin, and Harima) as technical support bases.
We have appointed an industry-academia-government collaboration coordinator, a research coordinator, and a technology coordinator, and each of them works in cooperation with local research institutions to support research and development through industry-academia-government collaboration, as well as to provide technical guidance and technical consultation through the use of shared equipment, thereby supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.