Talent Development Programs

Practical Training for Technology Transfer Personnel

Collaborative Research Mentorship Course

【Training Overview】

The Collaborative Research Mentorship Course is a practical training that focuses mainly on corporate "collaborative research" projects that utilize the intellectual property (including projects with a potential to become "collaborative research" in the future), among other operations related to technology transfer and industry-academia collaborations at universities*1 that are in need of practical talents. The participants of this training will receive advice and instruction from a group of mentors handpicked by JST. In this training course, the participants will take the initiative in designing and engaging in the training plan. 

*1 "Universities" include national, public, and private universities; national institutes of technology; inter-university research institutes; national research institutions; and, independent administrative agencies.

[Main Characteristics]
  • As the participants' primary job and the training are integrated, there is no need for special effort to be put into the training. 
  • The mentors have extensive practical experiences, allowing them to offer hands-on advice and instructions on a wide range of projects.
  • Participants can choose a mentor, depending on their individual issues or difficulties. (Participants may consult with multiple mentors.)
  • One-on-one interviews with the mentor (either face-to-face or by video conference.)
[Training hours] 

The starting dates are to be decided. More than 10 hours of interviews per participant (with a maximum of 20 hours for those interested.)

[Implementation Format] 

One-on-one interview with the mentor (either face-to-face or by using video conference tools) 
 (*Emails can be used as a complementary method.)
 (*The participants and the mentor will coordinate the training schedules using a shared scheduling tool.)

[Location]

The mentor's or the participant's place of work (*Participants will be compensated for the travel expenses they incur to participate in the training [a limit applies].)

[Training Content]

Mentors will provide advice and instructions on the collaborative research projects the participant is working on and they will aim to solve the issues the participant is experiencing. 
Examples of practical operations associated with collaborative research projects:

  • Discovering and combining the seeds of technology
  • Establishing the rights to research seeds 
  • Researching the market and prior art documents
  • Finding potential partner companies and exploring corporate needs
  • Planning projects and the commercialization process
  • Proposing a collaborative research plan (on campus and at firms) 
  • Creating an on-campus team
  • Contract negotiations
  • Project Management (progress, performance, and risks)

(*Participants will create a written overall training plan and a monthly training plan before starting the training.) 
(*The mentor and each participant will submit a non-disclosure agreement to JST upon starting the training.)

[Certificate of Completion]

JST will issue a certificate of completion after a comprehensive evaluation of the participant's level of achievement and hours of attended training. 

[Registration Fee]

None