Keio Engineering Foundation

2020/07/30

Image: From the symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Keio Engineering Foundation

The Keio Engineering Foundation is a general incorporated foundation that was incorporated in September 1962 with the aim of acting as a bridge between research institutions such as universities and the industrial and governmental sectors, further promoting Japan's industry-government-academia collaboration system, and contributing to the development of science and technology and its return to society. Its predecessor was the "Keio Engineering Association," established in 1948 to provide assistance to the Faculty of Engineering at Keio University, which had suffered significant damage during the Pacific War. With the full support of Keio University alumni active in Japanese industry, the focus was placed on compensating for the lack of research facilities and funds for the struggling Faculty of Engineering. On April 1, 2012, it became a general incorporated foundation specializing in non-profit activities.

Currently, the Foundation holds more than a dozen meetings of the Board of Councilors, Board of Directors, and Steering Committee, as well as scholarship award ceremonies, interim report meetings, and social gatherings each year. Its activities are supported by supporting member companies that agree with the Foundation's objectives. In addition to faculty members from the Faculty of Science and Technology, administrative managers from the Mita and Yagami offices involved in the Foundation's business are also members of the Steering Committee. In line with the objectives mentioned at the beginning, the following projects are being carried out.

1. Academic Promotion: Promoting academic advancement through support for research institutions and researchers involved in advanced science and technology, as well as holding research seminars.

2. International Exchange: Promoting international exchange regarding advanced science and technology through support for researchers to develop Japan's science and technology and promote international exchange, as well as support for inviting researchers from overseas.

3. Educational Scholarship: Fostering human resources involved in advanced science and technology through tuition assistance for students in science and technology universities and graduate schools, and awards for outstanding students.

4. Research Promotion: Promoting and developing research activities in advanced science and technology by mediating and introducing commissioned and joint research through industry-government-academia collaboration, accepting commissioned research, accepting donations for research funding designated for specific researchers, and supporting the return of research results to society through practical application and commercialization.

5. Academic Dissemination: Contributing to the dissemination of science and technology and the return of research results to society through holding workshops related to science and technology and supporting their organization.

The level of contribution through grants and assistance from this Foundation is very high, and many faculty members and graduate students in the Faculty of Science and Technology receive support for their activities. Furthermore, scholarships are available to graduate students in the Graduate School of Science and Technology, the Graduate School of Media and Governance, and the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and they are among the largest scholarship amounts available. The themes of commissioned research are not limited to the Faculty of Science and Technology. The nature of these projects, which provide full support for the progress of science and technology, can be understood by knowing the history of how the Foundation supported the Faculty of Science and Technology during its period of hardship.

We look forward to the Keio Engineering Foundation continuing to develop alongside the Faculty of Science and Technology and playing a role in broadly supporting the development of science and technology.

(Hidehiro Matada, Manager, Office of Student Services, Faculty of Science and Technology)