Ontario Tech University continues to expand global collaborations and partnerships. One example of this is by maintaining and strengthening its relationship with Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech), its partner institution in Japan.

In late September, the Chemistry program in the university’s Faculty of Science (FSci) hosted the seventh-annual Kyutech-Ontario Tech Symposium in Chemistry. Throughout the two-day symposium, faculty and students from Kyutech and Ontario Tech were joined by representatives of Khon Kaen University (Thailand) and the University of Tokyo to share discoveries and findings on various topics in chemistry. Five professors from Japan presented, with two keynote lectures delivered from Professor Hiroyuki Isobe from the University of Tokyo, and Professor Teruhisa Ohno from Kyutech.

Outcomes of Ontario Tech’s international collaboration

Dr. Jean-Paul Desaulniers, Professor, FSci, and leader of the Kyutech-Ontario Tech University exchange program, is grateful to Kyutech and FSci at Ontario Tech for their support. 

Ontario Tech’s relationship with Kyutech began in 2016 when Dr. Desaulniers spent one week teaching the intensive course Topics in Organic Chemistry at Kyutech’s Department of Applied Chemistry. Last fall, seven members of the Ontario Tech community travelled to Japan for the sixth-annual Kyutech-Ontario Tech Symposium in Chemistry at Kyutech. These symposia allow for in-depth discussions and planning of international research collaborations and partnerships between students and faculty. For example, this summer from June to August, Ashley Gedge, a Master of Science graduate student in Applied Bioscience who focuses on pathogen detection from wastewater (co-supervised by Dr. Desaulniers and Dr. Andrea Kirkwood, Professor, FSci), spent 10 weeks in Japan conducting collaborative research in Professor Masaaki Kitajima’s laboratory at the University of Tokyo, and Professor Toshinari Maeda’s laboratory at Kyutech. Gedge’s exchange was funded by the MITACS-Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) summer program. Mitacs is a nonprofit national research organization that, in partnerships with Canadian academia, private industry and government, operates research and training programs in fields related to industrial and social innovation. 

Quotes

“It is essential to continue this important yearly symposium with our Japanese partners at Kyutech. It’s vital to collaborate with international partners that engage research in new ways to will help solve important global issues related to chemistry research.”
-Dr. Jean-Paul Desaulniers, Professor, Faculty of Science, Ontario Tech University

"During my MITACS-JSPS summer exchange to Japan, I collaborated with leading researchers and accessed cutting-edge technology, enriching both my research and professional skills. This experience has profoundly impacted my career and personal growth, providing lasting value that will influence my life for years to come. I was honoured to return to Ontario Tech and share research findings with visiting scholars from Kyutech University and my Canadian fellows during the 7th Ontario Tech-Kyutech Symposium in Chemistry."
-Ashley Gedge, MSc candidate (Applied Bioscience), Ontario Tech University

“The research relationship that Ontario Tech’s Faculty of Science has built with Kyutech University is creating unique opportunities for our students and faculty. These rich opportunities are leading to new important collaborations that hold tremendous promise in terms of advancing new discoveries in chemistry. In my view, this is a model for other international research collaborations across the university.”
-Dr. Les Jacobs, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Ontario Tech University