OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.69 2007-11
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Scientists and Engineers in the "Baton Zone"
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The Linear Model and the Parallel Model
With the linear model, technologies and patents resulting from work by universities and research institutes are developed into practical products by companies. What is needed now is a parallel model based on "baton zones" for two-way interaction and stimulation between scientists and companies.
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You have likened research to a relay race. So do you see Riken BOCC as the baton zone?
Exactly. It's extremely important that we create opportunities for company people to interact with scientists involved in pure research. There must be opportunities for corporate engineers and Riken scientists to sit down together and talk. That's very difficult to achieve at a university, but it should be easier at Riken because we have a flat organizational structure.
Olympus has a long history of excellence in the area of microscopes for studying cells. In recent years much research has focused on clarifying the functions of genes and proteins inside cells.
Riken has an excellent reputation for life science research. However, to produce innovations, our work needs to be backed up by engineering and material sciences, especially chemistry. Without this, our research will never make the transition to medicine and pharmaceuticals.
In that sense, we see the establishment of Riken BOCC as an excellent opportunity for us as well. If we're going to collaborate, we want to collaborate with the best. I'm not sure if Riken sees Olympus as the best, however.
But of course! I have very high hopes. You referred to Riken BOCC as a "baton zone." I'm now agonizing over how best to create that zone. My impression is that the distance between research and practical applications in the life sciences is quite long compared with research in traditional fields, such as physics and chemistry. It is as if we are trying to pass the baton to a runner who's waiting 500 meters further down the track. Depending on the field, this distance will vary considerably.
Practical implementation always takes a long time in medicine and the life sciences. Research has to follow an evidence-based approach, and every new product must be approved under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in Japan and by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.
Many foreign companies recognize Riken's capabilities and achievements and have offered to work with us, but sadly few Japanese companies have approached us. Of course, we are funded by Japanese taxpayers, and so we want to return the benefits of our research to Japanese industry first. I urge Olympus to make use of what we can offer.
From our perspective as a private-sector company, Riken seemed inaccessible in the past. Your clear message with the Noyori Initiative is extremely welcome for the business community.
I'm not making excuses for scientists, but they tend to become so engrossed in their own fields of specialization that they take no interest in other areas. Even if they feel in their hearts that they want to contribute to society, specific opportunities to do so are limited.
As a company, we are eager to work with you as much possible in our fields of expertise. We need to send our best engineers, and we will need to ensure that those working at Riken BOCC are able to understand advanced research in the area of brain science. We have to develop human resources with the ability to create new analysis methods and develop new systems, and the desire to expand the use of these advances.
Indeed. The important thing is not to try to do everything oneself, but to collaborate constructively with people who have abilities that one lacks oneself. This attitude is the key to innovation.
Even with corporate research, we have a general understanding of our activities two or three years ahead. However, it's difficult to go beyond that, in part because of the risks involved. I hope that Riken will teach us about things beyond the capabilities of a company.
Our ambition is to make Riken the best research organization in the world, and our mission is to provide as many people as possible with opportunities to use the results of our work. I hope that Riken BOCC will be successful, and that this approach will become a role model for research and development.
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