Imperial College London and Institute of Science Tokyo sign partnership
Imperial College London and Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have signed a new five-year research and education partnership, marking a further strengthening of scientific collaboration between the UK and Japan.
The agreement will initiate a new phase of closer collaboration between the two institutions, with expanded activity across key areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering biology, advanced materials and clean technologies.
The partnership will support a range of joint initiatives, including collaborative research projects, research fellowships and PhD mobility programmes. Students and researchers will have opportunities to work in each other’s laboratories in London and Tokyo, contributing to joint projects and sharing knowledge and data.
The agreement reflects broader momentum in UK-Japan scientific cooperation. Earlier this year, the two countries announced a major package of science and technology collaborations, while Japan has also associated with the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Professor Peter Haynes, Provost and Deputy President of Imperial College London, said: “This new partnership with the Institute of Science Tokyo comes at a pivotal moment in strengthening science and technology ties between the UK and Japan.
“Through expanded exchanges, joint research opportunities and new initiatives to support early-career researchers, we are creating stronger pathways for collaboration. In critical fields such as AI, robotics, biotechnology and clean technologies, partnerships like this will be essential in accelerating discovery and translating innovation into real-world impact.”
Professor Naoto Ohtake, President and CEO of the Institute of Science Tokyo, said: “Through this visit, I was once again struck by the long history of collaboration with Imperial, our shared commitment to translating cutting-edge science into real-world impact, and the strong alignment with Imperial’s Convergence Science Tokyo Visionary Initiatives.
“With the UK-Japan Science and Technology Partnership now in place, I am confident that by working closely together across key areas – sustainability, energy and resilience; health, MedTech and responsible innovation; artificial intelligence, cooperative systems and advanced technologies; and space, security and telecommunications – our two institutions can drive forward both research and talent development, and help deliver a better future in an increasingly uncertain world.”
The agreement was signed following a roundtable of academic and industry leaders on UK–Japan Deep Tech Partnerships for Impact, hosted at Imperial.