Why Multidisciplinary Collaboration Matters for Innovation: Deep Tech Innovation Born from Cross-Disciplinary Encounters

Deep tech innovation rarely comes out of a single field. Universities and research institutes hold strong results and technologies, but turning those into products, services, or a business takes more than researchers alone: engineers, companies, startups, designers, and business people each bring a different specialty and a different view. This session treats "multidisciplinary" as more than a cross-industry mixer and asks why deep tech and innovation actually need it. The talk covers what multidisciplinary collaboration means, why it matters now, the gap that sits between good research and real-world deployment, and concrete cases where innovation came out of a mixed-discipline team. The speaker is Im Sunyoung of Osaka Metropolitan University, an educator working on entrepreneurship and industry-academia education, who designs and runs hands-on programs where students face real problems from industry and society and learn by framing their own questions. The seminar runs 17:00 to 17:30, followed by 30 minutes of networking where participants share their own research fields, specialties, and interests. It is aimed at students, graduate students, and researchers, at people in engineering, medicine, bio, or AI, at anyone interested in commercializing their research or in deep tech startups, and at companies looking to work with new technology. No business plan or startup idea is required. Doors open 16:45, capacity is 40 people, admission is free, and the session is held in English.