Collaboration Centers

Ehime University Office for the Promotion of Sustainable Development Goals

Operating under the direct supervision of the university president, this office works with departments and organizations throughout the university to promote projects related to the SDGs that had previously been undertaken independently by students and faculty, and to launch new university-wide initiatives. The office jointly sponsors and supports a wide range of events related to education, research, and community and international engagement. Outside the university, the office capitalizes on the university’s unique characteristics and strengths by building partnerships with diverse stakeholders working together to achieve the SDGs, focusing on things only Ehime University can do. The office is staffed by faculty members from diverse academic fields who are working proactively toward achieving the SDGs.

Center for Disaster Management Informatics Research

The center conducts highly practical disaster management research, working with government agencies and communities to protect people and property from a range of natural disasters. Its achievements include the establishment of the Ehime Regional Disaster Management Research Coordinating Committee in collaboration with twenty municipalities in the prefecture; the creation, with the Shikoku Regional Development Bureau and Ehime’s prefectural government, of an organization to implement business continuity plans in the construction industry; and the establishment of an endowed research division to study strategies for reducing damage from a Tōnankai or Nankai earthquake. Through these initiatives, the center roots its research firmly in local communities. The center also collaborates with public, private, and academic partners to carry out research, projects, and education related to urban design and community development, nurturing future leaders in these fields.

South Ehime Fisheries Research Center

The center promotes interdisciplinary research and education about the fishing industry in Ehime Prefecture’s Nanyo region, contributing to the development of the industry regionally and nationally. In collaboration with local governments and fishing industry groups in the town of Ainan and other parts of Nanyo, the center aims to establish a new fisheries science that integrates the arts and sciences, including development of advanced production technology by the life-sciences division, efforts to conserve fisheries by the environmental sciences division, and establishment of systems to revitalize the fishing industry by the social sciences division. The center has two research stations: the Funakoshi Station (at the Nishiushi branch of the Ainan municipal office) and the Nishiura Station (at Umiraiku Ainan), offering residential programs in which both faculty and students live on-site and conduct research. Students in the Industrial Innovation Department’s Marine Production Science program are based at the center starting in their third year.

Paper Industry Innovation Center

Through research and education in a range of fields related to the paper industry, the center conducts R&D that advances the industry and contributes to community revitalization and development. Located in the city of Shikokuchuo, the center has three research divisions: paper manufacturing research, paper products research, and smart materials research. In addition to improving paper manufacturing methods, the center develops smart materials to add to paper and techniques for incorporating them. The center collaborates with the prefectural government, the municipal government in Shikokuchuo, and the regional paper industry to quickly put to use the technology developed at the university. Students in the Industrial Innovation Department’s Paper Industry Program are based at the center starting in their third year.

Regional Cooperation Center in Saijo

The center’s mission is to respond to the resource, industrial, and cultural needs of the Toyo region by developing a range of cooperative initiatives that contribute to regional revitalization. The center’s diverse educational, research, and community programs include collaboration between high schools and universities; graduate-level classes; partnerships between industry, academia, and government; support for agricultural diversification; fieldwork and internships; job search support; and advanced education opportunities for local residents.

Regional Cooperation Center in Nanyo

The center was established in October 2019 at the Uwa Rice Museum in the city of Seiyo. The center is an education and research facility that works with public, private, and academic partners to address shared issues in the Nanyo region, including population loss, agricultural damage by wild animals, disaster preparedness, revitalization of the citrus industry, and maintenance of the public transportation network. It is unique in that it is cooperatively managed by stakeholders from nine regional municipalities who work together with community members on advanced education and research initiatives as well as continuing education opportunities for the public.

Regional Cooperation Center in Chuyo

Established in March 2021, the center has facilities in the cities of Tōon and Matsuyama. The School of Medicine and Ehime University Hospital, which are home to the university’s greatest human resources, make up the core of the Tōon facility, which facilitates greater contributions to the community in the fields of health and medicine. The Matsuyama facility develops human resources involved in revitalization of the tourism industry as well as activities focused on diverse cultural resources.

Research Center for Regional Collaboration

Through interdisciplinary, community-oriented education, research, and practical initiatives, the center promotes the academic study of collaborative regional innovation with the aim of contributing to community revitalization and development. The center promotes community-oriented research, creates new community-focused interdisciplinary academic fields, contributes to autonomous community development, conducts human resource training to support community development, and actively engages in international research and other global initiatives.

Research Center for Asian Archaeology of Industry and Culture

This is the only research center in Asia investigating Asian and Eurasian iron, ironware, iron production methods, and the social history surrounding iron. The center has agreements with research institutions in China, Mongolia, the Republic of Khakassia, Kazakhstan, and other Asian countries to conduct excavations of ancient ironmaking sites and study the archaeological materials discovered there. More recently, the center has also begun researching salt production and is creating a new framework for the study of industrial history.