2025 Activity Report vol.33:University of Fukui

Under the theme of "Technologies to Unlock the Potential of Bioresources from the Perspective of Materials Science," this program provided a hands-on training experience for students from the Asia and ASEAN regions, combining lectures, practical sessions, and research exchange. Upon arrival in Japan, participants first deepened their understanding of the Japanese research environment and the overall goals of the program through an orientation. Subsequently, interactions with faculty and local students further heightened their expectations for the upcoming activities. Throughout the training, the program served as an opportunity for participants from diverse specialized fields and cultural backgrounds to not only acquire knowledge but also to learn from one another through mutual inspiration.

A key feature of this training program is that it approaches bioresources not merely as subjects of research, but as "materials," offering an integrated learning experience that spans their exploration, handling, design, and application. The lectures covered interdisciplinary topics across materials science, biotechnology, and information science, including methodologies for resource exploration using environmental samples and databases, fundamental handling and functional understanding of proteins, and structure prediction utilizing machine learning. Beyond exposure to basic theories, participants were able to systematically learn how these concepts are interconnected within actual research environments. Such cross-disciplinary learning holds significant value for their future research activities, further academic pursuits, and potential international collaborative research.

On the second day, a Research Exchange Session (Poster Presentations) was held, featuring 27 presentations with 40 participants in attendance. Participants introduced their research themes and ideas in English, gaining advice from diverse perspectives and discovering new insights through lively discussions with faculty and students. This session served as a valuable opportunity not only to deepen their understanding of research content but also to cultivate the ability to communicate ideas in an international setting and advance research through dialogue. The experience of engaging in direct discussions with researchers from different fields and cultural backgrounds also bolstered the participants' confidence for their future academic pursuits.

In the middle of the program, an experimental session on "Handling of Biological Resources " was conducted, where participants acquired technical skills through hands-on experience. In addition to sample handling and basic measurement techniques, the experiment covered how to interpret the data obtained and discussed the results. Through these experiences, participants had the opportunity to realize that research is a comprehensive process involving a sequence of observation, measurement, analysis, and discussion. A key achievement was that participants solidified their understanding by verifying lecture concepts through hands-on experiments.

Furthermore, in the latter half of the program, lectures and practical sessions were conducted on the fusion of bioresources and advanced materials, covering application fields such as biosensors and cell culture substrates. Through these sessions, participants understood the potential for insights gained from basic research to be expanded into a wide range of fields, including medicine, the environment, and industry. By adopting a materials science perspective, participants explored ways to unlock new value in bioresources and learned the practical importance of interdisciplinary fusion. A key takeaway was recognizing the value of connecting research to future social implementation.

On the final day, a final presentation session was held, where each group presented their achievements and future outlooks. It was highly impressive to see that, despite the short duration of the training, the participants were able to reconstruct what they had learned in their own words and link it directly to their future research plans.

Through this program, participants not only acquired specialized knowledge but also experienced firsthand the importance of international research exchange. Deepening their understanding of the Japanese research environment has heightened their interest in future study abroad opportunities and collaborative research. It is expected that the human networks established during this training will serve as a foundation for ongoing international exchange and research partnerships. The Sakura Science Program provided a meaningful opportunity for young researchers to broaden their academic horizons and open up new possibilities within the global community.