On November 15, 2025, Executive Vice President Toshiya Ueki and Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi attended the India-Japan Universities Forum in Hyderabad, India.

This forum, organized by the Japan Science and Technology 虎扑电竞ncy (JST) has been held four times since 2023. It brings together leading Japanese and Indian universities to exchange ideas on promoting inter-university collaboration between the two countries. Thirty-seven Indian universities and 36 Japanese universities and research institutes, as well as 12 Japanese companies and organizations, participated in the fourth forum.

The year 2025 has been designated the 'Japan India Science Technology and Innovation Exchange Year', marking forty years since the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of science and technology. The themes of the fourth forum included brain circulation between Japan and India, and utilizing young talent.

The forum was conducted in three parts. In the first part, opening remarks were given by the president of the JST, the director of the host institution (the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad), the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to India, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (via video message), as well as representatives from participating Japanese and Indian institutions.

In the second part, university representatives participated in roundtable discussions on different topics within three themes. Professor Ueki and Professor Yamaguchi's group focused on the topic of biotechnology with the theme 'For universities and institutions to promote India-Japan collaboration of research in advanced fields.' After introductions from each university representative, Professor Ueki served as the roundtable chair and led discussions on promoting future collaborations.

In the third part, representatives from Japanese and Indian institutions had individual meetings. Tohoku University met with five Indian institutions: the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar, and IIT Ropar, and discussed target fields to strengthen cooperation, as well as specific policies for research collaboration.

The forum came to a successful close, after many engaging discussions about Japan and India's collaborative possibilities in higher education.

Tohoku University will continue to strengthen cooperation with higher education institutions in India.

Group photo of a roundtable discussion with representatives from participating institutions.