Toshiharu Saiki, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡¡¯s Vice-President for Research and Entrepreneurial Education and Support, traveled to Hong Kong for . Held over three days from April 22¨C24, 2026, this annual meeting is organized by Times Higher Education (THE).
More than 600
leaders who are shaping the future of higher education in Asia gathered for
this year¡¯s summit, which took place in partnership with The Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology. They came together to share their vision
of Asia¡¯s role in the race to realize scalable solutions to the world¡¯s
pressing challenges. ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡¡¯s delegation was led by Vice-President Saiki, who was
invited to speak at sessions held on the first two days of the summit.?
On Day 1, he
joined THE¡¯s Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific region, Julie McMahon, and the
Institute of Science Tokyo¡¯s Executive Vice-President for Global Affairs,
Jun-ichi Takada, for a session titled ¡°From zero-energy homes to healthy lives:
Spotlight on Japan¡¯s integrated approach to sustainable living and medical
innovation.¡± The speakers unpacked how universities, industry, and government
in Japan are working to overcome institutional barriers to collaboration to
build a society where sustainability and healthcare are linked.
On Day 2, Vice-President Saiki debated the strategies needed to translate innovation into impact during a session titled ¡°The unicorn factory: A practical guide from lab to launchpad.¡± Accompanied by speakers including the President of KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Anders S?derholm, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology¡¯s Vice-President for Research and Development, Tim Cheng, he stressed the importance of fomenting a culture of entrepreneurship within institutions of higher education. The speakers explored how universities can convert research achievements into scalable companies by creating institutional incentives for innovation.
Vice-President
Saiki took this opportunity to share examples of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡¡¯s many ongoing
initiatives in these fields and the lessons learned during their execution,
deepening the conversation in the broader Asian higher education community.
(Photos courtesy of THE and others)