Event／Finished

[Event Report] Report on the Keio-CMU Partnership "AI Research Workshop 2025" (held on April 28, 2025)

2025.05.28

May 21, 2025
Date of Publication: May 28, 2025

Overview

On Friday, April 28, 2025, Keio University and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) held the "Keio-CMU AI Research Workshop 2025" at Keio University's Hiyoshi Campus.

Based on AI partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Keio University has launched the Keio AI Research Center, bringing together nine corporate research partners to jointly drive the development of next-generation AI technologies. This workshop was the first to be held in Japan as part of this initiative, following the event that took place in November 2024 at CMU's Pittsburgh campus, which laid the groundwork for ongoing international collaboration.

The event brought together approximately 100 participants, including researchers from both universities, representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Japan and global corporate partners, SoftBank Group, Arm, Microsoft Research and also nine corporate research partners, ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., Sony Research, Toyota Systems Corporation, KDDI Corporation, NEC Corporation, SoftBank Corp., Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc., and TOPPAN Holdings Inc. Active discussions were held on technical and strategic themes.

This partnership aims to promote the implementation of generative AI in new fields and the technological breakthroughs by leveraging the combined strengths of CMU--one of the world's top AI research institutions--and Keio University--a leading Japanese university--in collaboration with key players from the industrial sector. This workshop serves as a major milestone in that effort.

Objectives of the Workshop

The workshop aimed to deepen inter-university collaboration while strengthening frameworks for industry-academia joint research, focusing on the following three goals:

  • Share the latest research achievements of both universities to identify future collaborative themes through mutual understanding.
  • Expand opportunities for international research exchange through student presentations to CMU researchers.
  • Co-create research and development themes that reflect real-world challenges and industry needs through dialogue with corporate researchers.

    • Program Summary

    The workshop consisted of the following six sessions:

    ・10:00-10:10 Welcome Speech
    Following the opening remarks by Professor Komei Sugiura, Director of the Keio AI Research Center, Counselor Daniel C McCandless of the U.S. Embassy in Japan in charge of Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Economic and Scientific Affairs delivered a congratulatory address expressing expectations and the significance of the partnership.

      　

    ・10:10-12:00 Research Overview
    Recent research achievements in major domains from both universities were introduced, including embodied and multilingual AI, autonomous AI that coexists with humans, AI for scientific discovery, and robotics. These presentations helped deepen mutual understanding and knowledge sharing among participants.
      　 　
      　 　
      　 　

    ・12:00-13:30 Poster Session
    During the lunch break, a relaxed atmosphere fostered active engagement as 20 poster presentations showcased research by students and companies. Enthusiastic discussions and feedback from diverse perspectives were exchanged.
      　 　
      　

    ・13:30-15:00 Industry Presentations
    Corporate partners presented how this project aligns with their respective business strategies, their expectations, and future plans. These sessions sparked concrete discussions aimed at deepening collaboration with academia.
      　

    ・15:00-16:20 Breakout Session
    Participants were divided into small groups based on key research areas and actively discussed future collaborative research topics and implementation strategies.
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    ・17:30-19:30 Networking Dinner
    Keio University President Kohei Itoh joined the networking dinner, where participants from CMU and industry enjoyed candid dialogue and cultivated new connections beyond formal sessions.
      　 　

    Contact

    Keio AI Research Center Office, Keio University
    kai-center-office[at]keio.jp (please replace [at] with @)