Shimizu Corporation partners with Finland's University of Oulu to drive innovation that will make society more resilient, inclusive, and Sustainable
September 07, 2022 at 09:40 am EDT
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The University of Oulu in Finland and Shimizu Corporation have agreed to partnering and jointly exploring new possibilities emerging through the evolution of information and communication technologies including 5G 6G.
Both parties agreed to start with a co-funded Idea Contest focused on exploring new possibilities using 5G 6G technologies in making society more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.
The Idea Contest participants - primarily the students from the University of Oulu - are expected to understand current challenges and future opportunities of 5G 6G, create ideas showing paths to the future of learning, working, healthy lifestyle, and beyond. The participants are also expected to co-create prototypes of products and services that could be applicable in the near future. This industry-academia collaboration is also expected to contribute to the areas of education, energy, logistics, and personal well-being. Both parties - the University of Oulu and Shimizu Corporation - signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tokyo on August 31, 2022.
Wireless communication and disruptive technologies beyond 5G 6G are expected to come into play around 2030, revolutionizing many fields of business, including construction industry. Many researchers and practitioners across the globe are exploring new possibilities in both 5G 6G related technologies and implementation of such evolutionary technologies in practices well in advance. In this collaboration, the brightest minds will be encouraged to imagine a better world and generate important and world-changing ideas that can help making better future for all. This Idea Contest will be conducted in conjunction with a radical innovation course uniquely designed by the University of Oulu. The Idea Contest entries will be judged by both parties, with the cooperation of Professor Akihiro Nakao of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. And the winner(s) of the Idea Contest will be invited to Japan in July 2023 with the support from the Business Innovation Unit (BIU) of Shimizu Corporation and potential partners in Japan and beyond where they will share and demonstrate their innovative ideas and prototypes.
Shimizu Corporation is one of the Japanese largest building and civil engineering works groups. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- subcontracting construction services (89.4%): construction of buildings (housings, offices, manufactures, schools, medical centers, shopping centers, warehouses, hospitals, hotels, etc.), construction of transport and civil engineering infrastructures (roads, highways, railways, bridges, dams, etc.);
- other (10.6%): real estate development, leasing and sale of building materials equipments, financial services, etc.
SHIMIZU CORPORATION 
