Strategies to Obtain Research Funding for Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, a Rural Medical College in Japan

Japan's operating budget for its national universities has been reduced since 2004 year by year, leaving a tight competition among universities in securing research funding. Urban universities with several prominent researchers can operate by securing competitive funding, joint research with companies, and donations, whereas small rural universities struggle with finances. How should small rural universities survive in the future? The vision and mission of Hamamatsu University School of Medicine (HUSM), a rural medical college, is to play a central role in the local community medicine through medical photonics research and academia-industry-government collaboration. HUSM is a member of the regional industrial cluster, and research administrators (RAs) have promoted the medical photonics filed through activities such as education, matching, funding, research and development support, technology transfer, and sales promotion support to make the university distinctive. RAs collaborate with universities, companies, and local governments in the same region to conduct joint research and commercialize products as though these units were a single organization. As a result, the number of joint research projects and the amount of revenue from joint research have increased every year. The government has recognized this unique approach. Furthermore, university consolidation is being pursued as a cost-saving measure to increase the money spent on research. Consolidation can strengthen the ability of university research, and can result in more joint research with companies and more research funding.