Three goals of the Research Organization for Regional Alliances (RORA)

Research Organization for Regional Alliances (RORA) was established in 2009, when KUT became a public university corporation, to further strengthen the university's local contribution. Since then, aiming to maximize the strategic contribution that the university can offer, each of the laboratories of the Research Organization has engaged in projects that will contribute to the future of the region, making the most of each laboratory's unique seeds.

Those projects can be divided into three broad areas: industrial development aimed at the promotion of industry rooted in the region; urban management, including maintenance of social infrastructure; and satoyama (countryside forest) engineering that aims at the creation of new regional value. Drawing on the university's accumulated experience and achievements, those three project areas are the frameworks of our new goals. We are now pursuing specific results in each area.

Industrial Development

The laboratories of the Research Organization has accumulated project achievements in the following dimensions:

• Technical support for companies in Kochi Prefecture
• Adding high value to primary industry (agriculture)
• Creation of renewable energy enterprise

From this point onward, we will focus on specific subjects for industrial development, such as utilization of plant resources and utilization of regional energy, aiming at comprehensive development through organic linking of multiple projects.

Urban management

Urban management is defined here as a concept that aggregates various issues related to maintenance of functionality and renewal of modern urbanized society. The respective laboratories of the Research Organization have accumulated the following results:

• Initiation of response to local traffic issues
• Planning of disaster prevention and mitigation
• Formulation of proposals for the updating of urban infrastructure

From this point onward, we will bring the concept of social management system studies to the forefront, with the aim of achieving a structural understanding of, and solutions to, various issues.

Satoyama engineering

The Social Implementation Model Project for Satoyama (countryside forest) infrastructure development began in FY 2016, involving a dozen researchers from RORA, the School of Social Engineering, the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, and the School of Information.

We set up a demonstration field in satoyama near the university, and started to work in a multidisciplinary manner to rebuild the lifestyle and livelihood of the area, which was facing declining birthrate and aging population issues. In 2017, we coined the title, Satoyama Engineering, for our multidisciplinary approach with Geographical Information System (GIS) as the core.

We are now aiming to establish a satoyama engineering system for the solution of problems in satoyama, with faculty members from each faculty group bringing their academic seeds to a central hub, the Research Organization.

Members for Research Organization for Regional Alliances

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