Strategic Partnership between the Universities
for Research and Education (SPUR)

The University of Tokyo's (UTokyo) strategic partnerships are close, creative, and flexible collaborative relationships that make use of the strengths of our university as a whole and those of a limited number of partner universities. They are a new type of inter-university relationship that take a step beyond conventional academic exchange agreements with overseas universities. Building on ties established through collaborative research in cutting-edge fields, UTokyo's strategic partnerships aim to generate a variety of collaborative projects and academic exchanges that fit the circumstances and requests of both institutions.

UTokyo's first strategic partnership was with Princeton University, and we have now established partnerships with 18 other universities, including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich).

The strategic partnership project aims to open up the frontiers of academic investigation and promote collaborative research through activities such as joint symposia and reciprocal exchanges, primarily involving young researchers. By actively promoting student exchanges, the project will foster “global” scientists who are capable of engaging in activities on an international level. Moreover, exchange of administrative staff members will strengthen the administrative support for academic and student exchanges.