Now faculty can be apart of the Japanese exchange program at Ohio State as the Translational Data Analytics program at OSU reached a five-year agreement with Nagoya University for a three-to-six month exchange program to Japan this summer.

This research opportunity is offered to faculty and staff within the fields of machine learning, pattern recognition, digital humanities and biomedics, a field that utilizes technology and people to improve individual health, health care, public health and biomedical research, according to the OSU College of Medicine website. This summer will mark the first year of the collaboration between the two schools.

“Faculty members should make use of this opportunity,” said Raghu Machiraju, the interim faculty lead of TDA. “Applicants could be from multiple areas within data analysis, but it is very open.”

Shuzaburo Takeda, the senior advisor to the Japanese minister of education, graduated from OSU with a doctorate in physics in 1969, said he sees the value in the exchange opportunity.

“Sharing the idea of translational data analytics as the core collaboration among scientific discipline are needed for solving global issues,” Takeda said in a press release. “Through these collaborations, each university and company can improve.”

For financial support, faculty participants will receive funding up to $5,000 for research and travel as well as a one-way airfare. Additionally, faculty participants can apply for funding from OSU. During their stay in Nagoya, they will receive salary payments in accordance with the university’s compensation standards.

Nagoya University will help OSU match faculty members with each other based on research interest.

“We have a good connection,” Machiraju said, “Nagoya will help us, and the person will be very well taken care of.”

On the side of Nagoya University, a host will be found matching with the research interest of the exchanged faculty, and both the host and the exchanged faculty will negotiate and decide the work pace together.

Because research is conducted in English, OSU faculty members are not required to speak Japanese.

The Translational Data Analytics program will provide more details once the application is released, and they are looking for a to begin the exchange soon.

This program will enhance the relationship between OSU and Nagoya University and at the same time, encourage research opportunities related to big data, according to a press release.

“We are trying to invite interest from my faculty peers,” Machiraju said. “That’s where we are now.”