Ca' Foscari signs cooperation agreement with Kansai Medical University

Ca’ Foscari enters a new Memorandum of Understanding with Kansai Medical University, a prestigious private university in Hirakata, Osaka. Kansai’s mission is to foster medical professionals who can greatly contribute to society and the study of medicine, nursing, and rehabilitation to advance culture, public health and welfare.

On September 6th, Rector Tiziana Lippiello, who is currently visiting Japan as part of a delegation from the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI), met with KMU’s President Tatsuo Kinashi to sign the cooperation agreement. 

The meeting was also attended by Koichi Tomoda, President Emeritus of the Kansai Medical University, Marco Prencipe, Italian Consul General in Osaka, and Ambassador Mario Vattani. The CRUI delegation was also present, with President Giovanna Iannantuoni. 

Considering the areas of common interest and shared academic goals in terms of teaching and research, the two Universities have decided to formalize an agreement that will encourage joint programmes, student mobility, Knowledge Transfer, PhD and research collaboration. 

The first practical outcome of the newly signed MoU will be a multidisciplinary research project involving two Ca’ Foscari Departments, the Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems and the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, and Kansai Medical University. The research topics will range from computational biology, network medicine and biosensors to nanoparticles for therapy, cancer treatment and microbiota, big data and computer science.

The joint project will be strengthened by an existing collaboration between Ca’ Foscari and the San Camillo Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare - located on the Lido island in Venice - which specializes in innovative health research in the neurorehabilitative field.

During her speech, Rector Lippiello recalled the first encounter with the KMU delegation in Venice: “Prof Tatsuo Kinashi visited Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in May this year together with President Emeritus Koichi Tomoda, Vice President Hirofumi Hitomi and prof. Giuseppe Pezzotti, distinguished professor and member of the Board of Governors at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and distinguished professor at the Kansai Medical University.[...] What fascinated me the mostly about President Tatsuo Kinashi’s visit was the emphasis on
caring for both the body and the spirit, on nurturing the heart as well as healing the body. Everything related to the concept of healing, treating, and caring (iyasu in Japanese) concerns not only the body but also the spirit. This is why Kansai Medical University has a center dedicated to well-being and harmony, relief, alleviating the pain, which is called kanwa”