The COI
Hokkaido University was selected as a Center of Innovation (COI) for the Center of Innovation Science and Technology based Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (COI STREAM) run by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The university launched the Innovative Food & Healthcare MASTER as a COI site in partnership with the University of Tsukuba, Kitasato University and more than 30 companies and institutions. The aim of the COI site is to make society more friendly to women, children and the elderly through diet and exercise suited to individual health needs.
A happy, healthy life for all with focus on future mothers, families with small children, the elderly and convalescents
Japan’s rapidly aging population and its low birthrate have created an urgent need for the development of a society in which women can give birth with peace of mind and enjoy parenting, children can grow up healthily in a supporting environment, and older people can live in health and happiness with access to effective medical services. Toward these ideals, the Hokkaido University COI supports the development of: 1. a self-healthcare platform to help people understand their own state of health and encourage spontaneous lifestyle changes; 2. a new health standard to help people assess their state of current and future health; 3. delicious food and fun exercise programs suitable for individuals; and 4. a health-centered community that fosters real communication at home, in the workplace and elsewhere.
Making people specialists in food and healthcare in this way represents an effective approach to enabling real-life innovation.
Efforts toward a society of specialists in food and healthcare
