June 28, 2013, Musashino Art University and Tokyo Institute of Technology signed a cooperation agreement on education and research exchange.

Until now the two universities have held joint events, such as workshops and cooperation has accumulated, but from now on, under this formal arrangement, cooperation between the universities will expand.

Background.
Tokyo Tech Science and Art /design research LAB Creative Flow's Professor Kayoko Nohara, Musashino Art University, Department of Design Information Professor Hiromi Inokuchi, and Film Art's editor-in-chief Tsuda Hiroshi have worked together since 2010 on research and education to bring together science, engineering and design work to induce creativity.
It started in 2011 with a Joint Workshop on "Concept Designing". Concept designing was carried out with the support of Tokyo Tech Monozukuri Education and Research Center, and from the second time became an intensive graduate course with course credits attached. As of August 2012, it has been given three times.

The lecture course is in the form of a workshop + public presentation, and by making things and discussions with experts, takes advantage of each other's complementary strengths as researchers, designers, engineers, and planners. It is for those with the aim of acquiring career design ability and the imagination required to express oneself in industry. It adds to the different approaches of science and engineering students and university art students in different fields in a production team to focus on communication, discussion, visibility and presentation skills training.

NEED FOR THIS AGREEMENT.
From the Joint Workshops, production teams from science and engineering students and art university students allow trans-disciplinary communications which are beneficial for both universities. Moreover, Musashino Art University together with Tokyo Institute of Technology have, since 2012, adopted the global human resource development project, and introduced modules to provide the training required for capability in "understanding of other cultures" and "ability to identify and solve problems" and "teamwork and leadership".

However, in the present situation, there is no foundation for the responsible parties for the above activities at the two universities to develop the planning resources together. Moreover, it is difficult for students to operate in the other campus and carry out joint activities outside the university calendar and timetable.

Due to the above, in order to allow the two universities to deepen their cooperation and efforts to develop and deploy new activities, it was decided to conclude this agreement.

Expected activities after the Agreement:
- Establish joint classes where both university's students can participate
- Provide a useful education for both. (Basic design literacy theory, engineering for designers, etc. )
- Joint use of class facilities
- Science and Art (Art &Design) dialog and cooperation
- Develop new educational methods for educating human resources able to innovate creatively through a new vision
- Joint development of teaching materials
- Art Gallery and museums, Industrial Design internships
- Joint dispatch to overseas internship programs, etc.
- Joint events with the Global Human Resource development program.