On November 27th, Director V. Ramakrishnan and seven faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram (IISER-TVM), India, visited NAIST to participate in the first NAIST and IISER-TVM International Joint Workshop: Bio-Integration and Self-organized Material Systems. The purpose of the workshop was to exchange information of the trends and latest research achievements between the two institutions.

At a courtesy visit, Director Ramakrishnan and the other three faculty members from IISER-TVM were welcomed by NAIST President Naotake Ogasawara and Executive Directors Mikio Kataoka and Naokazu Yokoya, Graduate School of Materials Science Dean Kiyomi Kakiuchi, Professor Tsuyoshi Kawai, and Center for International Relations Director Tsutomu Hashida.

Following the courtesy call, Director Ramakrishnan and Dean K. George Thomas introduced the IISER-TVM and its mission. Afterwards, a general introduction of NAIST was presented by International Activities Coordinator Junko Iwatsuki, and Dean Tsukasa Ogasawara and Vice Dean Takashi Hashimoto introduced the Graduate School of Information Science and the Graduate School of Biological Sciences, respectively. Next, the group visited laboratories in all three graduate schools.

This occasion was a beneficial opportunity to strengthen the relationship and encourage future cooperation between IISER-TVM and NAIST.