Second annual UCL-Osaka Strategic Partner Funds recipients

18 February 2021

Six projects were awarded funding of up to £10,000 each in the second annual joint funding call from UCL and Osaka University

Following a successful first round in 2019/20, the second annual UCL-Osaka University Strategic Partner Funds has awarded six projects funding in areas including neuroscience and mitigating the impact of COVID-19.

This annual funding call supports collaborative and interdisciplinary research initiatives to UCL academics collaborating with colleagues based at Osaka University (OU), as part of the strategic partnership between the two institutions.

Submissions were assessed by a committee composed of members from both institutions, with UCL and OU contributing matching funds to support the successful proposals.

Dr Kaan Aksit (UCL Engineering Sciences), one of this year's awardees, said: "I am delighted to receive support from the UCL-Osaka Strategic Partner Funds for our upcoming research. It will allow myself and my collaborators from Osaka University to investigate "telelife" technologies that will enable effective remote work with the use of virtual reality headsets. Our results will inform the field of telelife technologies, while also helping us to derive a research vision for augmented reality, virtual reality, telework and telepresence."

Congratulations to all 2020/21 recipients of the UCL-Osaka University Strategic Partner Funds:

Lead UCL applicant	Faculty	Project
Dr Kaan Aksit	Engineering Sciences	Development of a joint “telelife” technology seminar using virtual reality
Professor Ricardo Henriques	Life Sciences	Understanding dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 assembly using super-resolution microscopy and biosensor engineering
Professor Henry Houlden	Brain Sciences	The impact of Rubicon variants on human brain neurodevelopment
Dr Dimitrios Kanoulas	Engineering Sciences	Using human IMU-based teleoperation and robot vision to create a semi-autonomous system
Dr Deborah Padfield	Arts & Humanities	Using images and movement to explore intercultural understanding of pain and suffering
Dr Carol Rivas	Institute of Education	The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children made vulnerable through health conditions and disability

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