Globalization of the Local Health Industry during Uncertain Times: The Eastern Kyushu Medical Valley and Beyond

[P-02] Cybernics Medical Innovations for Future Global Health

Professor Yoshiyuki SANKAI (Executive Research Director of Center for Cybernics Research, Director of R&D Center for Frontiers of MIRAI in Policy and Technology, University of Tsukuba President and CEO of CYBERDYNE Inc.)

【Short bio】
Yoshiyuki SANKAI earned a Ph.D. in Engineering from University of Tsukuba in Japan in 1987. He has progressed from being a research fellow at the JSPS to assistant professor, associate professor, and then professor at the Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba. Dr. Sankai was also a visiting professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas in the United States. Currently, he is a professor, the Executive Research Director at the Center for Cybernics Research and the Director at the F-MIRAI, University of Tsukuba; and the President and CEO of CYBERDYNE Inc.

He successively held the position of Leader/PM for the FIRST program and ImPACT program, both initiated by the Japanese Cabinet Office, and the Business producer of the Program for Building Regional Innovation Ecosystem by MEXT. He also served as an Executive Board Member of Advanced Robotics, and a member of Global Agenda Council on Robotics & Smart Devices of the WEF. Now, he is a fellow of the Robotics Society of Japan (“RSJ”) and the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (“SICE”). He is a Center Partner of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a member of Global Future Council of Production, and a member of Global Precision Medicine Council of the WEF. And he is also appointed as an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (“IVA”).

【Awards】
The 2005 World Technology Award (the Grand Prize) （2005）, the Good Design Award (the Gold Prize) , the Japan Innovator Award (the Award of Excellence)（2006）, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award（2007）, the 21st Century Invention Award at the National Invention Awards, “Development of Cyborg-type Robot Technology” （2009）, the NetExplorateurs at UNESCO Headquarters（2011）, the Capek Award（2012）, the 2014 Technology Pioneer at the World Economic Forum（2013）, the 2014 Edison Awards Gold Award, the DealWatch Awards 2013, the IPO of the Year at the Thomson Reuters（2014）, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, the DealWatch Awards 2014, the Innovative Equity Deal of the Year at the Thomson Reuters(2014), the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award, the Zaikai Business Leader of the Year Award (2015), the DIA Japan Outstanding Contribution to Health Award, the Robot Award - Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare Award(2016), the Prime Ministers Award (the Nippon Venture Award)(2017), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award (the Technology Management and Innovation Award), the Ichimura Prize in Industry, the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon（2019）awarded by the Emperor, the Intellectual Property Achievement Awards (the Minister of Economy Trade and Industry Awards) (2020), etc.