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Industry Collaboration Index

Industry Collaboration Index 2026 · University profile

Tohoku University

Japan · Asia-Pacific · Platinum

#21World rank of 1,038
84.5ICI scoreout of 100
#6National rank, of 52 in Japan
#7Regional rank, of 343 in Asia-Pacific
2,405Verified industry works, 2021 to 2025
872Company groups worked with (382 on two or more works)

Tohoku University is ranked #21 of 1,038, with Platinum standing. Its strongest pillar is scale (97): a network of 382 company groups on two or more joint works. All four pillars are above the middle of the ranked universities; the lowest is breadth (52).

Research Collaboration Index 2026: #436 of 1,195, Silver standing · View the RCI profile →

Why this position

Four pillars, as percentiles

Co-creation30% of the score
94

How often it co-authors with companies, compared with what its own mix of research fields would predict; size makes no difference. 2,405 verified works against about 1,446 expected for its fields (1.66 times the expected rate).

Durability20% of the score
85

How much of its industry work sits in sustained partnerships with the same company group. 127 sustained partnerships: five or more joint works in three or more of the five years.

Scale30% of the score
97

The size of its industry network: company groups on two or more works, sustained partnerships, and its place in the worldwide network of universities and companies. 382 company groups on two or more joint works; 127 sustained partnerships.

Breadth20% of the score
52

How varied its partners are, judged by each company's main research field. Measured across the main research fields of all the company groups it worked with.

Each pillar is a percentile among the 1,038 ranked universities: a value of 80 means a higher value than about 80 in every 100 of them. The ICI score (84.5) is the weighted average of the four percentiles. Rank 21 of 1,038 overall; 6 of 52 in Japan; 7 of 343 in Asia-Pacific. Standing bands: Platinum for ranks 1 to 100, Gold 101 to 300, Silver 301 to 600. How the index is built →

In numbers

The evidence behind the position

7.0%of its 34,135 research works in 2021 to 2025 were co-authored with a verified company
1.66Industry co-authorship rate: 1.66 times what its mix of research fields would predict (2,405 verified works; about 1,446 expected)
127sustained partnerships: the same company group on five or more joint works in three or more of the five years

In Japan

6 of 52 ranked universities in Japan

  1. #4 Hokkaido University world #15, score 85.7
  2. #5 Kyushu University world #20, score 84.5
  3. #6 Tohoku University world #21, score 84.5
  4. #7 Nagoya University world #28, score 82.0
  5. #8 Keio University world #32, score 81.5

All ranked universities →   Asia-Pacific: 7 of 343 →

Where it works with industry

Sector strengths

Verified industry works by sector, with its position in each sector ranking. A university is ranked in a sector once it has at least 20 verified works there; sectors with fewer than 50 eligible universities are provisional.

Strongest sector positions

#2 of 481Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology477 verified works in the sector
#10 of 109Semiconductors and Microelectronics54.5 verified works in the sector
#29 of 237Chemicals, Process and Resources103.5 verified works in the sector
Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology
477#2 of 481
Pharmaceuticals and Therapeutics
124#198 of 638
Chemicals, Process and Resources
103.5#29 of 237
Clean Energy Transition
76.5#65 of 295
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
64.5#66 of 373
Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0
58#43 of 201
Built Environment and Infrastructure
58#59 of 215
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
54.5#10 of 109
Batteries and Energy Storage
35.5#52 of 126
Agriculture and Food Technology
34#95 of 194
Next-Generation Communications
33.5#77 of 188
Medical Technology and Digital Health
30.5#208 of 323
Artificial Intelligence
29#226 of 292
Biotechnology and Advanced Therapies
27#190 of 220
Quantum Technologies
14.5under 20 works
Software, Cloud and Data
13under 20 works
Automotive and Mobility
12.5under 20 works
Aerospace and Aviation
10under 20 works
Space and Satellite Technology
10under 20 works
Cybersecurity and Digital Trust
8under 20 works
Robotics and Autonomous Systems
7ranking withheld (under 10 eligible)
Not in any of the 21 sectors
1,118counted in the overall index

1,287 of its 2,405 verified industry works fall within the 21 sectors. The rest have research topics that belong to no industry sector (basic science, for example) or are consortium papers with 100 or more authors, which the sector indices leave out; all of them count fully in the overall index.

Who it works with

Company partners, 2021 to 2025

Tohoku University co-authored verified work with 872 company groups, consortium papers aside: 382 of them on two or more works, and 127 as sustained partners.

The largest 12 of its 872 company groups, by joint works

Company groupBased inCompany's main research fieldJoint worksYears with a joint work
Toyota Central Research and Development LaboratoriesJapanMedicine585 of 5
Nippon SteelJapanEngineering56.55 of 5
Mitsubishi ElectricJapanEngineering535 of 5
C&A CorporationJapanPhysics and Astronomy505 of 5
JFE Steel CorporationJapanEngineering48.55 of 5
JEOLJapanMaterials Science415 of 5
NTTJapanEngineering38.55 of 5
TakedaJapanChemistry37.55 of 5
ToshibaJapanEngineering345 of 5
HitachiJapanEngineering33.55 of 5
NECJapanEngineering325 of 5
RigakuJapanMaterials Science285 of 5

A company group brings together a company's subsidiaries and research labs under one name. A work counts half when its only company author also holds a post at this university. Consortium papers with 100 or more authors are left out of this table.

Examples of its work with industry

Most-cited verified joint works

Its most-cited verified works with 30 or fewer authors, leaving out guidelines and consensus statements. Citation counts are those of the open scholarly record at harvest. Each title links to the work.

Over time

Verified industry works by year

5142021
4892022
4482023
473.52024
480.52025

2025 is not yet complete: papers published late in the year are still being added to the open record, and coverage may not be equally complete for every university, so compare years with care. A work counts half when its only company author also holds a post at the university, so some totals end in .5.

Funded partnerships (reported, not scored)

Publicly funded research projects with companies

European Union: 7 Horizon projects with company partners

Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects starting 2021-2025 in which this university and at least one company take part (25 distinct companies). Company partners include: Allmicroalgae Natural Products SA, Aristeng SARL, Astrial GmbH, Conextivity Group SA, Delta Dore SA, Engineering - Ingegneria Informatica SpA.

  • SYNERGISE A novel integrated SYstem of Systems streNgthening tEchnical and logistical capacities to ensure better Response to emerGencies by... 2023, 7 companies
  • AGILE AGnostic risk management for high Impact Low probability Events 2023, 2 companies
  • e-VITA European-Japanese Virtual Coach for Smart Ageing 2021, 2 companies

Shown for context from the public grant registries; they do not enter the score in Edition 1. Comparable open registries of company partners exist for the European Union and the United Kingdom but not yet for most other research systems, and in some countries national research organisations take part on behalf of university laboratories, so these counts are not comparable between countries.

Funded and co-publishing. Of the funded company partners that match an ICI company group, 1 also appear in this university's verified co-authorship record (Allmicroalgae-Natural Products) and 2 are funded partners not yet visible in it. About 12% of funded company names could be matched to a company group; the rest are counted, not guessed. Sources: UKRI Gateway to Research harvested 4 Oct 2026; CORDIS bulk files of 2026-10-12 (latest record update 2026-06-10). Funded partnerships cover UK (UKRI Gateway to Research) and EU (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, CORDIS) projects starting 2021 to 2025 only. They are reported, never scored, and a funder record outside these two sources is not visible here.

Evidence checked

3,183 verified company links

Each counted link (one work, this university and one company) was confirmed against the affiliation text its author wrote; 1,419 of 4,602 candidate links were set aside.

Why links were set aside
  • 665 company name not written in the author's affiliation
  • 283 a place or common word that failed its stricter rule
  • 198 part of a university or public institute's own unit
  • 115 ordinary-word name without a company suffix
  • 27 part of a street or district address
  • 20 excluded after hand audit: Matched almost only from the Flatiron Institute, a non-profit research institute
  • 111 for other reasons: smaller hand-audit findings, and links the current open record no longer supports

If a partner is missing or should not be here, send the evidence; corrections are free and reviewed against the public record.

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GRP Partnership Intelligence Platform

Where Tohoku University's collaboration could go next

This profile is free and public, and it stays that way. Beyond it, the GRP Partnership Intelligence Platform, a partner service arranged with each university, sets your record in both GRP indices beside the peers you choose: the universities and companies your peers work with that you do not, live funding calls matched to your strengths, the EU projects your peers have won, and a brief ready for your executive. It opens to partner universities on Monday 19 October 2026: enquire, and the GRP team will confirm availability and pricing for your university.

Request first access →  See what is inside →

The platform cannot move any university's position, band or score.

The other GRP index

Research Collaboration Index

In the Research Collaboration Index 2026, Tohoku University ranks #436 of 1,195, with Silver standing. It measures the whole research network, not only industry.

View the RCI profile →

Something wrong? Every figure comes from the public record and can be checked. If a partner is missing or should not be there, tell us and we will review it with the evidence. The 2027 edition will be calculated with the same published methodology. The window for universities to submit data for it is open now: submit data for the 2027 edition. The index is free, public and independent. No commercial relationship with any university or company changes any position, and no one can pay to be included, excluded or moved.