Ryosuke Shibato

Background

About Ryosuke Shibato

We operating under the slogan “Open academia”, with the aim of building an open academic ecosystem and contributing to the creation of future society. For the past 150 years, universities and research institutes have been sustained by long-term national investment. However, in today’s era of low economic growth, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain research infrastructure solely with government support. While the reduction of public research funding is a challenge, it also marks a turning point where the flow of research funding itself can be reshaped. When the flow of capital changes, so too do the ways in which people and companies engage, creating new relationships that give rise to entirely new forms of research and knowledge. This moment represents a unique opportunity to pioneer new methods of knowledge creation. Believing in this potential, we launched Japan’s first academic crowdfunding platform, academist, in 2014. To date, we have supported more than 400 researchers, with over supporters contributing a cumulative total of more than 300 million yen in research funding. Since 2021, we have also operated the academist Prize, a program where researchers and companies co-create visions for the future. More than 30 Vision Sharing Partners have joined this initiative, and in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TOKYO SUTEAM), we have realized a Quadratic Funding pool of 10 million yen. Looking ahead, we will strengthen collaborations with overseas institutions to build a research ecosystem where researchers can take on challenges across borders. Guided by the slogan “Open academia”, we aim to cultivate new connections among capital, people, companies, and society, while continuously updating the very methods of research itself. If you are interested, please feel free to reach out. “Open academia” 150 2014academist400232021academist Prize30Vision Sharing Funding “Open academia”