Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) held a special workshop to evaluate their bilateral collaboration on polymer science, supported under the Core University Program by JSPS and KOSEF.

The universities have been carrying out a core university project on "Preparation and Applications of Functional and Ecological Soft Materials" since 2000. At its 5-year juncture, they decided to hold a midterm self-evaluation seminar on 14 June 2004 at KAIST in Daejeon, Korea.

At the seminar, representative scientists from both sides reported on their activities over the period and proposed plans for future initiatives and exchanges. They invited specialists from both countries to serve as evaluation committee members. Prof. Sung Chul Kim of KAIST, the Korean coordinator, introduced the committee, and Prof. Masa-aki Kakimoto of Tokyo Tech, his Japanese counterpart, gave an outline of the program.

Mr. Tsuyoshi Enomoto, Deputy Director of JSPS's International Program Department, delivered a presentation titled "JSPS and Core University Program." In it, he emphasized the importance of midterm evaluations and the higher requirement for efficiency and productivity under the program vis-à-vis past years.