On Saturday, April 29, 2023, two opening ceremonies were held for the "Local Lab Nakatsugawa" (1-15 Shinmachi Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture) and for the "Local Lab Gifu" (Kyowa No.2 Building (Kanda Machi Okoshi CO., LTD), 6-11-1, Kandamachi, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture).

The local labs serve as a base to find solutions to regional issues and develop human resources capable of creating new businesses and co-existing with the community. Finding solutions to regional issues is the major objective of the "Gifu Region Human Resource Development Program: to establish academic infrastructure for regional revitalization¹" under the "Human Resource Development for Regional Revitalization: Supereminent Program for Activating Regional Collaboration (SPARC)" of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

The opening ceremonies were attended by the mayors, local citizens, and two university presidents, President EMA Satoshi of Chubu Gakuin University, and President HATANAKA Shigemitsu of Gifu City Women's College. These two universities are Gifu University's SPARC partner universities. Explanations about the planned activities of the local labs were followed by the signboard unveiling ceremonies.

In his speech, Mayor AOYAMA Setsuji of Nakatsugawa City expressed his hopes for active roles of young generation, while Mayor SHIBAHASHI Masanao of Gifu City mentioned his expectations for the lab as a base for collaboration between university students, local municipalities and businesses in the days to come.

Members of the local labs are committed to addressing various regional issues and continue to make contributions to the development of local community.

1) tentative English name