Presentation Ceremony for the Gifu University Fund President's Special Award Held
On Thursday, December 11, 2025, Gifu University held the presentation ceremony for the Gifu University Fund President's Special Award.
This award system was newly established in October 2023 using the Gifu University Fund. It recognizes faculty, staff, and students who have received internationally acclaimed recognition or prestigious awards in Japan or abroad, thereby significantly enhancing the university's reputation. This is the fifth time the award has been presented.
The Gifu University student team "iGEM Gifu" formed "Japan Scinet" in collaboration with Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology in Shiga Prefecture and participated in the world's largest synthetic biology competition, the iGEM 2025 Grand Jamboree1, held in Paris, France from October 28 to 31. The team proposed an innovative and highly practical system that simultaneously achieves freshness preservation, spoilage prevention, and safety visualization based on a synthetic biology approach aimed at reducing waste of vegetables and fruits. In addition to technical excellence, their Human Practices activities, which considered social implementation, were highly evaluated. As a result, they won the prestigious Gold Medal, which was recognized as greatly enhancing the university's honor, leading to this award presentation.
At the ceremony, President YOSHIDA Kazuhiro remarked, "Your achievements are a source of pride for Gifu University. Please pass on this wonderful initiative to your successors." One team member commented, "We hope our winning will contribute to future iGEM challenges."
Gifu University will continue to pursue strategic initiatives toward transforming into a "Campus-Wide Co-Creation Model for Social Implementation University."
1) The world's largest international synthetic biology competition, where student-led research projects are presented. Participants design and build biological systems with new functions by combining genes and cells as "parts." Evaluation includes not only research results but also ethical considerations, social implementation, and educational activities.
