Open for Collaboration: Kyocera Comes to UC San Diego

Universities are the vanguard of what’s coming in three, five or 10 years, and smart companies understand that,” said Paul Roben, associate vice chancellor for innovation and commercialization at UC San Diego. “With Kyocera on campus, the company taps into our faculty’s expertise, and our researchers get real-world insight into what industry needs. That’s fertile ground for new collaborations. Our students win, too, getting to know the company in ways that can lead to internships and jobs.”

Founded in Japan, Kyocera has operated in San Diego since the 1970s. Over the past two years, its venture team has renewed ties with UC San Diego by participating in the university’s Corporate Affiliates Program, mentoring campus entrepreneurs and engaging with its ecosystem of startup accelerators and incubators.

This involvement led to the company’s investment in KatoMed , a startup developing a navigation tool for spine surgery that grew out of technology from the UC San Diego lab of Michael Yip, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering.