SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYJAPAN-TUNISIAACADEMIC
EXCHANGESSOW SEEDS OF BUSINESSTUNISIA

Professor ISODA Hiroko of
the University of Tsukuba’s
ARENA said, “I loveTunisia. It is such a receptivecountry.” She added, “TheTunisian researchers areadaptable and highly
motivated. I have great
respect for them.”

JAPANFor more than two decades, Japan and Tunisia have engaged in academic exchanges. At a technology park that opened
in Tunisia with Japan’s support, a new business collaboration is budding among industry, government, and academia
through research into food and medicinal bioresources.
Olives have a reputation as a healthy food, as theycontain polyphenol, which can reduce the risk of cancer
and arteriosclerosis. But did you know that the olives
grown in Tunisia, one of the world’s leading producersof the fruit, contain 10 to 20 times as much polyphenol
as those from elsewhere around the Mediterranean?
Many years of academic exchanges between thatcountry and Japan have helped uncover evidence ofthe functional components of Tunisian olives.
Located in northern Africa and facing theMediterranean Sea to the northeast, Tunisia is acrossroads of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, andAfrican civilizations, making it a treasure trove forresearchers in fields ranging from the humanities andTunisian students visit the University of Tsukuba
every year to conduct a wide range of research, fromcomputer science to biotechnology.

social sciences to natural science. To advance various
types of research, Japan and Tunisia have engaged inacademic exchanges for more than two decades. The
University of Tsukuba in Japan was particularly quick
to become involved in Tunisia, initiating exchanges
in the late 1990s. In 2004, it established the Alliancefor Research on the Mediterranean and North Africa(ARENA), and in 2006, opened its first overseas officein the country’s capital of Tunis. The university has thus
facilitated organic collaboration connecting possibilities
for Tunisia with Japanese science and technology.
ISODA Hiroko, an ARENA professor, is linked
by fate to Tunisia. A leading researcher into themedicinal bioresources of North Africa, she has

visited the country over 100 times already and has
analyzed the functional components of such plants as
Tunisian olives and rosemary. Professor Isoda was theone who identified the aforementioned functional
components of olives. The Science and Technology
Research Partnership for Sustainable Development(SATREPS)—the Japanese government programthat promotes joint research between developing
countries and Japan—selected her to prepare abioresource database for a joint research project withTunisia. She said that her team has already collected
evidence showing that some 100 of the approximately
900 types of plant components have the potential forcommercial use.
This research is also being conducted at the Borj
Cedria Science and Technology Park in Tunisia,
which was built with support from the Japan
International Cooperation Agency ( JICA) in an
ODA loan project. Located on the outskirts ofTunis, the technology park has garnered attention
for identifying the seeds of new businesses throughcollaborations among industry, government, andacademia in the fields of biotechnology, water
resources, and renewable energy. Professor Isoda said,“We are trying to turn our research into economic
benefits, and I hope that the two countries will enjoy
a win-win relationship.”Mohamed Moncef Harrabi, the former director ofthe National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT)
and former head of the technology park, said,“Despite having limited experience with Japan, I wasconvinced of the country’s high level of technology

Professor Mohamed Moncef Harrabi, former head of the technology
park, has contributed to academic exchanges in agricultural science
between the two countries for more than two decades.

Top: The Biotechnology Center, where Professor Isoda and Tunisian researchers
cooperate on bioresources research.
Bottom: With Japanese support, the Borj Cedria Science and Technology Park has
state-of-the-art equipment enabling it to conduct research at the same level as Japan’s.

and science, which led to my decision to encourage
exchanges. Academic exchanges with Professor Isoda
and others from Japan have had a big impact at many
levels in Tunisia, such as the transfer of technology.”
Academic exchanges have also been focused on
developing professionals in technology. So far,almost 100 Tunisian students have studied inJapan, pursuing collaborative research. What worries
Professor Isoda, however, is that the students, once
return to Tunisia, have few employment opportunities
available to them to apply the research skills thatthey acquired in Japan. To address the situation,
she established a company last year in Tsukuba thatsupports drug discovery, thereby creating places forsuch students to thrive. She plans to merge the venture
eventually with a local company in Tunisia andpromote research and development there. Research
into functional bioresources is one area where Japanleads globally, and she aims to create significant added
value through local discoveries in Tunisia that will leadto related production being launched there.
Professor Isoda said, “With the current attention
on well-being, my hope is that the talented students
who have studied in Japan will connect theirresearch to business and become professionals who
demonstrate leadership around the world.”