Into the Future at the Speed of Light - with Artificial Intelligence!

The Mechatronic Joint Initiative „MEJOIN“ is a German-Japanese research marketing campaign between the Institute of Factory Automation and Production Systems (FAPS), the Cluster Mechatronik & Automation, the Saitama City Foundation for Business Creation and the Advanced Institute of Innovative Technology at Saitama University. Initially, MEJOIN was selected as one of 10 research networks for funding through the BMBF research marketing campaign „The Future of Work“.

The picture shows an overview of the project consortium

The MEJOIN project supports Japanese and German companies planning to cooperate or settle in the other country. Small and medium-sized companies are considered, as they are of enormous importance for the economy in both Japan and Germany. The sectors of manufacturing companies and medical technology companies are the most important areas for MEJOIN, as many challenges are facing these two industries in both countries. In addition, the institutions involved bring profound expertise to these companies and can, therefore, contribute in the best possible way. Among other things, we support the companies with targeted marketing measures such as this website, a Twitter channel and a LinkedIn group to increase the level of awareness and make potential partners aware of us.
In addition, we prepare market studies for the companies in order to provide first insights into foreign markets and to better evaluate possible investment potentials. The research institutions are also available to companies at any time as general contact partners.

Our Vision		Participating Companies		Umbrella Campaign „The Future of Work“
We would like to offer companies the opportunity to cooperate and invest internationally and to receive ongoing support on key issues. In addition, we will present the use of artificial intelligence to the companies and prepare possible applications for them to simplify a decision.		Five German and five Japanese companies from the fields of production facilities, parts manufacturing, and medical technology will be promoted in the MEJOIN project and supported in their desire to cooperate with other countries and will be integrated into the project in the best possible way.		MEJOIN is one of ten projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the umbrella campaign „The Future of Work“. In addition to the topic of globalization, this campaign also deals with digitalization and automation – aspects that will be of decisive importance for our working life!

Start of the Mechatronik Joint Initiative

MEJOIN was presented together with the other nine networks in Berlin, marking the start of an intensive 18-month period. Together with representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, important milestones and work packages for the umbrella campaign have already been set in the discourse.
Participating companies

In the course of the first months, the project consortium was formed around the ten participating companies with the dedicated support of the Cluster Mechatronic and the Saitama City Foundation. In particular, the areas of production automation and medical technology were addressed in the search for companies.
Definition of Marketing Tools

An essential part of MEJOIN is the marketing for our own activities. Therefore, the marketing of our project was aimed for on various channels. This ranges from a Twitter channel, a LinkedIn group and this website to offline marketing such as participation in trade fairs, speeches and meetings with other potential supporters.
Transatlantic Sync Conference

In October, the research networks participated in the first delegation trip to San Francisco. The participation of the Transatlantic Sync Conference enabled the exchange with important business and research representatives from the USA and Germany. In addition, many companies in Silicon Valley were visited that showed interest in „The Future of Work“ campaign.
MEJOIN Master Workshop

The first presence event of our initiative, the Master Workshop at the FAPS chair in November, allowed all participating companies to be introduced to the project managers. All attendees were able to join three days of interesting workshops on topics of artificial intelligence and presentations of companies at the SPS Drives fair.
Cooperation with JETRO

At the end of the year 2019, an intensive meeting was held with the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) to evaluate common interests and opportunities for cooperation. The companies were assured the best possible support in order to exploit the expansion opportunities within the MEJOIN project.
Project Website

At the beginning of the new year this project website was officially published. This marketing channel is primarily intended to serve as an opportunity for companies to introduce themselves and to contain the latest news from the Mechatronics Joint Initiative.
AI Expo in Tokio – canceled due to Coronavirus

The second delegation trip leads the research networks to Tokyo for the largest national exhibition focusing on artificial intelligence. In line with the American trip, there will be plenty of company and partner visits to ensure that the trip is as fulfilling as possible.
Company Profiles on Marketing Channels

At this time all profiles of the participating companies and institutions will be available on the marketing channels of MEJOIN in order to exploit the full potential. Until then, the focus will be on the continuous expansion of activities.
Preliminary of Market Studies

The first version of the outline of market studies is available and will be presented to companies. The change requests of the individual companies are taken into account in the individual final versions of the market studies and implemented accordingly.
Qualification Workshops

The last of four qualification workshops, carried out by the umbrella campaign, was completed so that the most important skills were taught and can be used for the rest of the project. Interdisciplinary skills were taught in all relevant areas, such as marketing, networking, and technical know-how.
Development of Measurement Catalogues

The catalogues of measures for marketing activities were prepared and distributed to the companies. Thus, support can be provided during the remaining project period in case companies need assistance or have questions. The measures are intended for the start of a foreign establishment.
Preparation of final Studies

The market studies were completed and distributed to the companies. In addition, student theses, which were prepared in MEJOIN, were incorporated into the final versions and distributed to the companies. This generates additional value beyond the market studies and provides an additional source of imported know-how.
Individual advice on the market studies

MEJOIN supports companies beyond the boundaries of market studies by providing specialized consulting services that can shed light on various aspects in greater depth and thus generate further content and added value. This is intended to make the contents more transparent for companies and facilitate their entry into foreign markets.
Master Workshop at Tokyo

The second Master Workshop was held in Tokyo and reviewed the previous project. An evaluation was carried out and different possibilities for cooperation were discussed. The previous findings were shared with the participants and a consultation for the final report took place.
Finalization of MEJOIN

The final report was prepared in consultation with the project partners, and the Mechatronics Joint Initiative was officially concluded at the end of the month. The report contains all knowledge gains generated during the project and the progress of the individual companies, which were recorded over the entire period.