Registration Closes 13 November for ICFAST 2026, the 16th India–Japan Science and Technology Seminar

IIT Gandhinagar will host the two-day conference on 30 November and 1 December, as the Indian JSPS Alumni Association marks 20 years.

Researchers who want to take part in the 16th India–Japan Science, Technology and Education Seminar have until 13 November 2026 to register. The seminar is part of the International Conference on Frontier Areas of Science & Technology (ICFAST 2026). It will be held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 30 November and 1 December.

The conference brings together scientists and academics from India and Japan. It also marks the 20th anniversary of the Indian JSPS Alumni Association (IJAA), the network of Indian researchers who have worked in Japan with support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Two decades of scientific exchange

The IJAA is organising the seminar in collaboration with IIT Gandhinagar. JSPS, Japan, is the sponsor, and the India Japan Society for Science, Technology and Education (IJSSTE), Japan, is supporting the event. Prof. D. Sakthi Kumar of Toyo University, Japan, who chairs the IJAA, and Prof. Sivapriya Kirubakaran of IIT Gandhinagar lead the organising effort.

The organisers describe the anniversary as a celebration of two decades of academic exchange, innovation and collaboration between the two countries.

What are JSPS and the IJAA?

JSPS is a Japanese public body that supports scientific research. It funds researchers and runs fellowship and exchange programmes that bring scientists from other countries to Japanese laboratories and universities. Many of those scientists stay in touch with their Japanese hosts long after they return home.

The IJAA grew out of that experience. The association was founded in 2006 and set up four regional chapters across India, covering the North, West, South and East. According to a JSPS-hosted IJAA booklet, it was the sixth alumni association that JSPS officially established. It has organised India–Japan science and technology seminars in India and Japan since 2010, giving scientists from both countries a regular place to meet and compare their work.

The seminars have travelled across the country. A 2019 conference was held in Delhi, and the 2023 edition took place at Shivaji University, Kolhapur, in September. In 2022 the IJAA and the University of Hyderabad organised a Nobel Laureate seminar as part of the 70th anniversary of India–Japan diplomatic relations. The Gandhinagar seminar is the 16th in the series.

The association’s leadership has also been recognised in Japan. Prof. Sakthi Kumar received Japan’s 2025 Foreign Minister’s Commendation on 5 September 2025.

What the ICFAST 2026 programme offers

The conference will feature keynote addresses, plenary sessions and invited talks by experts from Japan and India. Researchers and young scholars can also present their work as posters. The organisers say the aim is to encourage active dialogue within the scientific community and to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

A detailed session schedule is on the programme page of the official website. [Connect with organizers for an extension of deadline for registration.]

The speaker line-up

Two keynote speakers will headline the event:

• Prof. Sumio Iijima, Meijo University

• Prof. Sandeep Verma, IIT Kanpur

They will be joined by eleven invited speakers from institutions in both countries:

Speaker	Affiliation
Prof. Fumito Maruyama	IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University
Prof. Yoshiro Azuma	BITS Goa
Dr. Subbarayappa Adimurthy	CSIR-CSMCRI
Dr. Ganesh Venkataraman	IIT Kharagpur
Dr. Gopinath Purushothaman	IISER Tirupati
Dr. Gugan Kothandan	University of Madras
Dr. Nilanjana Majumdar	NCL Pune
Dr. Srinivas Dharavath	IIT Kanpur
Prof. Jayamurugan G	Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali
Prof. Arnab Dutta	IIT Bombay
Dr. Jayaramulu Kolleboyina	IIT Jammu

The speakers come from IITs, CSIR laboratories, IISERs, universities and the INST, along with Hiroshima University and Meijo University in Japan.

Inspiring Young Minds

One feature sets this seminar apart from a typical research conference. “Inspiring Young Minds” is an interactive session designed for school students. It puts young learners in direct contact with accomplished scientists, with the stated goal of building curiosity, motivation and a deeper interest in science and innovation.

For a seminar series built on long-term exchange between two countries, the session looks to the next generation of researchers as well as the current one.

Why it matters for India–Japan cooperation

Science and education have long been one of the quieter strands of the India–Japan relationship. They rarely make headlines the way trade deals or summits do, but they build the personal connections that later cooperation depends on. A researcher who has spent a year in a Japanese laboratory returns with colleagues, methods and a working knowledge of how Japanese institutions operate - Normally - It will be minimum 2 Years.

Alumni networks like the IJAA keep that link active. They turn individual fellowships into a standing community, and a regular seminar gives that community a fixed date to meet, present results and plan joint work. For early-career researchers, a conference like this can be the first step towards a Japanese collaborator or a fellowship application.

The line-up reflects this. Indian institutions from several cities appear alongside Japanese universities, and the poster session gives students and young scholars a place on the same programme as senior scientists.

The timing is also notable. India and Japan are heading into 2027, the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and the seminar gives the scientific community an early opportunity to take stock of what those ties have produced and where they could go next.

How to take part

Registration and abstract submission are handled through the official seminar website, icfast2026gn.com. The QR code on the conference poster leads to the same site. The last date for registration is 13 November 2026.

Queries can be sent to the organisers at icfast2026@iitgn.ac.in. Details on the programme, committees, speakers and venue are on the website.