Program on Open Innovation Platform with Enterprises, Research Institute and Academia (OPERA)　intends universities and others to centralize intellectual assets totally under the cooperation with industry, and create "technology and system innovation scenario" for cultivating the new core industries. The OPERA program aims at accelerating Japan's open innovation by expanding industry-academic partnership in basic research and human resource development through research and development in non-competitive area* which has both academic challenge and industrial innovation based on the scenario. The program has started in FY 2016.

The purpose of this program is to create innovative technologies that will become the core of fostering new key industries and to form a platform with a sustainable research environment, research system, and human resource development system.

Tohoku university's proposal “World-Leading Open Innovation Platform of Fusion Technologies Bridged IT and Transportation System Areas” (Organizing institution: Tohoku University, Project leader: Professor Tetsuo Endoh) was accepted to form “Industry-academic consortium for IT and transportation system” in FY2016.

* pre-competitive stage Basic and fundamental research area that enables the presentation of academic papers and the share of information on research results in cocreation consortium where universities and companies participate.