On August 6, 2025, IMI Director Kenji Kajiwara, Liaison Strategy Division Head Fumikazu Sato, and Associate Professor Atsushi Tero paid a courtesy visit to Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, who was visiting Kyushu University for a special commemorative lecture.

IMI has been actively promoting academic collaboration with Malaysia, including the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in 2024. As part of this collaboration, on August 26, 2025, IMI and UTM will host the Malaysia-Japan Symposium on Mathematical and Statistical Modelling at the IMI Auditorium. Furthermore, beginning this month, Associate Professor Tero will spend 40 days in Malaysia as a dispatched researcher under the program “Young Talents Exchange and Capacity Development Program:Networked Exchange, United Strength for Stronger Partnerships between Japan and ASEAN” funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). During his stay, he will conduct joint research and participate in exchange activities with UTM researchers.