INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTECORPORATION RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONOF INFORMATION AND SYSTEMS

Their core work

ROIS is Japan's national inter-university research corporation focused on information and systems science, operating several research institutes including the National Institute of Informatics and the National Institute of Polar Research. In H2020, they contributed specialized expertise in Arctic environmental observation systems and data interoperability, as well as information science applications spanning IoT, legal text mining, and computational neuroscience. Their role is typically that of an international knowledge partner, bringing Japanese research infrastructure and polar science capabilities into European consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2016-2019), ROIS engaged across diverse information science topics — legal text mining (MIREL), Arctic environmental monitoring (INTAROS), and IoT sensing (SENSIBLE) — reflecting broad institutional capabilities. By the recent period (2019-2025), a clear consolidation emerges around Arctic and polar science: earth observations, indigenous knowledge co-development, sustainable development, and observing system interoperability dominate. The neuroscience work (COGBIAS) appears as a one-off researcher mobility project rather than an institutional direction.

ROIS is deepening its commitment to Arctic and polar observation systems with increasing emphasis on indigenous knowledge integration and data interoperability — a strong fit for future Horizon Europe polar and climate missions.

How they like to work

ROIS never coordinates H2020 projects, consistently joining as a partner or third party — reflecting their role as a non-EU international contributor bringing specialized Japanese expertise into European-led consortia. With 106 unique partners across 29 countries from just 5 projects, they work in very large consortia (Arctic projects often exceed 40 partners). This makes them a reliable, low-friction international collaborator who adds geographic and scientific diversity to proposals.

Despite only 5 projects, ROIS has built a remarkably wide network of 106 partners across 29 countries, driven primarily by large-scale Arctic observation consortia. Their connections span European polar research institutes, environmental agencies, and universities with strong Arctic programs.

What sets them apart

ROIS is one of very few Japanese research institutions actively embedded in European Arctic observation networks, bridging Asian and European polar science communities. Their combination of information systems expertise with polar environmental monitoring is distinctive — they contribute data infrastructure and interoperability capabilities that most environmental science partners cannot. For consortium builders needing a credible non-EU partner with polar research credentials, ROIS is a proven choice with an extensive collaborative track record.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Arctic PASSION
  Pan-Arctic observing system of systems project (2021-2025) integrating indigenous knowledge with earth observations — represents ROIS's most recent and strategically significant H2020 engagement.
• INTAROS
  Large-scale integrated Arctic observation system (2016-2022) covering ocean, atmosphere, ice, and terrestrial ecosystems — the project that established ROIS in European polar science networks.
• MIREL
  Unusual topic for a polar/information systems institute — legal text mining and reasoning shows the breadth of ROIS's underlying informatics capabilities.