Session 1: Value Creation by Re-defining Traditional Industry by Combining Technologies & Ideas Cross Border
The Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference Thailand 2025 explores an exciting frontier. It’s about reimagining technology and science for a greener, more sustainable future, fostering cross-sector dialogues that spark innovation toward carbon neutrality and sustainable solutions.
The rubber industry in Thailand utilizes the sap of natural rubber trees as raw materials. However rubber seeds are left un-used. This has been the practice as it is not viable as a business. In this session, we explore how we can bring transformation to traditional industry. To kick start the discussion, we bring panelists from Industry, NPO promoting technology exchange between Thailand and Japan and Innovare, a startup, founded by a Japanese entrepreneur and a Thai researcher, has focused on this and is trying to create a new sustainable industry from rubber plantations.
Free to join by registering your attendance at HIC Thailand, please click here:
Panelists
Mr. Koryu Kawatani
Founder & CEO Innovare Co., Ltd.
Mr. Koryu KAWATANI obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. He is the founder and CEO of Innovare Co., Ltd. He has always contributed to improving the energy and environment sector internationally, having worked as a power plant engineer at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for eight years and as a strategy consultant at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting for four years.
Drawing from his experiences, he is passionate about commercializing new raw materials from natural rubber seeds for biofuels and creating significant positive impacts with Thailand’s partners.
Dr. Jirut Wattom
Manager, Strategy & Partnerships, Innovation & New Business, SCG Chemicals
Innovation strategist for new growth in the chemicals industry. Experienced technology scouting for petrochemicals, material and packaging industry. Embracing open innovation process to accelerate internal R&D to commercialization and also organizing accelerating program that focused on science and engineering based startup.
Dr. Nares Damrongchai
Executive director, Technology Promotion Association
Dr. Nares holds a Doctor of Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, and a Master of Philosophy from University of Cambridge. His passion remains with science and innovation, and in growing people. His long career expands from public to private. He served for two full terms as CEO of the Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS), where he transformed the Thai life sciences ecosystem from the ground up. His public service earned him the Royal Thai Government Scholarship Award for Outstanding Alumni in 2017.
Moderator
Dr. Kihoko Tokue
Managing Director, Leave a Nest Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Dr. Tokue is the Managing Director of Leave a Nest Singapore and Co-founder of Leave a Nest Malaysia. She was born in Tokyo but raised in Southeast Asia, studied her bachelor degree in America and then moved to Australia for a Master and PhD degree carrying out field work. Currently she is creating a platform in Southeast Asia to nurture the next generation of innovators, startups involving business development partners from industry. Her dream is to one day bring changes to the world with advancement of science and technology with true understanding and appreciation for nature.
Free to join by registering your attendance at HIC Thailand, please click here: