WIPO China: Collaboration, Diversity, and Inclusion for More Effective Innovation Ecosystems
本文原载于2023年第4期《WIPO杂志》。作者为产权组织日本办事处Yumi Ogata。
The article was originally published in the issue 1/2024 of WIPO Magazine. The author is Yumi Ogata, WIPO Japan Office.
*在2023年春记录下本次访谈后，生驹女士于2023年8月不幸辞世。经生驹女士的家人及其担任创始人兼前首席执行官的Proassist同意，本访谈得以在其去世后发表。
*Ms. Ikoma sadly passed away in August 2023, following the recording of this interview in Spring 2023. The interview is published posthumously with the kind agreement of her family and Proassist, of which Ms. Ikoma was the founder and former CEO.
“知识产权一直在Proassist发挥着核心作用。” 日本软件
解决方案公司Proassist株式会社 首席执行官生驹京子
（上图）说道， 并指出专利对企业的长期发展至关重要。
（图：Proassist株式会社提供）
“Intellectual property has always played a central role
in Proassist,” says Kyoko IKOMA (above), CEO of
the Japanese software solution company Proassist, Ltd.,
noting that patents have been essential to the company’s
long-term growth. (Photo: Courtesy of Proassist Ltd.)
2023年6月，日本公布计划促进性别平等，制定了2030年前女性在顶级公司中至少占据30%的高管职位的目标。目前，日本女性在大公司中担任高管职务的比例仅为15.5%，落后于其他主要经济体。Proassist首席执行官生驹京子*是日本众多开拓进取的女性之一，力求促进该国更具包容性的企业文化。生驹女士是发明家、企业家兼软件商业解决方案公司Proassist的首席执行官。从2021年春至2023年春，跟随日本许多龙头企业首席执行官的步伐，生驹出任关西经济同友会代表董事。关西地区是日本主要经济板块之一。在接受《WIPO杂志》采访时，生驹女士谈及促进合作、多样性和包容性对更有效的创新生态系统的重要性。
In June 2023, Japan unveiled plans to promote gender equality, setting a target for women to hold at least 30 percent of executives positions in top companies by 2030. At present, Japan lags behind other major economies with women occupying just 15.5 percent of executive roles in major companies. Kyoko IKOMA*, CEO of Proassist is one of a number of trailblazing women in Japan who are seeking to promote a more inclusive corporate culture in the country. Ms. IKOMA is an inventor, an entrepreneur and CEO of Proassist, a software business solutions company. From Spring 2021 to Spring 2023, in the footsteps of CEOs from many of Japan’s leading companies, Ms. IKOMA served as the Representative Director of the KANSAI Association of Corporate Executives. The Kansai region is one of Japan’s leading economic blocs. In an interview with the WIPO Magazine, Ms. IKOMA discusses the importance of fostering cooperation, diversity, and inclusion for more effective innovation ecosystems.
《WIPO杂志》：什么促使您成为企业家并创立Proassist？
WM:What prompted you to become an entrepreneur and to establish Proassist?
生驹京子：上世纪80年代我从大学毕业后，正值日本经济蓬勃发展，我在大阪的一家大公司找了个系统工程师的工作。一段时间后，我结婚并成为一名全职家庭主妇。我很享受这一角色，但当日本经济泡沫破裂时，我开始思考自己能做些什么。与其再次从事受薪工作，我决定成立自己的公司，向我之前供职的公司提供我的计算机科学技术。1994年，我成立了Proassist。如今，我们拥有超过200名雇员，提供最先进的软件解决方案，为我们客户的商业成功提供支持。
Kyoko IKOMA: After graduating from university in the 1980s, Japan’s economy was booming, and I found work as a systems engineer at a major company in Osaka. After some time, I married and became a full-time housewife. I enjoyed that role, but when Japan’s economic bubble burst, I began wondering what I could do to help. Rather than taking up salaried employment again, I decided to set up my own business offering my computer science skills to the company I had previously worked for. I set up Proassist in 1994. We now have over 200 employees and provide state-of-the-art software solutions to support the business success of our customers.
Proassist的智能摇椅“Iyashi”。生驹女士说：“随着我们向前迈进，我们的目标是深化技术，使其在嵌入客户的系统后，增强客户的绩效。”（图：Proassist株式会社提供）
The “Iyashi,” Proassist’s smart rocking chair. “As we move forward, our aim is to deepen our technology so that when it is embedded in our customers’ systems it augments their performance,” says Ms. Ikoma. (Photo: Courtesy of Proassist Ltd.)
知识产权在您的企业中发挥什么作用？
What role does intellectual property play in your business?
知识产权在Proassist一直发挥核心作用。最初，公司专注于开发计算机图像和信号处理算法。专利对于企业的成长和长期发展至关重要。
Intellectual property has always played a central role in Proassist. Initially, the company focused on developing algorithms for image and signal processing in computers. Patents were essential to the growth and long-term growth of the business.
通过获得这些开发成果的专利，我们能够与其他主要市场参与方合作，创造新的商机。举例而言，凭借我们的专利组合，一家大公司找到我们，共同开发超声波传感器。从资金上讲，回报远超我们通过许可协议所能获得的，还让我们能够扩大自己的技术组合。专利还使我们能够捍卫市场地位，无疑有助于提升公司价值。我们的专利展示出我们公司立足于智囊人才和专门知识。
By patenting these developments, we were able to create new business opportunities by partnering with other major market players. As an example, on the strength of our patent portfolio, a major company approached us to co-develop an ultrasonic sensor. Financially speaking, the return was far better than we could have achieved through a licensing agreement. It also enabled us to expand our technology portfolio. Our patents also enable us to defend our market position and have certainly helped to boost our company value. Our patents demonstrate that our company is built on our brainpower and expertise.
在您看来企业成功的关键是什么？
What in your view is the key to business success?
在战后的日本，创造了许多新技术和知识产权资产，大部分由男性创造，力求与世界其他地方竞争。他们推出了许多出色的产品。但到1994年我创办Proassist时，这种方式已达到饱和点。自此，基于创新的公司更加重视与行业伙伴“合作”，作为开启新想法的关键。如今，协作是企业成功的核心。
In postwar Japan, many new technologies and intellectual property assets were created - mostly by men -to compete with the rest of the world. They introduced many wonderful products. But by 1994, when I founded Proassist, this approach was reaching saturation point. Since then, innovation-based companies have placed greater emphasis on “cooperation” with industry partners as the key to unlocking new ideas. These days, collaboration is central to business success.
为什么多样性如此重要？
And why is diversity is so important?
我们认为，没有与拥有不同视角和背景的人互动和共同协作，就无法产生新的想法。这是为何女性和男性作为平等的伙伴共同合作如此重要。包容性创新生态系统是当今竞争激烈的经济中的唯一前进方向。在我创立公司之初，多样性并不在我的考虑范围之内，但现在，我坚信多样性是我们的优势，是我们能够提出创新想法的核心。
We believe that new ideas cannot be born without interacting and collaborating together with people who have different perspectives and backgrounds. That is why it is so important for women and men to work together as equal partners. Inclusive innovation ecosystems are the only way forward in today’s highly competitive economy. When I founded the company, diversity was not on my radar, but now, I am convinced that diversity is our strength. It is central to our ability to come up with innovative ideas.
小时候，我的父母从不因为我是女孩而对我能够做什么施加限制。我可以做我能做的任何事情。后来上了大学，尽管我是同届近4000名学生中的四名女学生之一，但我并未被孤立。我和我的同学们受到一视同仁的对待。这些经历为我在创立公司时不论性别或国籍招聘所需人才的做法奠定了基础。
As a child, my parents never put limits on what I could do because I was a girl. I was allowed to do whatever I could. Then, at university, while I was one of four female students out of nearly 4,000 students in my year, I wasn’t singled out. I was treated the same as my fellow students. These experiences laid the foundations for my approach to recruiting the talent I needed, regardless of gender or nationality, when I founded the company.
您希望看到怎样的女性发展环境？
How would you like to see the landscape for women evolve?
我希望人们因自身的才华而受到重视，不论性别。日本有句俗话：“人有七个敌人”。重点是，当我自由地工作，没有先入为主地认为谁能够或应该做什么事情时，我最终会置身于“我有100个盟友”的环境中。我们都能从平等对待女性和男性中受益匪浅，尤其是在构思适合所有人的创新想法时。
I would like people, regardless of their gender, to be valued for their talents. There is a Japanese saying, "A man has seven enemies." The thing is, when I worked freely, without pre-conceived ideas of who could or should do something, I ended up in an environment where "I have 100 allies." We all have so much to gain from treating women and men as equals, especially when it comes to developing innovative ideas that work for everyone.
在线阅读访谈全文，进一步了解生驹京子。
Read the full interview online and learn more about Kyoko IKOMA.
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