History

The University of Osaka’s Large-Scale Computer Center was established in April 1969 as a nationwide joint usage facility for researchers at universities across Japan to conduct computing and information processing for academic research and education. This nationwide joint usage large-scale computer center was established following a recommendation by the Science Council of Japan to the government, and was set up at seven locations: The University of Osaka, Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, and Kyushu University.

Subsequently, in addition to the above role, all seven universities, including the University of Osaka, reorganized their Large-Scale Computer Centers into nationwide joint usage information infrastructure centers to conduct practical research for promoting informatization and develop fundamental facilities. At the University of Osaka, this reorganization and expansion took place in April 2000, and the facility was operated as the Cybermedia Center.

The Institute for Datability Science was established in 2016 as a place for collaboration and co-creation to promote interdisciplinary research. Its aims were to promote the utilization of big data at the university, pioneer new horizons in science, technology, and academics in life sciences, medical and pharmaceutical sciences, science and engineering, and humanities by utilizing advanced information-related technologies including artificial intelligence, and to promote the creation of social, public, and economic value.

The D3 Center was established on October 1, 2024, with the Cybermedia Center and the Institute for Datability Science as its core organizations. The establishment of the D3 Center creates a consistent research system from data generation/collection through data analysis to data utilization. This enables comprehensive support for data science at the university and promotes the data-driven development of research and education.

Furthermore, the D3 Center inherits the information infrastructure center functions from the Cybermedia Center. As a node institution of the National Institute of Informatics’ Science Information Network (SINET), it enables mutual use of computers and provides its own large-scale computation services while maintaining close cooperation with other institutions.