In an effort to solve real-life problems and apply knowledge that would otherwise be purely academic, Japanese mathematicians have begun boosting their ties to industry.

Around 20 of them gathered at a "study group" session designed for that purpose at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences on a recent Monday.

During the session, corporate researchers took turns explaining problems they had been grappling with. Mathematicians then pledged to find solutions for them by the Friday of that week.