*Plan : Initiative to promote young researchers who will lead the next generation
*Authorized representative : Yoichi Iwasaki
*Organization : Tsukuba University
| Current situation of Tsukuba University | ||
| Tsukuba University was founded as a university based on a new concept in Tsukuba Science City, the heartland of Japan's research community. It was built to be an open- minded university with an educational and research system that can flexibly respond to academic progress in research and to societal needs. Dr. Tomonaga and Dr. Esaki were both awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, and Dr. Shirakawa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For the decade starting in 1994, Tsukuba University ranked 221st in the world and 10th in Japan for the number of times its research papers were cited. According to university funds, young researchers will be employed for a term of 3 to 5 years and provided with a research environment that includes research funds, research space, and support for research exchange. In 1994, TARA Center was the first institution in Japan to adopt a system of a fixed term of employment based on external evaluation, and in 2002, that system was also implemented in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. In 2005, the Department of Biosciences was the first in Japan to implement a tenure track system for lecturers and assistant professors. On the basis of the results of this pioneering employment system, the go-ahead was given to incorporate it throughout the university during the first intermediate trial phase, between January 2007 and April 2009. |
| Reform plan of the employment system | ||
| Under the leadership of its president, Tsukuba University launched its "Structural Strategy to Promote Initiative." According to this strategy, a new framework will improve the educational and research level of the entire university by energetically developing activities that make the university one that produces world-class achievements in research and then gives back those achievements to institutions such as graduate schools and centers for education or research. The expectation of the young researchers is that they will play a central role in this new structure as well as in the teaching and research of existing departments. In this program, 15 outstanding researchers in the fields of life sciences and natural sciences, selected from a pool of applicants who responded to international recruitment advertisements, have been appointed as lecturers or assistant professors. After 5 years, they will undergo tenure evaluation. Those who pass the evaluation will be promoted to associate or full professor according to the number of positions reserved by the university for mobile staff. Through the Structural Strategy to Promote Initiative, this program has the strong support of the university's president. Moreover, under the president's supervision, the Committee to Promote Young Researchers (tenure evaluation advisory section, support section, and research strategy section) will provide the young researchers with support. A mentor system, research funds including start-up funds, research assistants, and their own as well as shared research space will be made available to the young researchers. Upon completion of this program, dependent on university funding, a follow-up program, " Initiative to Promote Young Researchers," will continue the concept and function of this initial program. |
| Mission statements | ||
＊Third year targets
1) All 15 researchers will undergo a midterm evaluation of overall achievements.
2) They will receive advice about administrative management of their research or
research projects. 3) Incentive research funds will be awarded to 5 or so researchers who obtain excellent
evaluations. 4) A 5-year tenure track or fixed term of employment system for newly appointed
assistant professors will be implemented in all departments and organizations of the university. 5) An evaluation system for all teaching staff will be implemented.
＊Fifth year targets
1) All of the researchers accepted to this program will undergo a final assessment. Those
assessed as outstanding will be offered positions as tenured teaching staff. 2) In readiness for the follow-up program, all departments will complete provision of a
mentor system, research funds, a human support system, and a research environment for the young researchers. |
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