10th batch (2019)

Call for Applications
【Global Type】

※The 10th period (2019) open call for participants has ended.

In 2009, the Hakubi Project to Foster and Support Young Researchers was inaugurated at Kyoto University. The University appoints promising young researchers as program-specific faculty members, and supports the research activities of top level researchers from around the world, to develop visionary researchers who will pioneer new paths in their respective academic fields.

Since 2016, the Project now supports two types of appointments: Global Type and Tenure-track Type. The Tenure-track Type is a part of “the Leading Initiative for Excellent Young Researchers (LEADER)” subsidized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT).

This Call for Applications is for the Global Type of appointment. Detailed information of the Tenure-track Type will be announced on the website of the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research.

1.Research Field

Research projects in all fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences are welcome.
The Review Section Table (Overview)

2.Eligibility

Researchers with a doctoral degree (or equivalent research abilities) are eligible. All nationalities are welcome.
Those who have previously been appointed to the Hakubi Project to Foster and Support Young Researchers are not eligible. It is not possible to apply for both the Global Type and Tenure-track Type appointments at the same academic year in Japan.

3.Employment Appointment

Around 10 applicants will be appointed.

4.Employment Conditions

  • Selected applicants will be appointed as program-specific full-time faculty members (associate professor or assistant professor with an annual salary on limited-term contracts), in compliance with the Rules of Employment for Fixed-Term Program-Specific Faculty Members. Their salaries will be determined in accordance with the existing employment regulations of Kyoto University.
  • Their affiliation will be the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research (“the Center”), Kyoto University.
  • The term of appointment will begin on October 1st 2019 in principle, but can be adjusted according to the requirements of individual researchers.
  • The employment term will be 5 years in principle. There can be no renewal of the appointment.
  • Appointees will be eligible for MEXT mutual aid association membership, employees’ pension,employment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance.
  • The Center does not have any research facilities. Accordingly, individual researchers are asked to find and negotiate with a “host” (department/division/researcher) within Kyoto University that is willing to provide suitable research facilities.
  • The university will provide each researcher with an annual research fund of approximately 1 to 4 million yen, depending on some factors such as the research plans of each individual.
  • These individuals will be referred to by the title of “Kyoto University Hakubi researcher” in recognition of their excellent research abilities pioneering new paths in their respective academic fields.
  • Hakubi researchers will be required to prepare annual document reports on their research activities, and are also required to give presentations in a seminar style. Although self-assessment shall be implemented according to the regulations of Kyoto University, the Center does not conduct any evaluations.
  • After appointment, researchers are obliged to attend Hakubi events.
  • After appointment, researchers must observe the Rules of Employment for Fixed-Term Program-Specific Faculty Members, Kyoto University,

5.Screening Method

Primary screening

Expert committee members formed from various research fields at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University will examine application documents, focusing on academic achievements and research plans.

Secondary screening

The Hakuraku Council under the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University will conduct interviews. In addition to applicants’ academic achievements, the Council will evaluate their potential to become leading figures in the future global academic community. Interviews will be held at Yoshida Campus, Kyoto University.

Third screening

The Steering Committee of the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University will make the final decision as to who is accepted as a Hakubi researcher, considering the results of interviews held by the Hakuraku Council, etc.

6.Results of Screening

Results of the screening will be sent to all applicants by e-mail.
Please note that information on the process of the screening and reasons for pass/fail will not be provided.

7.How to Apply / Deadline

  1. Register the applicant’s information using the form available on the website below and make your account.
  2. Login your account.
  3. Upload your proposal converted to PDF (“Proposal for the Kyoto University Hakubi Project to Foster and Support Young Researchers [Global Type]”) in your account.
  4. Applications will be accepted only after both the online registration and the upload of your proposal are finished.

For details, see “Guidelines for Preparing the Proposal Form” explains each section.
【Reference】Guidelines for Preparing a Proposal Form

Registration site

https://www.hakubi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/form/

Deadline for upload of proposal

Proposal: PDF / Word
※ Important Notice
● Proposal form revision January 15 , 2019 (PDF)
Please submit the proposal form by PDF.
13:00 (Japan time), Thursday, February 7, 2019
*We will send an acknowledgement email of your application within ten days from the deadline for uploading the proposal. If you do not receive an email from us within ten days, please contact hakubi*mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp (Please replace “*” with “@”).

8.Hakubi Application Information Meeting

Information on the Hakubi Project will be provided at the meetings detailed below. Send an e-mail to the address below to register your attendance with your name, affiliation, position, contact phone number, and the location that you would like to attend in the body of the e-mail. We must receive your registration at least one day before each respective meeting. You will be able to attend the meeting without prior registration, however we may have no space for seating for those who have not registered in advance.

E-mail address for registration of Information Meeting attendance:
hakubi*mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp (Please replace “*” with “@”)
Message title: Hakubi Application Information Meeting: Kyoto or Tokyo, Your name
The body of the message: Name, Affiliation, Position, Contact phone number, Location of the meeting

[Information Meeting in Kyoto]

[Information Meeting in Tokyo]

9.Contact Information

Please see more detailed information in the FAQ.
【Reference】FAQ
※ Important Notice
● FAQ updated January 15 , 2019 (PDF)
If you have any further questions, please contact us via e-mail.

The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University
E-mail: hakubi*mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp (Please replace “*” with “@”.)

10.Note

  • Personal information contained in the application documents will be used only for the purpose of screening applicants and the recruiting procedure, never for any other purpose without applicants’ consent.
  • Expenses needed to apply for this project shall be borne by the applicants.
  • Kyoto University supports a gender-equal society. We hope that many female researchers will apply for the Hakubi Project.

Recruit information in detail
【Tenure-track Type】

In 2009, Kyoto University inaugurated the Hakubi Project to Foster and Support Young Researchers (“the Project”), in which the University appoints promising young researchers to support their research activities as world-leading researchers and to develop visionary researchers who will pioneer new paths in their respective academic fields.

Since 2015, the Project supports two types of appointments: Global Type and Tenure-track Type. The Tenure-track Type is a part of “the Leading Initiative for Excellent Young Researchers (LEADER)” subsidized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT).

This Call for Researcher Applications is the announcement of【Tenure-track Type】. Detailed information of【Global Type】is announced on the website of the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research.
https://www.hakubi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/eng/rec/2019/recruit-global-type

1.List of Posts for 【Tenure-track Type】(LEADER Program)

Kyoto University employs the candidate of Excellent Young Researcher (EYR) by utilizing the Project【Tenure-track type】 as following.
Post No. ”A5201”, ”A5202”, ”A5203”, ”A5204”, ”A5205”, ”A5206”, ”A5207” and ”A5208” have completed their “Negotiation among the parties”.

 Details of the posts

Post No.DepartmentResearch fieldJob typeAdvance noticeDetails
A5201Institute for Frontier Life and Medical SciencesMedicine dentistry and pharmacyProgram-Specific Assistant ProfessorNecessaryPDF
A5202Graduate School of Energy ScienceChemistryProgram-Specific Assistant professorNecessaryPDF
A5203Graduate School of MedicineMedicine dentistry and pharmacyProgram-Specific Associate, Assistant Professor, Senior LecturerNecessaryPDF
A5204Graduate School of MedicineMedicine dentistry and pharmacyProgram-Specific Associate ProfessorNecessaryPDF
A5205University HospitalMedicine dentistry and pharmacyProgram-Specific Assistant ProfessorNecessaryPDF
A5206Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear ScienceMedicine dentistry and pharmacyProgram-Specific Associate ProfessorNecessaryPDF
A5207Disaster Prevention Research InstituteMathematical and physical sciences Engineering sciences Social sciencesProgram-Specific Assistant ProfessorNecessaryPDF
A5208Graduate School of ScienceMathematical and physical sciencesProgram-Specific Associate ProfessorUnnecessaryPDF

(FYI)Publicized posts of LEADER Program(website of MEXT* and JSPS**)

http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/jinzai/takuetsu/index.htm
https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-le/koubo_kenkyu.html
*MEXT: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan
**JSPS: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

2.Screening Method

 Details such as schedule, where to apply, and etc. depends on each post.
See 「1.List of Posts for 【Tenure-track Type】(LEADER Program)」 for more information.

3.Contact Information

Regarding to the LEADER Program

See the Application Guideline of LEADER

Regarding to details of the posts for 【Tenure-track Type】

See 「1.List of Posts for 【Tenure-track Type】(LEADER Program)」 for the contact address of each post.

(FYI)Regarding to 【Global Type】

The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University
(Inquiries will not be accepted by phone)
E-mail : hakubi*mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp (Please replace “*” with “@”.)

Recruit schedule
【Global Type】

December 13thOpening of application period
December 21th
January 10th
Briefings of open application in Kyoto
Briefings of open application in Tokyo
February 7th (at 13:00)Deadline for upload proposal
Early MarchScreening of applications
June 16thInterview by the Hakuraku Council
July 10thDetermination of appointed researchers by Steering Committee

Informal appointment for
Hakubi researchers【Global Type】

To foster prospective young researchers, Kyoto University established the Kyoto University “Hakubi Project” to Foster and Support Young Researchers in 2009 and has accepted applications. Until now, strict examination has been held such as applicant screening by the expert committee of the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and interview by the Hakuraku Council. As the results of deliberations by the Steering Committee of the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University decided informally 10 researchers who will be hired in the Kyoto University Hakubi Center for Advanced Research.

List of prospective Hakubi Researchers【Global Type】in the Kyoto University Hakubi Center for Advanced Research (As of August 1, 2019)
(following Japanese alphabetical order)

NameResearch TopicPositionCurrent Affiliation/Position
Tomonori UGAJINApplications of relative entropy to various fields of theoretical physicsAssistant ProfessorPostdoctoral fellow, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Masao OIStudy of the Langlands functoriality via twisted harmonic analysisAssistant ProfessorJSPS Research Fellow, Department of Mathematics, Kyoto University
Ayaka SAKABEAn analysis of forestry carbon cycle response to climate change by synthesis of flux observationsAssistant ProfessorJSPS Research Fellow, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Science, Osaka Prefecture University
Takuya SOMAInterdisciplinary Studies in Strategy of Environmental Adaptations between Human and Animals under Mountain Ecology of Central EurasiaAssociate ProfessorAdjunct Researcher, Waseda Institute for Advanced Studies
Megumi OCHIThe Speciality of Core Crimes: The Modern Significance of the Category of the Most Serious Crimes of Concern to the International Community as a WholeAssistant ProfessorSenior Research Fellow, Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute
Eita NAKAMURAIntelligence Informatics of Music Creation Based on Statistical Learning and Evolution TheoriesAssistant ProfessorProgram-Specific Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University
Toshiyuki HARUMOTOLearning from reproductive parasites: a comprehensive study of male killing caused by insect symbiontsAssistant ProfessorPostdoc, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Misaki MIZUMOTOEnergy transfer of active galactic nuclei outflow and its contribution to galaxy evolutionAssistant ProfessorJSPS Overseas Research Fellow, University of Durham
Yuta MORIIThe mechanisms of radiation via anti-predatory adaptationAssistant ProfessorJSPS Overseas Research Fellow, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University
Gaétan RAPPOA Digital Philology of Buddhist Literature (Shōgyō) in Japan : Reassessing the Legacy of Esoteric Buddhism in the Late Middle Ages and BeyondAssociate ProfessorSpecial Appointed Associate Professor, Research Center for Cultural Heritage and Texts, Nagoya University

Status of Application and Informal Appointment (As of March 31, 2019)

Number of ApplicantsNumber of Informal AppointmentCompetitive Ratio
343 people10 people34.3 times
 Number of ApplicantsRatioNumber of Informal AppointmentRatio
Male/Female261 :8276.1%:23.9%8 :280.0%:20.0%
Humanities/Science121 :22235.3%:64.7%2 :820.0%:80.0%
On-campus/Off-campus90 :25326.2%:73.8%1 :910.0%:90.0%
Domestic/Overseas261 :8276.1%:23.9%8 :280.0%:20.0%
Associate Professor/Assistant Professor120 :22335.0%:65.0%2 :820.0%:80.0%
Average age
(Associate Prof.)
(Assistant Prof.)
40.239.5
34.532.0

*Reprinted from proposal.