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｜ JAPANESE ｜
Message
Welcome to the website of the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University.
The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, established originally as the Young Researcher Development Center in September 2009, has moved into its 11th year. It is with great pleasure that we welcome the 11th batch of Hakubi researchers as before. Last year, when the call for applications for the 11th Hakubi Project was launched and the first screening of applications began, a new but unexpected crisis of the Global Spread of the COVID-19 infection developed, and on April 7, a state of emergency was declared by the Government of Japan for the Tokyo metropolitan area, which resulted in restrictions on freedom of movement throughout Japan. This situation also affected the hiring process of the Hakubi Project, and we had to postpone the Second Screening of the Hakuraku Council for the global-type Hakubi. Fortunately (or should I say unfortunately), the state of emergency was lifted on May 25, and thanks to the efforts of Hakuraku Council members both inside and outside Japan and university officials, we were able to hold the Hakuraku Council on September 20, 2020, when the virus seemed to have weakened somewhat in the summer heat. As a result, we were able to hire all of the Hakubi researchers for both Tenure-track Type and Global Type during FY2020.
During the first six years since the establishment, we have selected each year around 20 researchers based on Kyoto University’s original program and we have recruited a total of 110 researchers. Since the call for applications published in the academic year of 2016 (the 7th year of the project), the Hakubi Project supports two types of appointments: Global Type and Tenure-track Type. The latter type has been newly introduced as part of the “Leading Initiative for Excellent Young Researchers (LEADERS)” of the MEXT, and 10 positions have been allotted to this type. Because of this change, on this 11th year, we have appointed 10 Global Type Hakubi researchers and 4 Tenure-track Type Hakubi researchers as new 11th batch members. We have appointed a total of 181 researchers (18 of them are Tenure-track Type) since the inauguration of Hakubi project (as of April 1, 2021). Among 181 Hakubi researchers, 133 Hakubi researchers have already moved out to some other research institutions after the completion of the full term of 5 years or by getting new appointments during the term, and a total of 48 Hakubi researchers are supposed to be engaged in Hakubi Center at the beginning of the academic year of 2021.
Hakubi project is characterized by accepting any application without limiting to the position at specialized discipline but by its attitude to pick up outstanding, promising researchers who are full of the idea for a distinctive study with a strong research mind. As a whole, Hakubi Center aims the establishment of trans-disciplinary and novel studies based on a wide perspective and profound scientific curiosity. The Hakubi researchers do not merely operate within an environment that focuses on their own fixed themes of research but develop their work with their eyes on the future, with an open mind and a deep, and trans- or inter-disciplinary curiosity. In fact, unique exchanges between different fields and joint research have taken place at seminars and presentations regularly and frequently held at the Center. The activity of Hakubi Center and Hakubi researchers are also available at our home page or reporting booklets.
The Hakubi Project was established as an independent initiative of Kyoto University and does not rely on national programs or government funding; its reputation has grown both domestically and internationally with each passing year. Now, in a similar way to the Hakubi Project, various systems to support the next generation of researchers have been newly established inside and outside Kyoto University and/or as a national policy. The Hakubi Center will continue to work in the future while closely cooperating also with these new organizations.
Akihiko Akamatsu
Director
The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research
Kyoto University
