Nagahiro Minato
President, Kyoto University

Today, as societies and industrial structures around the world undergo significant changes, the demand for science, technology, and academic knowledge is growing rapidly, resulting in an expansion of researchers’ roles in society. The advancement of science, technology, and innovation is essential to Japan’s sustainable development as a science and technology-based nation. Particularly in the face of a rapidly declining birthrate and an aging population, it has become vital for Japan’s research universities to continuously cultivate outstanding researchers who will become the nation’s future leaders in science and technology.

Against this backdrop, in 2019, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) launched Strategic Professional Development Program for Young Researchers, aiming to support the strategic development of outstanding researchers at universities by assisting institutions in developing programs and building organizational systems to foster individuals capable of thriving as world-class researchers. At Kyoto University, the Program for the Development of Next-generation Leading Scientists with Global Insight (L-INSIGHT) has been launched, and since then, we have been actively implementing training and development programs for early-career researchers in collaboration with domestic and international educational and research institutions, companies, and other organizations.

As has been pointed out by the government for some time, the declining number of early-career instructors and researchers at universities is a matter of great concern with regard to maintaining and strengthening the research capacity of Japanese universities in the future. Kyoto University takes this issue very seriously, and has adopted diverse measures, such as prioritizing the employment of early-career faculty members. It is also of particular importance to seek ways to enhance the research environment for early-career instructors and researchers at universities. This will require not only the improvement of physical research facilities, but also establishing and maintaining an environment that enables researchers to develop their skills as independently-functioning principal investigators (PIs). In particular, I believe that interaction among researchers from diverse backgrounds that transcends the boundaries between nationality, academic fields, etc., will lead to new discoveries and motivation, and will provide valuable opportunities to broaden the scope of future research.

Through L-INSIGHT, Kyoto University will continue to collaborate with MEXT and other relevant organizations to contribute to the development and dissemination of researcher development programs in Japan, and strive to foster outstanding researchers who will lead the next generation.

Susumu Kitagawa
Executive Vice-President, Kyoto University

In recent years, the situation and environment in which early-career researchers find themselves have become extremely challenging due to factors such as reduced operational funding, employment instability, and a growing burden of non-research responsibilities. Despite the efforts of individual universities to create more supportive research environments through development programs for early-career researchers, it remains difficult to say that the current state is satisfactory.

Recognizing that challenge, Kyoto University is promoting an initiative through the Program for the Development of Next-generation Leading Scientists with Global Insight (L-INSIGHT), which is part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)’s Strategic Professional Development Program for Young Researchers, to support the development of researchers who can capitalize on their individual strengths to contribute to the international community of the future through the power of science and academic knowledge. To foster the next generation of researchers and true leaders in Japan, it is essential to create an environment in which early-career researchers can set high goals for themselves and strive to achieve them with active encouragement from the entire university.

We use the term “Global Insight” in L-INSIGHT to refer to researchers’ ability to freely examine things from diverse perspectives, including those of the individual researcher, local communities, and global society. It also encompasses the capacity to maintain a broad perspective that transcends the boundaries of academic disciplines and cultural spheres. I believe that L-INSIGHT will inspire early-career researchers from Japan and overseas to build broad networks through “communication” and “collaboration,” and tackle challenging issues together, which will help them develop their life experience and lay a foundation for them to continue playing an active role in their respective fields for many years to come.

I hope that, with the continuing support and cooperation from MEXT and other related organizations, L-INSIGHT will contribute to the development of early-career researchers in Japan.

Fuyuki Ishikawa
Unit Leader / Program Manager, Kyoto University

Excellent researchers can develop a hypothesis with an original insight. Based on the hypothesis, they carry out experiments and observations, publishing the results globally to improve and strengthen the hypothesis by incorporating critical comments from researchers around the world. This process, I think, is similar to that of carving a sculpture: it requires observing an object from multiple angles to bring it closer to perfection. Likewise, researchers can only improve their individual idea by incorporating opinions and perspectives of their global colleagues who have different academic experiences, cultures, and ways of thinking. It is, therefore, critical for researchers to expose themselves to a large number of audiences, to lead constructive discussions, and to be openminded and skilled at revising their hypothesis.

In Japan, lots of researchers, no matter how excellent they may be, are not trained to engage in constructive discussions because they have language and geographical barriers, or further worse, melanic hesitation to speak out in front of others. The ” Program for the Development of Next-generation Leading Scientists with Global Insight (L-INSIGHT)” recruits early- to mid-career researchers as its fellows who wish to be active in the world. The program offers opportunities for them to learn how world-class researchers practice their research, how they apply logic to their research design, and how they maintain a work-time balance in their lifestyles. Its ultimate goal is to let them be emersed in diverse environments and apply what they have learned to their own research practices. We hope that this program will produce more researchers who can be active in the world.