Reformation of human resource development system

Concept and summary

-Current situation
　Ochanomizu University's main features are its interdisciplinary and innovative researches.
　The university restructured its graduate school and made it into the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences to enhance these features in the academic year 2007. Also the Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Section was set up and along with this we took six research fields including quantum informatics and simulation sciences as our immediate strategic fields. World renowned professors and young associate professors have been appointed at the quantum informatics field by the president's personnel strategy.
　Although a small university, Ochanomizu University has 2 bases of 21st Century COE Program and has been building up world-standard academic bases. We will expand our outstanding achievements to new research fields and strengthen our system to build up these academic bases in the future.

Concept of personnel system reformation and fostering young researchers

Our target:
　We set up a human resource development organization called "Ochadai Academic Production" which directly belongs to the board of directors and works with the Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Section of the graduate school to foster young researchers who challenge new fields to become competent for tenure track professors.

The specific plan

How to produce young researchers:
　We internationally selected and recruited 9 of the Program-Specific Assistant Professors and provided them with research funds and space to build up independent research environments. Each assistant professor will be allocated 0-1 of the Program-Specific Research Fellow (a total of 9) depending on their qualities.
　As well we will give them the opportunity of cooperative research with the Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Section of the Graduate School and teaching lessons in English at our faculties and university. Through teaching them fund earning skills and how to challenge new researches by the board members and cooperated professors as their mentors, we help their skills of researching, teaching and organising to improve and produce academic persons suitable for tenure posts. The university will hire 3 to 4 of new associate professors at the end of the program.

Mission Statement:

　Our basic goal is that young researchers who push new research fields to become independent by acquiring research skills combined with organization leader's quality and ordinary citizen's view point.

　We set the following tasks to be completed at each stage of the program.

At the middle stage of the program;
　　1)Evaluation of the recruited Program-Specific Assistant Professors' research histories
　　2)Training lectures on Graduate School's specialized subjects in English
　　3)Trainings on laboratory managements

At the end of the program;
　　1)To publish an article in a high impact academic journal
　　2)To achieve satisfactory results in teaching on faculties' specialized subjects
　　3)To propose and plan academic meetings or symposiums
　　4)To be hired as tenure associate professors at Ochanomizu University or other universities.

　In addition to the above tasks, we will send out our established system models of fostering independent young researchers to the public.

(1) General outline of the human resource system reformation
　Our target is to foster young researchers and improve their international competitiveness.
　A numeric target of "to raise the employment rate of female researchers by 25% in all the nature science fields in 5 years" was set in the 3rd stage of "Basic Program for Science and Technology" which was approved in Cabinet meeting in March 2006. Also Japan Association of National Universities has targeted an increase of a ratio of its female professors and associate professors in the national universities up to 20% by 2010.

　A total of 40.0% of our professors which includes professors, associate professors and assistant professors are female. And in the natural science field, the percentage of female professors is 30.1%. Those who earned Ph.D. from our graduate school have been appointed to tenure posts at many other universities and institutions and contributed to increasing the number of female researchers and professors inside and outside Japan. Based on this achievement, we pursue reforming the model of human resource system to reinforce international competitiveness, as well as to foster young researchers.

　We set up an organization of human resource development called "Ochadai Academic Production" under the board of directors and maintain environment where young researchers can freely challenge new research fields. Also the directors and professors will take major roles as senior professors by teaching them their fund earning skills and recommending them for the associate professors.

　The human resource fostering system aims to produce young researchers who have improved their researching skills, and trained their teaching and organizational operation skills. They challenge new research fields with their internationally competent skills by this program.

(2) The 3rd year tasks
　The internationally recruited Assistant Professors should reach the following levels by the 3rd year of the program;
-To be able to proceed with independent research.
-To be fully trained and able to give lectures on the subjects of graduate courses in Japanese, as well as the specialized subjects of faculties in English.
　They will receive an interim assessment from internal and external reviewers.
　We strongly encourage Assistant Professors to publish their articles in high impact factor journals, however, any creative and independent researches by them will also be highly valued and those Assistant Professors are strongly encouraged regardless of the impact factor.

(3) The final goals
　By the end of this program, Assistant Professors should reach the following levels and become competent applicants for the tenure post;
- To improve their teaching skills for graduate school and faculty lectures
- To obtain teaching and organizational skills through working on an academic symposium project and an international conference project

(4) After the project
　After the project period ends, Ochadai Academic Production will continue to foster young researchers who can successfully work at research and educational institutes. We will widely provide them as the next generation's educational and research group-leaders to the other universities, graduate schools, institutions and business organizations.

(5) Expected spreading effect
　"The human resource fostering system for independent young people who challenge new research fields" which is constructed and verified by this program can be widely utilized as a prototype of human resource development. Also it will activate many research and educational organizations and contribute to enforce researchers' international competitiveness.