Kyushu University Program to Cultivate Innovative Ph. D.s for a Better Future (K²-SPRING)
Kyushu University’s project to support Ph.D. students, “Kyushu University Program to Cultivate Innovative Ph. D.s for a Better Future (K2-SPRING),” has been selected for the JST SPRING (Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation) program. The K2-SPRING follows the previous “Open Platform Fostering System for Ph.D. students who will open up the Future (K-SPRING, 2021-)” project.
The JST-SPRING program has been implemented based on the sense of crisis that the number and rate of master’s students who proceed to doctoral programs are on the decline in Japan due to economic uncertainty and uncertain career paths. The JST-SPRING policy is implemented under the Act on Revitalization of Science and Technology Innovation (Act No. 63 of 2008) and addresses the following issues.
(1) Strengthen financial support for outstanding and ambitious doctoral students responsible for the future of science, technology, and innovation in Japan and encourage students to enter the Ph.D. program from the master’s program.
(2)Promoting diverse career paths for doctoral students who have potential to play active and influential roles in various sectors.
(3) Strategically promoting the reform of doctoral education based on the demands of the society of the 21st century and introducing a system in the doctoral education program that will generate challenging and interdisciplinary research that transcends existing academic frameworks.
Academic research is an activity that challenges the limits of “knowledge” and opens up unexplored fields. Knowledge is the treasure of humankind and the source of national power (scientific, technological, economic, etc.). The promotion of academia is of the utmost importance for the nation. In the past, Japan achieved high economic growth through “manufacturing” and many world-leading results as a “science and technology-based nation”. On the other hand, per capita GDP has stagnated for the past 30 years, and it is said that Japan is losing its presence in international competition in science and technology. Under these circumstances, we need excellent human resources who can sustainably create science, technology, and innovation to revive and revitalize our country’s economy and industry and bring about the future development of our country and human society. These human resources have a high level of specialized knowledge, a sense of ethics, and the ability to grasp the essence of things and solve problems with well-developed logical thinking and a spirit of challenge. These “knowledge professionals” are those who can transcend the various existing frameworks and work globally. This is why we expect doctoral candidates who have acquired advanced training to become such “intellectual professionals” and to play an active role in the future development of our country.
Against this background, the Kyushu University K2-SPRING project will further evolve the educational program created by K-SPRING. It will also collaborate with the Kyushu University Next Generation AI Human Resource Development Program (K-BOOST) and the Kyushu University Fellowship Projects (Green Innovation, Quantum, Materials). We aim to develop and produce outstanding doctoral human resources who can lead our country in the future by building a new “place of emergence” in the doctoral program at Kyushu University in collaboration with these programs.
1. Future Creation Course and MIRAI-SDGs
― High research ability supported by sufficient basic academic skills, a bird’s-eye view, the ability to transcend borders between fields, and comprehensive ability are the key elements of the MIRAI-SDGs.
I am sure that Ph.D. students in our university are working at the forefront of academic research, aiming to conduct highly original research that no one else has done, with rich sensitivity. Some of you may be working on research that solves an emerging problem, while others may be engaged in challenging basic research that will turn 0 into 1. The time and environment in which you can concentrate on your study in the doctoral program are precious.
At the same time, it is expected that by positioning your research from a bird’s-eye view and continually questioning the significance of your research through discussions with graduate students of different specialties, you can develop new ideas and directions in which you should move forward. Shortly, the society in which you will be active after obtaining your doctoral degree will be in the midst of international competition, whether you like it or not, and to solve complex social problems, you will need to acquire internationally accepted abilities such as a bird’s eye view, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and leadership skills as doctoral human resources.
To cultivate such competencies, you will be enrolled in the “Future Creation Course” open platform, where you can engage in free, challenging, and interdisciplinary research with rich sensibilities and greatly enhance your abilities. In this course, students will link their research themes to SDG issues and select closely related SDG classes to form an interdisciplinary fusion class. In this SDG matrix-based platform, you will make acquaintances on an online basis with graduate students of the same generation and faculty members from various departments in fields different from your own, learn about the content and background of research in other fields, and understand and discuss the significance of each other’s research and prospects. Through these activities, we expect you to gain a bird’s-eye view of a wide range of academic fields and to independently propose and conduct joint research in new interdisciplinary fusion fields (Emergent Subject A, Graduate Student Fusion Project).
For example, suppose that students in the humanities and social sciences and the medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and engineering fields share the SDGs issues and engage in vigorous discussions and collaborations not confined to their specialty to solve them. In that case, this will provide an opportunity to create “comprehensive knowledge” that contributes to a comprehensive understanding of humans and society and to problem-solving through integrating knowledge from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. We hope this will be an opportunity to create “comprehensive knowledge” that contributes to a comprehensive understanding of people and society and solve problems by combining knowledge from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
2. New Challenges for K²-SPRING
Based on the ideas obtained through discussions among graduate students with different affiliations and specialties in “Fusion-of-intelligence Course A”, the “Integrated Research Project” calls for interdisciplinary research proposals by graduate student teams. Several K-SPRING research teams have already received new research funds to carry out multidisciplinary fusion research.
K2-SPRING will implement the “AI Co-pilot Boundary Crossing” course with the participation of K-BOOST students to further promote this “Integrated Research Project “. This course aims to foster new ideas for interdisciplinary research through face-to-face brainstorming among students with different specialties, using AI, etc., and ultimately lead to the proposal and implementation of the “Integrated Research Project”. We have high expectations that the MIRAI-SDGs platform will be a foundation for creating new academic and scientific seeds originating from Kyushu University that are not an extension of existing academic frameworks or technologies.
In addition, to promote collaboration with consortium members from public offices and companies participating in MIRAI-SDGs, new concepts have been incorporated, such as “Fusion-of-intelligence Course B”, in which students submit reports on proposed solutions to social issues provided by consortium members, and “Fusion-of-intelligence Course C, in which excellent proposals will be implemented through internships. The new concept is incorporated into the program. Gaining perspectives from the industrial world, which is the front line of social issues, will help students to have a clearer image of their future, such as what goals they should have when they see the world on their stage. It is also expected that this program will lead to the development of diverse career paths.
3. Various career development and nurturing contents offered in the Future Creation Course
In this course, we provide various “career development and nurturing contents” to foster the competencies required for you to be active in different career paths and multiple stages in the future. For example, you will work on a “Research Proposal” in a field distinct from your doctoral research project. This doctoral education program has already been proven over many years in several departments, and Kyushu University is trying to “quality assure” that you are human resources capable of “creative” activities beyond your field of specialty.
The society where you work after obtaining a doctoral degree is not an extension of the current one. Although there are uncertainties, the state of society itself will change drastically due to the spread of AI, population decrease, etc. The evolution of science and technology is accelerating. When you work in various fields in the future, including industry, government, and academia, it is unlikely that you will be able to maintain your current research theme or field of specialty. The “Research Proposal” program is designed to train you to identify the essence of complex problems from a bird’s eye view, acquire the ability to propose solutions, and develop the ability to open the future in whatever field you work in.
In the 2040s and beyond, it is predicted that nearly four out of every ten people in Japan will be 65 or older. As Prof. Lynda Gratton explains in her book “Life Shift,”1) the traditional two-stage transition from “learning to work” to “work to old age” may become a multistage transition in a society with increasing longevity. In other words, your options for your life stages or career paths may expand dramatically. As a doctoral human resource, I hope you continue to learn, renew your new knowledge, abilities, and skills, and play an active role in Japan’s coming society of centenarians.
4. Our Basic Stance on Interdisciplinarity and Fusion
The research grant provided to course students in this program is intended to support free, challenging, and interdisciplinary research (proposals) based on the course students’ ideas. It is not designed to support the supervising professor’s research, or the doctoral dissertation study suggested by the faculty member. Interdisciplinary and fusion skills can only be fostered by thinking in an environment that requires them, and it is not something everyone is equipped with from the start.
Before entering university, you have studied a wide range of subjects, from the humanities and social sciences to science and engineering, and you have the background to look at things from a bird’s-eye view. In this course, you will share the opportunity to build a new human network with graduate students and faculty members in different research fields and members of corporate consortiums. The experience of thinking about cross-disciplinary research will give you a bird’ s-eye view and various skills necessary to break through multiple unanswerable situations in the future. It will also provide you with lifelong friends you can rely on in the future.
Doctoral students with a background in philosophy, history, economics, etc., and the ability to think about the value of science and technology to society, including speculation on how human happiness should be, and to create new ideas and technologies, as well as the ability to rise above difficulties and adversity (resilience) will be increasingly needed in the future society. The need for human resources with the ability to rise above problems and adversity (resilience) is expected to increase in the future. We sincerely hope the skills and human connections you develop in this course will shape your future and significantly impact society.
1) Linda Gratton, Andrew Scott, The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity. Bloomsbury, 2016.
