Graduate education
Initiatives to develop
highly-skilled IT professionals
The University of Tsukuba was selected for the FY Reiwa 5 (2023) "Acceleration program for the reorganization of universities and KOSEN Support 2 (Support for strengthening functions to secure highly skilled IT professionals (Universities (High-level category)))."
The purpose of this project is to develop highly specialized human resources who will lead growing fields, such as digital and green technology. The government will set up a new fund to provide flexible and continuing support to ambitious universities and kosen (higher educational institutions offering five-year comprehensive education programs) to help them take predictable steps to reform their faculties, such as shifting their focus to growth fields.
The University of Tsukuba has been selected for the high-level category. As part of the "University of Tsukuba Project to Strengthen the Development of Top Information-related Human Resources with the World and Society as a Campus," the university aims to build a system for students to connect with the world and society, increase the number of students who advance to doctoral programs, enhance the development of advanced information specialists in terms of quality and quantity, and produce individuals with excellent innovation creation capabilities. Please refer to the following for details.
The project's initiatives to develop highly skilled IT professionals include collaborating with top universities overseas to produce world-class researchers and engineers who can play an active role internationally as leaders in the digital field.
This project will implement
the following three main initiatives:
1. Collaborative research guidance with researchers from overseas partner universities and Tsukuba Science City—Building a Global Multi-Mentor System (GMMS)
This project aims to build a "Global Multi-Mentor System (GMMS)." This will involve recruiting mentors from among digital and information researchers who are affiliated with overseas partner universities and have entered into collaborative agreements with our university or are affiliated with research institutes of national research and development agencies and private companies in Tsukuba Science City, where our university is located. Thus, a system will be created that enables students and their supervisors at the target organizations to collaborate more closely and bilaterally, and a framework will be established that will enable the target organizations to produce engineers and researchers who can play an active role internationally.
Main initiatives
- Recruiting mentors through Campus-in-Campus (13 universities), international exchange agreements, double degree programs, etc.
- Matching with external researchers through a matching portal site
Results
- Gain exposure to the diverse knowledge of researchers from outside the university and foster creative abilities
- Receive feedback on your research from researchers both in Japan and abroad
2. Establishment of a "Learning x Career" Hybrid Support System (LCHS) that allows students to simultaneously obtain a doctorate and build a career in society
Another new initiative in this project is to build a "Learning x Career" Hybrid Support System (LCHS) to help students who advance to doctoral programs obtain a high-quality degree and subsequently provide them extensive support in choosing their career path after obtaining their doctoral degree. This will create a strong incentive for more fresh graduates, who proceed to a master's program immediately after graduating from a bachelor's program, to advance to a doctoral program. Consequently, this will increase the number of top talents with advanced qualifications and abilities in the digital and information fields.
In addition to regular classes, the initiative will also provide opportunities for interaction, such as various seminars and workshops, to enhance students' motivation to conduct high-level research and forge specialized career paths by continuing to doctoral programs.
Main initiatives
- Providing opportunities to interact with companies through classes and seminars attended by corporate researchers and alumni
- Strategic partnership agreements signed with Sega, NEC, NTT Data, etc.
Results
- Identify the needs of companies and society
- Acquire practical abilities that align with these needs
- Clarify your career path after graduate school
- Facilitate finding an internship
3. Formation of a learning hub that also creates synergy between the "GMMS" and "LCHS"
The GMMS and the LCHS, mentioned as new initiatives in this project, are not independent, and we can expect synergy between the two to produce a multiplier effect. For example, if a student who has received advice from an external researcher at the GMMS participates in an internship as part of their career support, that student may then connect with the external researcher at the company where they are doing their internship, which could broaden the scope of their research. Therefore, we aim to proactively create such synergies and encourage the emergence of collaborative research with companies. With that goal in mind, we shall create a learning hub as a facility that will provide opportunities for close communication among related researchers, companies, and students. It shall encourage active personal interaction, ensure transparency in its activities, and create a structure in which the activities will further encourage interaction. In addition, by creating a metaverse space within the Learning Hub, we will be able to provide an on-site space as well as an environment where individuals who are off-campus or overseas can participate in online exchanges with a sense of presence.