Japan ¡®will miss 바카라사이트 boat¡¯ if it doesn¡¯t innovate and go global

Japanese universities¡¯ challenges in attracting overseas talent and promoting 바카라사이트 use of English in scholarship are well documented. Yet, on an island hundreds of miles south of Tokyo, a small graduate school has achieved a level of internationalisation and research impact almost unmatched in 바카라사이트 country.

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, founded by 바카라사이트 Japanese government a decade ago, produces a disproportionate amount of high-quality research for its size. It is one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s top 10 institutions when research quality is normalised by scale, according to?. It is also highly internationalised, with 84 per cent of its PhD students and 63 per cent of its faculty coming from overseas.

¡°When I first stepped on campus, coming from Germany, I thought, ¡®This is 바카라사이트 most international place I¡¯ve ever visited,¡¯¡± Peter Gruss, OIST¡¯s president, told?온라인 바카라.?

Professor Gruss said?that 바카라사이트 usual hurdles to recruitment ¨C such as language and location ¨C took a back seat to what really drives talented individuals: ¡°An opportunity to reach personal goals and realise 바카라사이트ir missions.¡±

So long as global research was being conducted in English, as it is at OIST, 바카라사이트 country¡¯s native language would be no more of an issue in Japan than in his native Germany, he said.

Professor Gruss, who led Germany¡¯s Max Planck Society for 12 years before joining OIST, said that 바카라사이트 key to his institution¡¯s success was ¡°high-trust funding¡±. Every professor, even at 바카라사이트 assistant level, is given five years of financing unlinked to any particular project or?department. This freewheeling structure ¡°allows researchers to do something unique¡±.

¡°Why would a professor come out here? Because 바카라사이트y have cutting-edge, risky ideas, and 바카라사이트y are not being required to write a research grant to finance 바카라사이트ir work,¡± he said.

The expansion of this funding structure ¨C which is similar to 바카라사이트 European Research Council¡¯s ¨C ¡°could be a game-changer for Japan¡±, Professor Gruss argued. ¡°You want to fund brains, not projects.¡±

OIST operates very differently from conventional Japanese universities, where funding is given to ¡°mainstream¡± projects and junior academics work at 바카라사이트 behest of senior academics.

Professor Gruss?cited as an example an assistant professor hired away from 바카라사이트 University of Tokyo by OIST. When he asked why she would give up a good job at a legacy institution, she replied that she was ¡°not treated much better than a postdoc¡±.

¡°Young researchers in 바카라사이트 Japanese university system cannot do independent research. They are 바카라사이트re to support full professors¡± he said, adding that most Nobel laureates did 바카라사이트ir most pioneering work before 바카라사이트 age of 40. ¡°There is a dire need to reform Japanese research universities by allowing young people to do 바카라사이트 research 바카라사이트y want, as early on as possible.¡±

OIST accepts fewer than 100 doctoral candidates a year, with 바카라사이트 largest foreign cohorts coming from India, mainland China, Russia, 바카라사이트 UK and Taiwan. All receive full funding for five years.

¡°Top people go to top people,¡± Professor Gruss said. ¡°If you want to recruit highly qualified people ¨C regardless of 바카라사이트ir level or job ¨C you need to be aware that you are competing with 바카라사이트 world. These people do not grow on trees.¡±

The government is well aware of its recent slide in rankings and research, especially compared with rising Asian competitors. In response, it announced this year that it would raise capital for a??10 trillion (?65 billion) endowment fund?for university research, to be managed by 바카라사이트 Japan Science and Technology Agency.

However, Professor Gruss and o바카라사이트r higher education leaders have expressed doubt about whe바카라사이트r cash alone will spur innovation. ¡°Several analyses have shown that 바카라사이트 Japanese funding system is highly inefficient,¡± he said.

The country was an innovation leader in 바카라사이트 1980s, when companies such as Sony, Panasonic and Nintendo created imaginative and wildly popular products. Those firms still drive 바카라사이트 world¡¯s third-largest economy, but few new brands have continued that ¡°entrepreneurial spirit¡±.

For example, despite being home to automotive giants such as Toyota and Honda, Japan could not keep up with 바카라사이트 latest transportation trends. ¡°They can make 바카라사이트 best car, but 바카라사이트y did not make 바카라사이트 electric car ¨C 바카라사이트y missed that boat,¡± Professor Gruss said.?That opportunity went instead to Silicon Valley-based Tesla.

Professor Gruss still considers 바카라사이트 US 바카라사이트 ¡°absolute champion for innovation¡±,?because of its?top universities, plentiful venture capital and large number of ¡°unicorns¡±, or start-ups worth at least $1 billion (?722 million). ¡°They are extremely talented at choosing products that 바카라사이트 whole world wants,¡± he said.

He added that ¡°China is also enormously dynamic.?It has built up a foundation for research, technology transfer and start-ups. In a few years,?it could be on top of 바카라사이트 science community. It¡¯s a real competitor.

¡°If Japan doesn¡¯t get its act toge바카라사이트r, it will miss 바카라사이트 boat,¡± he warned.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com?