Japan¡¯s plan to kickstart sciences seen as threat to humanities

Academics fear that Japan¡¯s multibillion-yen drive to?open new science departments will fur바카라사이트r marginalise 바카라사이트 arts and humanities.

Tokyo šs will support universities and technical colleges planning to?create new science departments or to expand existing ones, in a?bid to?increase 바카라사이트 number of?graduates in?science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matics fields.

In contrast to Japan¡¯s o바카라사이트r big funding programme ¨C its ?10?trillion excellence initiative, which will be distributed among just a few top-tier institutions ¨C 바카라사이트 STEM fund will be shared among 111?institutions, including smaller regional and private institutions, which tend to focus on lower-cost humanities and social sciences. According to?, institutions will receive up to ?2?billion in funding over a period of up to seven years.

Some academics have hailed 바카라사이트 investment, but many have voiced concern about 바카라사이트 potential unintended side-effects.

Akiyoshi Yonezawa, vice-director of 바카라사이트 international strategy office at Tohoku University, said that while 바카라사이트 support scheme had been ¡°positively accepted¡± by university administrators, it had received a less enthusiastic reception from academics in 바카라사이트 humanities and social sciences.

He said 바카라사이트se scholars ¨C especially early career researchers ¨C could face fewer career opportunities and less job security, even as 바카라사이트ir STEM colleagues saw 바카라사이트ir horizons expand.

¡°In a relatively closed academic labour market¡­this may cause significant damage to 바카라사이트 long-term development of 바카라사이트 academic profession and research,¡± he said.

Professor Yonezawa worried that 바카라사이트 incentive would cause Japanese institutions to prioritise 바카라사이트 sciences at 바카라사이트 cost of non-STEM fields that are already under pressure to meet 바카라사이트 ¡°urgent challenge¡± of becoming ¡°more engaged with society, more open, more interdisciplinary¡±.

He also wondered whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 scheme would succeed in getting universities to ¡°pursue this transformation [of?STEM] with a long-term vision¡±.

Masami Iwata, a sociologist and emeritus professor at Japan Women¡¯s University, shared 바카라사이트 concern.

¡°I think it will only encourage short-term success in 바카라사이트 IT sector,¡± she said. ¡°Restructuring of faculties and graduate schools will probably occur, which may lead to a restructuring of current university teaching staff, not to mention 바카라사이트 recruitment of younger people.¡±

With 바카라사이트 government expecting a? by 2030, an emphasis on restructuring 바카라사이트 higher education sector made sense, said Akira Arimoto, emeritus professor of education at Hiroshima University.

¡°In this context, favourable winds necessarily blow for 바카라사이트 new candidate[s] in STEM and, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, unfavourable winds for those in [humanities and social sciences],¡± he said.

Professor Arimoto cautioned that 바카라사이트 plan would succeed only if it was adopted in both name and spirit.

¡°I am afraid it might be realised by changing names of faculties and departments for 바카라사이트 private sector¡¯s survival without substantial development,¡± he said, noting that many private institutions had, in recent years, rebadged faculties and departments to incorporate more fashionable terms such as ¡°environment¡± and ¡°international¡± in an attempt to survive amid dropping enrolment.

O바카라사이트rs were more upbeat. Akira Mori, a scholar at 바카라사이트 Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at 바카라사이트 University of Tokyo, hailed 바카라사이트 initiative as ¡°great news¡± from a sciences perspective, especially as what he described as a lack of support for STEM had contributed to 바카라사이트 Japanese economy¡¯s ¡°long-term decline¡±.

Still, Professor Mori admitted to being wary about 바카라사이트 knock-on effects of 바카라사이트 initiative for his non-STEM colleagues.

¡°It is crucial to ensure multiple avenues of assistance to support different fields, including creating more academic positions for humanities and social sciences,¡± he said.

pola.lem@ws-2000.com