The Call for Proposals for FY2023 Inamori Frontier Program ended on April 14, 2023.
Purpose
Kyushu University operates the Inamori Frontier Program for human resource development, which utilizes the platforms for hiring and developing outstanding personnel at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Inamori Frontier Research Center. The purpose of this program is to strategically produce researchers who can be leaders in their research field. The aim is to hire outstanding young researchers who seek to engage in creative, ambitious research efforts as associate professors (hereinafter referred to as “Inamori FP Faculty Members”) and to provide them with the environment and work conditions needed to devote their efforts to their research as independent principal investigators (PIs).
Number of Positions to be Offered
Institute for Advanced Study Associate Professor: Maximum of five positions
Employment Period
Five years from the date of hiring
Application Requirements
(1) Applicant must be a young researcher capable of conducting autonomous research activities as an independent PI (in any research field).
(2) Applicant must hold a doctorate at the time of starting the position at Kyushu University.
When the Position Starts
The starting date will be October 1, 2023. However, this starting date can be postponed (in principle, until as late as April 1, 2024) according to individual circumstances. Please note that even if the starting date is postponed, the activity evaluations mentioned below will still be conducted in the same time schedule as for the other associate professors in this program.
Research Activities
(1) Workplace:
Affiliation will be with the Institute for Advanced Study, but the actual research activities will be conducted at the school or center and corresponding campus desired by the applicant (hereinafter referred to as “Accepting School”) according to their specialized field.
(Reference link for a list of institutes, laboratories, and other facilities): https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/faculty
(Reference link for campuses): https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/campus/
(2) Securing research time: With a focus on devotion to research activities, the associate professor shall be exempt from participating in educational and entrance examination-related duties as well as on-campus management-related duties (except for duties incidental to research activities). However, if the associate professor desires to engage in such duties, involvement in those duties may be permitted after consulting with the administering school or center.
(However, at least 70% of overall effort must be devoted to research.)
Salary
Salary: Decided according to the relevant stipulations in the Kyushu University Rules for Compensation of Faculty Members (Special Project).
(Decided within a range from 10,000,000 yen to 12,000,000 yen in annual salary according to the university's stipulations based on the applicant’s research background and other such factors. Refer to the QA for details.)
Support for Research Activities
Support for research expenses and other costs will be provided to the hired Inamori FP Faculty Members as follows
(1) Research expenses (per person)
[Experiment-related] 2,000,000 yen/year (support for three years after hiring)
[Non experiment-related] 1,000,000 yen/year (support for three years after hiring)
(2) Cost of employing research assistants, etc. (per person): 6,000,000 yen x 5 years
Example) 4,000,000 yen for one academic researcher, 2,000,000 yen for one technical staff
Activity Evaluations in the Program
As the activity evaluations of Inamori Frontier Program Faculty Members in this program, mid-term evaluations are conducted by the third academic year of employment and final evaluations are conducted up to one year before the completion of the employment period. These evaluations take into consideration the number of research papers published in top journals, number of times research papers are cited, and status of acquiring competitive research funds, based on the characteristics of each specialized field.
Hiring as an Institute for Advanced Study Professor
After completing the employment period, those recognized as particularly outstanding achievers (up to two) based on the results of the final evaluation may be hired as Institute for Advanced Study professors. However, hiring will not take place if nobody is recognized as appropriate.
Application period
From 20th February to 14th April
For advance registration before application by 7th April, 2023.
Screening Process
First screening :(Document screening)
When Results are Announced :Mid-May 2023
Second screening :(Document screening)
When Results are Announced :Late June 2023
Third screening :(Interview screening)
Day of interview * Planned to be conducted online
One day to be specified by the university between July 15 and 17 (Sat-Mon)
When Results are Announced :Early August 2023
Documents
Please download these documents from the following URL.
For details on application process and screening, refer to Application Guidelines
●Application_Guideline_EN.pdf
●Instructions for completing application documents_EN.pdf
Please download this document from the bottom of the page.
●Application Document 1 Form.xlsx
●Q＆A_EN.pdf
If you are considering applying, please read the application guidelines carefully and complete the application procedures.
Contact Point for Questions
Inamori FP Recruitment Officer, Academic Research and Industrial Collaboration Management Office of Kyushu University
E-mail:inamorifp★jimu.kyushu-u.ac.jp
(please change ★ to @)
For details about the recruitment process, refer to the QA. If you need clarification for anything else, please inquire by email to the address above.
●Instructions for completing application documents_EN.pdf
