The government is set to provide substantial research grants to Tohoku University, the education ministry said Friday, in the first such move under a program aimed at elevating Japanese research institutes in the global rankings.
The university in the northeastern city of Sendai had been selected as the only candidate for receiving the grants, to be financed by profits generated from a 10 trillion yen fund for up to 25 years from fiscal 2024.
It has set targets and laid out strategies for achieving them, such as organizational reforms aimed at internationalization through significantly increasing the proportion of foreign students in its undergraduate departments.
"The plans are tangible and we have presented their road map," said Tohoku University President Teiji Tominaga at a press conference in Sendai. "We were selected for demonstrating a willingness to make changes," he said.
Regarding strategies for increasing revenue, Tominaga said that the university expects significant corporate investment "through establishment of on-campus facilities that foster collaboration with private firms."
The university says it is working together with the Sendai municipal government as well as the government of Miyagi Prefecture to create workspaces for university startups.
Japanese universities have fallen behind overseas institutions in recent years.
The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University ranked 29th and 55th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024. They were the only two Japanese institutions in the top 100.
The nation's top two universities, along with Tohoku University, were short-listed in June last year for the grants, but they were ultimately not selected as final candidates, with the ministry citing insufficient efforts made by them to reform their research organizations and management systems.
Tohoku University is expected to be formally designated as a recipient of the grants as early as this fall and receive over 10 billion yen for fiscal 2024, which will end in March next year.
The government plans to call on universities to apply to the program again within the fiscal year.
