Strategic Professional Development Program for Young Researchers
Top Runner Development Program Engaging Universities,
National Labs, and Companies
Strategic Professional Development Program for Young Researchers
Top Runner Development Program Engaging Universities,
National Labs, and Companies
In 2021, the TRiSTAR program was accepted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as the “Strategic Professional Development Program for Young Researchers.”
TRiSTAR aims to develop “transborder advanced researchers” able to uncover new potential beyond their own specialized areas and across the borders between academic fields and industries under the support of universities, national laboratories and companies, leveraging the strengths of Tsukuba Science City as a top-tier research environment in Japan. It will establish a researcher development model for the new era that transcends conventional boundaries in human resources development, and create collaboration and career paths that leverage the respective strengths of universities, national laboratories, and companies.
TRiSTAR will develop the next generation of transborder advanced researchers in three aspects:
(1) Depth of specialized knowledge, or the ability to pursue original and cutting-edge research with a long-term vision;
(2) Overarching perspective, or the ability to harness the potential of a specialized field to lead creative joint projects with different fields or industries through interdisciplinary projects or industry-academia collaboration; and
(3) Fostering of management skills, the ability to establish research groups under a vision by developing individual talent. Also, it will collaborate with universities, national laboratories, and companies, and circulate career paths for researchers.
Also, it will collaborate with universities, national laboratories and companies, and circulate career paths for researchers.
Targeted researchers of the TRiSTAR program (TRiSTAR Fellows) will stay and collaborate with leading research institutions in Japan or abroad to develop their “depth of specialized knowledge,” and will also collaborate with research institutions in different fields and/or companies to develop their “overarching perspective” through “transborder” activities such as cross-disciplinary fusion and industry-academia collaborations. The program provides financial support for the stay at a research institution, and also supports the matching between the Fellow, the sending institution, and the host institution, for the “transborder” collaboration.
