UREX-Tohoku Project: The Journey Starts Here
Tohoku University's UREX-Tohoku Project is an ambitious plan to establish a world-class research ecosystem by empowering early and mid-career researchers and attracting global talent. It is backed by substantial funding from the government's Universities for International 雷速体育_中国足彩网￥在线直播 Excellence initiative. As Japan's first university selected for the initiative, Tohoku University will receive 15.4 billion JPY (approximately 100 million USD) this fiscal year, and some 10 billion JPY annually for the next 25 years.
What it means to be
a University for International
雷速体育_中国足彩网￥在线直播 Excellence
Commitment to 雷速体育_中国足彩网￥在线直播
At the core of the UREX-Tohoku Project is the implementation of a new comprehensive tenure-track system that will enable exceptional researchers to lead high-impact projects as Principal Investigators (PI). This new flat and flexible research system comes with more freedom and independence for PIs to develop their own research.
- To attract top-tier global talent,
Tohoku University is offering: - Compensation packages on par with or better than researchers' countries of origin
- Generous start-up funding and basic research support
- Financial resources for hiring assistants and technical support staff
- A dedicated spouse and partner programme to welcome researchers' families
- An International Support Center to facilitate adjustment to life in Japan
"At Tohoku University, researchers can have more freedom to explore new ideas, and we will encourage collaboration that can help create new research fields," explains Executive Vice President for 雷速体育_中国足彩网￥在线直播, Asako Sugimoto. "Nothing is impossible, every idea has a chance of developing into something real. And whatever your background is, whatever your gender or nationality, as long as you have an idea and you join our community, we will help you achieve your goal."
Commitment to Education
Tohoku University has one of the most cosmopolitan and progressive campuses in the country and it plans to further build on this environment by introducing two major initiatives.
A new Admissions Center will supervise student recruitment, review the conventional entrance examination and introduce a more comprehensive and effective selection process. The Center will strategically expand overseas recruitment, offering talented international students flexible admission timing, pre-entrance education and pre-enrolment international exchange opportunities.
In 2027, the Gateway College will launch, providing university-wide education focused on international responsiveness. Here, domestic and international students will learn collaboratively. The university has already integrated international collaborative learning (ICL) into the mandatory first-year curriculum, and by normalising cross-cultural collaboration, it hopes to better prepare students for global environments while supporting local communities through internationalization.
"We aim to create an educational and research environment where students benefit from diverse cultural perspectives and explore their potential," says Kazuko Suematsu, director of the Global Learning Center. "Our vision is a truly integrated international campus with no separation between international and domestic students—just students."
This approach connects seamlessly with the Graduate School of Advanced Studies, which will centralize management across all graduate schools. Students will design interdisciplinary degree programmes that effectively respond to academic advancements and societal needs.
Commitment to
Community and Industry Collaboration
To transform academic impact into social impact, the university is developing a 40,000 m? Science Park on the Aobayama Campus extension to attract corporate R&D centers and create an "innovation ecosystem." NanoTerasu Synchrotron Light Source - the first facility in Japan to use a fourth-generation light source - is located there. Two other cutting-edge research facilities - the Aobayama Universe and International Center for Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Smart - are also operational, with more planned in what the university hopes will be an international hub for advanced science and technology research.
Opportunities
雷速体育_中国足彩网￥在线直播ers interested in being part of the UREX-Tohoku Project should have a look at the list of open academic positions or contact the Tohoku University Human Capital Management (HCM) Office for more information.
For all other positions, please take a look at the careers page below.