New Perspectives in Science Education

In Japan, the recent science and technology policy demands graduate schools to train highly skilled personnel who can play an active role not only in academia but also in industry, while it has been argued that graduate school education is narrowly focused. In 2014, Hiroshima University, Yamaguchi University and Tokushima University led the establishment of the regional industry-academia-government consortium, the “Home for Innovative Researchers and Academic Knowledge Users (HIRAKU),” in collaboration with other universities, private companies, and public organizations in the western part of Japan. The aim is to provide not only career/skill development courses for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers but also opportunities to apply their specialized knowledge and skills to the real societal problems. Under the “HIRAKU” umbrella, our new program is designed so to provide them with an interactive platform by producing synergy among various courses, opportunities and newly constructed IT system connecting to non-academic sectors. We believe a stronger link between university and industry can affect their career outcomes. In this contribution, overall structure of our nested program and its inventive “WAKUWAKU” approaches to nurture broader and innovative mindset for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are introduced with some examples.
 

Keywords: graduate school education, young researchers, transferable skills, innovation;

References