What is the International Research Collaboration Center?

For the progress of international collaborative research in the future, such as promoting efforts beyond the boundaries of fields and institutions by international exchange with overseas universities/organizations, new institutional initiatives are now required.
In view of this background, we established the International Research Collaboration Center directly under the president to promote and support efforts of international collaboration, which is expected to further develop beyond the boundaries of fields and institutions.
These efforts are consistent with the statement in the MEXT "the future of the Collaborative Research Organization" (2017 February 14, the Council for Science and Technology, Academic Subcommittee research environment foundation Group, MEXT), saying " Inter-University Research Institute Corporation , as a COE in each field of our country, in order to promote internationalization in each research field and create a new field based on fusion of different fields, is required to consider the establishment of a new research unit/organization with reviewing trends of international research."

(1) Establishment of research unit:
We set up a research unit in IRCC to conduct international collaboration beyond the boundaries of fields and institutions. Then, we promote international collaboration in cooperation with overseas universities/organizations systematically, based on agreements with overseas universities/organizations.
The research unit of the IRCC employs a research fellow (a full-time International Specially Appointed Employee) who works exclusively in international collaboration with a partner research institute abroad. The IRCC research fellow is selected through an open call, raised together with the foreign university or research institute in the collaboration program. The main working place of the IRCC fellow is at the university or research institute abroad. It is requested that the IRCC fellow, in addition to studying his own research topics in the international collaboration framework, also makes efforts to establish a productive international relationship between researchers in NINS and those in the partner research institute.

(2) Workshop etc.:
Among international collaboration supported by institutional projects such as Accelerated Strategic International Exchange Programs and other projects that are expected to further develop, IRCC supports their activities such as research workshop.

(1) The director for international exchange / collaboration serves as the director of IRCC. In steering the center, it establishes the steering committee that deliberates important matters such as personnel, budget, and regulations.
(2) The establishment of the research unit shall be decided at the board meeting ultimately after deliberation by the steering committee. Also, we have a unit head in the research department.
(3) Overseas branches of the research unit can be placed at overseas offices of the Research Enhancement Promotion Department of the NINS Headquarter.