Contents Menu
- Outline of Global COE
- Purpose and Needs
- Management structure
- Human Resources
Development Plan - Plans for research activities
Outline of Global COE
The 21st century COE (Center of Excellence) program has been promoting "Electronics for Future Generations" and has achieved satisfactory results through its cross-disciplinary research and education. The program has been implemented through the combined efforts of the members who have achieved top level research performances on the global stage, including faculty members specializing in Electronic Engineering and Frontier Informatics (currently Electrical Engineering and Information Systems) and professors of Electronics at the Institute of Industrial Science, its affiliated laboratories and centers at the University of Tokyo. The program has built the Platform Labs and a variety of education programs, establishing a profound electronics education and research foundation that covers a wide range of fields. The aim of the Global COE program is to establish an unprecedented international education base by concentrating these achievements into "Secure-life Electronics." To achieve the intended aim, Research COREs classified into four groups by function, which include "Sensing Research CORE," "Information Processing and Network Research CORE," "Actuation and Control Research CORE" and "Functional Devices and Materials Research CORE," will be established. In addition, "Nano Science and Technology RING Collaboration," "Photonics RING Collaboration" and "Integration Technology RING Collaboration" will be started in respect to the three common fields in which this education base has made excellent achievements, so as to activate cross-laboratory and cross-group collaboration, in addition to industry-academia and international collaboration, by interacting functional expression research and common base research, positioning the former as warps and the latter as woofs. A "Secure-life Electronics Web Mart" will also be established as a facility to offer information.
A variety of human resource development programs will be offered to young researchers who are PhD course students or graduates, placing priorities on (1) extensive and solid electronics education curricula, (2) the cultivation of awareness as an independent researcher, (3) the acceptance of and support for young, brilliant researchers, (4) the fostering of internationalism and (5) a commitment to original, quality research. Specifically, "T-type education* that has a strong vertical axis" will be put into practice by enhancing various schemes, including those that have already achieved satisfactory results. This enhancement involves the further systemization and strengthening of graduate school curricula composed of three layers made up of the "foundation lecture group," the "advanced lecture group" and the "practical experiment, training and study session group," the improvement of the RA system intended for PhD graduate students, the expansion of overseas training systems (competing with other researchers), the expansion of overseas internships, the employment of young lecturers and postdoctoral fellows, the establishment of a research funding system inside the COE and collaboration and exchanges with foreign research institutions through, for example, the establishment of "Overseas Liaison Research Institutes."
This education and research scheme was advocated by this education base in the process of promoting the 21st Century COE Program. It is a unique scheme that contributes to innovation and bringing about new value to society, going beyond traditional systems and the layers of research that used to be classified into materials, devices and systems. This program aims at the enhancement of the "Quality of Life" through the improvement of safety and security in the fields of social infrastructure (energy, architecture and transportation), medical care, welfare, health, disaster prevention, crime prevention and the environment.
* "T-style education" refers to education that combines the acquisition of a wide range of knowledge and technology on electronics (the crossbar of T) with the nurturing of creativity and consciousness as a leading researcher in a particular field (the vertical bar of T).
Figure The Concept of Secure-life Electronics: Promote education and research that bring about new social value by breaking down the barriers of traditional technological fields so as to enhance the "Quality of Life," with a focus on safety and security. Establish cooperative and collaborative systems inside this education base by positioning the "research COREs" classified by functional expression as warps and the "research RINGs" classified by academia field as woofs.
