Waseda's Project Research Institutes function with a core staff of full-time university faculty, choosing collaborative research topics and allotting time segments for the completion of research goals. Projects will in some cases bring in researchers from outside the Waseda community to ensure that these goals are achieved. External funding will be obtained where appropriate. Although the Institutes are intended to close when research is completed, it is possible for the respective projects to continue in the form of permanent research organizations. A Project Institute can be established with relative ease, once a number of basic requirements have been fulfilled, allowing researchers to start conducting timely cutting-edge research. This system is a dynamic new tool for Waseda research facilities, adding the flexibility and speed needed to stay on the leading edge of research.
2005 marks the sixth year since the official inauguration of Project Research Institutes. In this short time, the number of new research institutes has grown to more than 130 and shows no signs of slowing. Project Research Institutes have become an integral part of research at Waseda University.
This pamphlet will give you a more thorough understanding of the various areas now being targeted, as well as a glimpse at the future of research in the Waseda community. It is my sincere hope that you will show your support for our Project Research Institutes.
Project Research Institutes, as a program inaugurated in April 2000, is our attempt to address these concerns through a fresh approach to academic study. Drawing from the methodologies of diverse fields, the institutes allow researchers to catch up on the needs of society with unprecedented speed - and, in so doing, engage in scholarship that contributes to the welfare and progress of the whole world.
The Project Research Institutes conduct cross-disciplinary studies that cover a wide range of topics: from the development of cutting-edge technology to future social systems, to pioneering contributions in education and culture. The number of laboratories has increased drastically since the program's inauguration four years ago, now totaling well over one hundred.
The Comprehensive Research Organization exists to guide and direct the laboratories. It coordinates the opening and closing of project laboratories and manages external funding under the steering committee. It also works to keep the laboratories fresh and vital, publicizes research achievements, and handles public relations.
Waseda University has maintained a longstanding tradition of inviting specialists to research interdisciplinary issues in small, highly motivated study groups. Project Research Institutes bring this tradition to a higher level, breathing new life into cross-disciplinary research by integrating projects into tightly-knit research units.
The enhanced variety and flexibility engendered by this approach has encouraged research with external organizations, both domestic and foreign, and opened avenues to generous funding from companies and the government. Fixed-length, goal-oriented programs of several years, moreover, enable a "scrap and build" approach, a key to maintaining creativity in scholarship at the forefront of knowledge.
Sogo-kenkyukikou Waseda Univ.
120-4gokan Floor 3 Waseda-daigaku Sogo-kenkyukikou
513 Tsurumakicho Waseda Shinjuku-ku Tokyo Japan,
Zip Code 162-0041
DirectF03-5286-9702 (Inter national call ; 81-3-5286-9702)
DirectFAX F03-5286-8244 (Inter national FAX ; 81-3-5286-8244)
E-mail:kikou@list.waseda.jp
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