[Submission Deadline: Monday, September 25, 2023 (17:00 JST)]
Academic Year 2024
Okayama University Science, Technology, and Innovation Creation Fellowship(OU Fellowship) Application Guidelines
Okayama University is calling for applications for the Okayama University Science,
Technology, and Innovation Creation Fellowship for FY2024. The OU Fellowship wasestablished to assist students enrolling in the doctor’s course and to cultivate young researcherscapable of promoting Okayama University priority research fields with the intention ofcultivating researchers capable of playing important roles in science, technology and innovation
creation in Japan.
Okayama University will provide and distribute the living expenses and research budget aswell as provide a wide range of approaches to improve research capability and support career
paths.
1. Planned Enrollment Capacity
1st year student (3rd year student for five-year doctor’s course): Approx. 20 students
2nd year student (4th year student for four-year doctor’s course): few people
3rd year student (5th year student for four-year doctor’s course): few people
4th year student: few people* For details, please refer to "2. Qualification Requirements”.
2. Qualification Requirements
Applicants for the OU Fellowship for FY2024 must fulfill the requirements listed below, be highly
motivated to learn and concentrate on conducting research.
Working individuals are also eligible to apply. However, those who fall under any of thefollowing are excluded:(1) Students who have stable income that is sufficient to live on*(2) Research Fellows (Young Scientists) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(3) Students from abroad receiving support through the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarshipand scholarships from their own countries* “Stable income that is sufficient to live on” here means 2,400,000 yen/year.

Program
Doctor’s Course

Graduate Course
Graduate School of Humanities andSocial Sciences
Graduate School of Natural Scienceand Technology (Excluding Divisionof Earth and Planetary Materials
Science)
Graduate School of Environmental,
Life, Natural Science and Technology
Graduate School of Health Sciences
Graduate School of Environmental andLife Science
Graduate School of Medicine,
Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences(Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Graduate School of Interdisciplinary
Science and Engineering in Health1

Requirements
・Students who are scheduled toenroll in April 2024 (Including
individuals planning to takeentrance examinations forgraduate programs) *1
・Students who are scheduled toenter their second year in April
2024 *2・Students who are scheduled toenter their third year in April
2024 *2

[Submission Deadline: Monday, September 25, 2023 (17:00 JST)]

Five-year Doctor’s
CourseFour-year Doctor’s
Course in the Fields
of Medicine,Dentistry, andPharmaceuticalSciences

Systems
Graduate School of Natural Scienceand Technology (Division of Earth andPlanetary Materials Science)

Graduate School of Medicine,Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences(Excluding Division of PharmaceuticalSciences)・Students who are scheduled toenter their third year in April
2024 *2・Students who are scheduled toenter their fourth year in April
2024 *2・Students who are scheduled toenter their fifth year in April 2024*2
・Students who are scheduled toenroll in April 2024 (Including
individuals planning to takeentrance examinations forgraduate programs) *1
・Students who are scheduled toenroll their second year in April
2024 *2・Students who are scheduled toenter their third year in April
2024 *2・Students who are scheduled toenter their fourth year in April
2024 *2*1 Including students admitted in October 2023.
*2 Including students who entered the relevant year in October 2023.
If you have any inquiries about qualification, please contact us as shown in “9. Contact/Addressto Send Your Application.”
3. Amount of Support /Duration
OU Fellowship consists of research encouragement funding and research budget. The amount to beprovided is as shown below.
(1) Research Encouragement Funding: 1,800,000 yen per year (150,000 yen per month)* In principle, funding is paid every two months.
* Research encouragement funding is provided for living expenses with the intention of helping to enablesuccessful applicants to concentrate on their research.

(2) Research Budget: Approx. 400,000 yen per year
* To be distributed after submission of the research plan to the OU Fellowship Office every academic year.

The period of distribution of the research encouragement funding and the research budget is theperiod, beginning from April 2024 in which the successful applicant is enrolled in the doctor’s course,
five-year doctor’s course, or four-year doctor’s course, and must be within the standard period ofcompletion.
If the successful applicant takes a leave of absence from school, he/she will, in principle, no longer
qualify for funding. However, if the recipient is expected to return to school to restart the research, thefunding and budget may be temporarily suspended, and then restarted after the recipient returns toschool.
2[Submission Deadline: Monday, September 25, 2023 (17:00 JST)][Notes]In the case that the applicant for OU Fellowship is the recipient of the following
scholarships, the relevant scholarship amount shall be adjusted that the total annual
amount of the scholarship and OU Fellowship will be maximum 2,400,000 yen.
(1) Ohmoto Ikueikai Student Grant(2) Okayama University Scholarship to Support Students in Doctor’s Course(3) Other scholarship provided by a graduate school or division of Okayama University(excluding one-time award for enrollment)
If you have any questions about handling of the applicants who have already received thesescholarships for 2024 academic year, please contact to “9. Contact/Address to Send Your
Application (OU Fellowship Office)”.
4. Application Procedure
Students who have a desire to receive the OU Fellowship funding and budget must fill out and submit
the following documents:
・Application Form (Submit as PDF)
・Evaluation Form (Submit as PDF and must be submitted directly to the OU Fellowship Office by
the person who completes the Evaluation Form)・Certificate of Estimated Income (For working individuals, etc. who have a regular income)Submission Deadline: Monday, September 25, 2023 (17:00 JST) [No Exceptions]
Address to Send Your Application: OU Fellowship Office * Please submit via email.
ou-fellowship@adm.okayama-u.ac.jp* Please send your e-mail with the title "2024_application_Name".
Applicants must ask their individual advisors (planned) or someone familiar with their research to fillout and submit the designated Evaluation Form. (The Evaluation Form must be submitted directly to theOU Fellowship Office by the person who completes the Evaluation Form.)
In principle, Application Form and Evaluation Form cannot be replaced once submitted, even if it issubmitted before the due date. Please ensure sufficient time to complete the procedures for each form,and submit them in consultation with your individual advisor.
Please note that applications will not be accepted from applicants who have not submitted all
documents by the submission deadline.
5. Selection Process
Successful applicants will be determined through document screening and online interview conductedby the OU Fellowship Screening Committee. The results of the document screening will be announced
to the applicants by the end of October. Applicants who have passed the document screening will receive
details regarding the online interview. The online interview is scheduled for early November. The resultsof the online interview will be announced to the applicants by the end of November.
If a successful applicant declines the OU Fellowship, the Fellowship will be awarded to anotherapplicant.
6. Selection Criteria
Okayama University awards OU Fellowships to applicants who are highly motivated to learn andconduct research, and they are expected to promote research in the priority fields designated by
Okayama University and to play important roles in science, technology, and innovation creation in Japan3

[Submission Deadline: Monday, September 25, 2023 (17:00 JST)]in the near future. Applicants are comprehensively evaluated in the following areas:(1) The ability to set innovative research themes supported by creativity and deep insight(2) Exceptional ability to pursue their research(3) High communication ability(4) How you can contribute to research that falls under the "Okayama University Top Priority
Research Fields".
7. OU Fellowship Recipient Obligation
Successful OU Fellowship recipients are obligated to take research ethics education classes specified
by Okayama University, concentrate on research activities based on their own research plans, and pursue
the following items to form their particular career paths after the acquisition of the degrees: (Details willbe announced following selection.)(1) Submission of research progress reports for each academic year (September and March, in thedesignated OU format)(2) Periodical interviews with mentors (once every two months in principle)(3) Participation in programs related to the improvement of research capability and support for career
path (seminars for presentations, transferable skill training, meetings with companies, etc.)(4) Report any changes in the information provided in the "Confirmation of Eligibility to Apply"
section of the application form.
(5) Register with "researchmap", a database-type researchers' directory operated by the National
Institute of Science and Technology Agency (JST) (Added on September 1, 2023)
8. Notes(1) Successful OU Fellowship applicants are required to submit a pledge to concentrate on research
activities, etc.
(2) Successful OU Fellowship applicants do not have an employment relationship with Okayama
University; however, research encouragement funding is listed as miscellaneous income undertax law and is considered taxable income. Therefore, successful applicants must file income taxreturns.
(3) Research budget must be used appropriately under the supervision of the university (advisor).
(4) The OU Fellowship is a government program, and the OU Fellowship is provided on the premisethat the research encouragement funding (equivalent to living expenses) and research budget
provided by the fellowship will support "research activities in Japan," as determined by thegovernment system. Therefore, please note that the fellowship cannot be provided to those whohave not been able to come to Japan due to the status of the COVID-19 infection or other reasons.
(5) If you become an OU Fellowship recipient, you will not be eligible for the "Return ExemptionSystem for Outstanding Achievement" of JASSO's Type 1 (interest-free) scholarship.
9. Contact/Address to Send Your Application (OU Fellowship Office)Kawaguchi/Kanemoto, Research Support Office
Email: ou-fellowship@adm.okayama-u.ac.jp
Phone Number: 086-251-8462

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