2021 Second Recruitment Briefing Q&A
The Interdisciplinary Frontier Fellowship and the Interdisciplinary Frontier Next Generation Researcher Programs

Questions and Answers
Q1001 Are any slides or other materials/recordings of the briefing available?
AA video of the briefing will be released on the website of the Doctoral EducationConsortium.
Q1002 With the Next Generation Researcher program, do graduate schools and majors have any
restrictions on which fields can be applied for, as is the case with the Interdisciplinary
Frontier Fellowship?
ARegarding the Next Generation Researcher program, there are no restrictions on
application fields based on the graduate school or major. You apply for the field that ismost suitable for your research.
Q1003 What is the document screening pass rate for the Interdisciplinary Frontier Fellowship?
A
The number of recipients from the first round of recruitment has already been released.
The pass rate varies from field to field due to the varying number of applicants in eachfield.
Q1004 Please tell us about any restrictions on working experience or age when applying to theNext Generation Researcher program.
A
There is no age limit. Regarding working experience, there is an income limit. We do not
require everyone to submit proof of income at the time of application. There is a section on
the application form for self-reporting income status. We are also thinking about checking
applicants’ income status at a later date.
Q1005 Among the recipients of the Interdisciplinary Frontier Fellowship, will there be further
recruitment to fill any vacancies created by people who have received a JSPS Research
Fellowships for Young Scientists?
AIn this second round of recruitment, we plan to select successful applicants as well assome substitutes. If there are vacancies due to people gaining the Research Fellowships
for Young Scientists, we are thinking about filling them with the top substitutes. If there are
more recipients of Research Fellowships for Young Scientists than substitutes, we have
not yet decided whether to recruit again or select from others who have already applied.
We will consider this matter in the future.
Q1006 Regarding the Next Generation Researcher program, tell us more about QE.
AQE is dealt with by subcommittees in each field. Interviews will be held with the subcommittee chairs, vice-chairs, and the management team for this next-generation
program. The main focus of QE is to ensure that you have a solid plan for interdisciplinary
research and joint research overseas. In the language field, you should improve yourEnglish language ability by acquiring IELTS 5.5 or equivalent by at least the end of DC1.
On doctoral courses, we will check the progress of your research and require an English
language level of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent. If you are an international student, you will also
be required to master Japanese language. In addition, you will be required to gain acertain number of fellowship points, which were also part of the Interdisciplinary Frontier
Fellowship, as shown in Appendix Table 1.
Q1007 Is it possible to work as a TA or a RA?
AIt is possible as long as your job assignment does not interfere with participation in theprograms required by each project. However, if you are receiving a fellowship on theWISE Program, you cannot work as a TA or a RA.
Q1008 Will there be recruitment in spring for next year's researchers? Will there be summer
recruitment next year and beyond?
ANeither the MEXT nor the JST have made any announcements about next academic year
and beyond, but we hear that they are planning to continue. We will not know the specificnumber of researchers until the end of this academic year. For this reason, we have notdecided any details yet. There will be hardly any recruitment in summer. We hope to beable to recruit in step with the Interdisciplinary Frontier Fellowship.

InterdisciplinaryFrontierFellowship

Next Generation
Researcher

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Q1009 Does it mean that someone in a three-year doctoral program accepted as a researcher atD3 will be supported for half a year?
AYou may apply even with just six months left of the final year of your doctoral course. We
would be pleased to help.
We understand that it would be quite difficult to conduct integrated research or joint
research as required by this project within a six-month period. You should focus on writing
your doctoral thesis first. You should have a little time after submitting your doctoral thesis.
We would like you to do something related to this project. Specifically, we are thinking
about asking you to create videos and other materials based on the doctoral thesis. Thevideos will enable non-specialists to understand your research. We would also like you tohelp make a publicity video of your research in English for the overseas audience.

○Q1010 The explanation about recommenders said that they are academic advisors. Is it possible
to ask someone other than an academic advisor to recommend an applicant? If it ispossible, are there any restrictions on who can be asked to recommend an applicant?
AFor Researchers, we basically want you to make a plan with the faculty members who areteaching your doctoral course. In the case of Fellowship, if you are a M2 student or an
applicant from outside Nagoya University and have not been accepted by a faculty
member yet, it is fine to ask someone else instead of your academic advisor. If you cannot
find your academic advisor for any reason, please consult with us.
Q1011 Is it possible to apply for the Interdisciplinary Frontier Researcher program even if I am
receiving a private scholarship?
AIf you are receiving a private scholarship, please check to see if you are subject to any
restrictions on the private scholarship side. If the private scholarship requires yourcommitment, you may not be able to apply for our fellowship. Please check with the officeof the private scholarship.
Q1012 When will payments actually start?
AThe support will be available from October.
Support payments for the Interdisciplinary Frontier Researcher program for the threemonths from October may be paid as one lump sum in December.
Q1013 You mentioned that current fellowship recipients may be selected for a JSPS fellowship,
and that the vacant slots this creates will be filled by substitutes who are previously
unsuccessful applicants. Will this include unsuccessful applicants from the first round ofrecruitment?
Or will they need to apply in the second round of recruitment too?
A
Substitutes will be chosen during the second round of recruitment, so you should apply
again and we will make our decision again. Since there are two application fields in thesecond recruitment, please consult your academic advisor.
Q1014 With the Interdisciplinary Frontier Fellowship, there is a considerable difference inselection rate between fields. What do you think about this gap between fields?
AThe number of Interdisciplinary Frontier Fellowships was fixed when the project wasadopted by MEXT and cannot be changed. It was decided based on the number ofdoctoral students in each Fellowship field. I believe there are related fields in Next
Generation Researcher program as well. Please consider those when you apply.
Q1015 Will it be possible to receive a scholarship from JASSO?
AYes, it will.

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