I-HoP
Hokudai International Human Resource
Development Program

Activity
ReportHokkaido University
Front Office for Human Resource
Education and Development

2020

I-HoP provides programs in English
for supporting the career developmentof young international researchers at Hokkaido University

Front Office for Human Resource
Education and Development
This office consists of S-cubic, I-HoP, L-Station, Ree-D, and COFRe
offices. Its aim is the education and career development of young
postdoctoral researchers and PhD students.
President

Sperior Skill Station
Executive
DirectorS-cubic
Director
Hokudai International Human Resource
Development Program (I-HoP)
Steering Committee

Office for Developing Future Research
Leaders (L-Station)

Promotion office of Research
environment for Diversity(Ree-D)

Consortium Office for Fosteringof Researchers in Future Generations(COFRe)1

About I-HoP

What is the International Human Resource
Development Program?

The International Human Resource Development Program (I-HoP)
Where would yourof the Front Office for Human Resource Education and Development
research career lead?
(FOHRED) provides various programs in English to support the
career development of young international researchers (DCs andWhat kind of career do you planPDs) at Hokkaido University. It organizes “seminars to improve
to pursue after completing your studies
transferable skills”, “individual career counseling”, “support forat Hokkaido University?
learning Japanese”, and “surveys on international students”.
It also holds the CAREER LINK MEETUP, which is an extremely rare
event in Japan for DCs and PDs who want to get in touch withcompanies in English.
For many years, the Front Office for Human Resource Education
and Development has held the information exchange meeting inJapanese named “Akai Ito Kai” for letting DCs and PDs meetcompanies. Since the academic year 2019, I-HoP has held thismeeting entirely in English, and several participants have received
job offers.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all seminars and events wereDevelop your career
Work in Japan?
held online in the academic year 2020. Visits to overseas companies,in another country?
which had been made since the academic year 2018, were also
canceled. However, as many international students would like tobuild their careers in countries other than Japan in the future, we
GO back tohold online lectures by researchers who are active abroad, andyour home country?
continue to help the students diversify their career paths.
In addition, we realize that it is difficult to grasp the needs of allinternational students just by counseling the students who contact
I-HoP directly. We have therefore begun to interview the supervisors of international students to observe the actual
situation of international students from various angles.
There are various restrictions in the unprecedented pandemic situation, but we will do our best at any time and continue
to provide support so that each student can make a reasonable choice.

Role of I-HoP

1
Holding seminars to
improve transferable
research capabilities

3 Individual career consultation2
Providing opportunities
for interactions withresearchers working insociety as well asJapanese companies

language
4 Japaneselearning support

5

Various surveys for supportingthe careers of young international
researchers

I- HoP Activity Report 2020
2

PICK UP
TOPIC

1
2020

10

3

28

CAREER LINK MEETUP 2020-For international DC and PDsNumber of 28人（北大生：22人 ／他大学生6人）
participants 28（HU :22／ Other universities:6）

-HoP of the Front Office for Human Resource Education and Development held an informationexchange meeting in English called “CAREER LINK MEETUP
2020 -For international DCs and PDs-” for international
DCs/PDs and domestic companies on Wednesday 28 October. In order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus,
this year’s meeting was held online.
Nine domestic companies including Shiseido Company,
Limited as well as 28 DCs/PDs including those from partner universities through the “Career Development Projectfor Researchers of Allied Universities” (one from Niigata
University, two from Yokohama National University, one
from Hyogo Prefectural University, and two from Okinawa
Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University)
participated in the event.
The day began with a welcome address by Makoto
Demura, Deputy Director of the Front Office for Human
Resource Education and Development. After a short talk by
each company, participants moved to breakout rooms. DCs
and PDs gave presentations on their research and skills,
and companies held booth sessions. All was done in English,

Iand they could communicate deeply with each other.
DCs and PDs who participated in the event said, “it was
useful for us to know about various Japanese companies andwhat kind of human resources they looked for” and “it wasvery good for us to have a job hunting experience and to think
about our future career”. The companies commented, “wewant to have more events like this in the future”.
International students make up approximately one-third of
all doctoral course students at this university, and career
support for them is an urgent issue. I-HoP has developed
the career development support platform established by
the Front Office for Human Resource Education and Development mainly for Japanese DCs and PDs into a global
support system that takes international DCs and PDs into
consideration, and is now making various efforts to broaden their career paths in Japan. The creation of opportunities for exchange with domestic companies in English has
attracted particular attention from companies and partner
universities. They expect that this event should continue inthe future as it will contribute to improving the employment rate of international students in Japan.

Participant's comments
I really appreciated the opportunity to contact English speaking companies.
It was informative, I could learn about different companies in Japan and what are theylooking for candidates.
It was very helpful both for experience in job hunting and also for deciding future steps in
my career.

Participating nine companies. Sony Corporation. Sanoh Industrial Co., Ltd.
. AWL, Inc.
. INDETAIL Co., Ltd.
. Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

. SHISEIDO. Ridge-i Inc. ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. KPMG Ignition Tokyo, Inc.

POINT

Information exchange meeting in English between DCs/PDs and companies. This was held
entirely in English with the same structure as that of the “Akai Ito ONLINE” in Japanese,
which had been established by the Front Office for Human Resource Education andDevelopment for supporting DCs and PDs. Each company gave a short talk on what types of DCs and PDs theylooked for. DCs and PDs presented their research and skills while showing posters. Then a booth session was
held. DCs and PDs visited company booths. The event was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, butmany companies, DCs and PDs could participate because the physical distance was no longer a problem.

I- HoP Activity Report 2020
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2
2020

9

Lectures by researchers
active abroad
Drug Development in the
Pharmaceutical Industry

4
Tomoko Maeda- Chubachi, MD, PhD, MBA,
Lecturer

2020

11Founder and Chief Mentor, The Institute of Drug Development Career
Promotion; Vice President, Medical, Novan, Inc.

Number ofparticipants

23（HU :13 ／ Other universities:10）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Research opportunities outsideacademic institutions

6
JEAN-PHILIPPE THERRIEN, Ph.D.
Lecturer

2021

1

20

Principal & Owner /JP Therrien Consulting LLC,Davidson NC

Number ofparticipants

13（HU :8／ Other universities:5）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Careers in the United States:
How to ﬁnd a place where you
can shine
Mariko F. Matsuura Ph.D.
Lecturer5

Protein Engineering Scientist (R&D) at Corteva Agriscience(former DowDuPont)

Number ofparticipants

38（HU :23 ／ Other universities:15）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

-HoP invited researchers who were active in the
United States and organized an online lecture
series for international and Japanese students who
sought careers abroad.
On 4 September, Dr. Tomoko Chubachi (Chief Mentor of
the Institute of Drug Development Career Promotion andChief Medical Officer of Novan) gave a lecture entitled“Drug Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry”. On 6
November, Dr. Jean-Philippe Therrien (Principal andOwner of JP Therrien Consulting LLC) gave a lecture entitled “Research opportunities outside academic institutions”. On 20 January, Dr. Mariko F. Matsuura (Researcher at the Research and Development Department ofCorteva Agriscience) gave a lecture entitled “Careers in
the United States: How to ﬁnd a place where you canshine”. All lectures were live-streamed from the speakers’ locations via Zoom.
In each seminar, the speaker spoke from there about
practical things in the United States, including drugIdevelopment and career paths in the pharmaceuticalindustry, possible options as non-academic researchers,
career options after completing the doctoral program,and how to work in the United States. The lecture wasfollowed by a question-and-answer session.
It is difficult for most of us to travel abroad in the midst of
the pandemic, but the participants could see that
researchers were working in the world every day in various ways and consider pursuing careers abroad more
seriously.
In the academic years 2018 and 2019, “overseas site
visits” were organized. Participants visited companies in
the United States and gave presentations on site. Unfortunately, this event could not be held in the academic year
2020, but all of the seminars held in this academic year
became possible precisely because they were held online.
I-HoP will continue to explore what can be done even in
the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to support students who pursue their careers abroad in many ways.

Participant's comments

Drug Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry
The seminar was very concise and extremely inspirational. Listening to a global leader in
Pharmaceutical industry with such experience and achievements is always helpful to shape
the career path and thinking process.
It was very informative in a simple explanation, so many doors of new way of thinking had
been opened.

Research opportunities outside academic institutions
This was a very informative lecture on choosing a career path after the doctoral degree.
The discussion on the pros and cons of new drug manufacturers and CROs was also very
informative.
It was an eye opening to opportunities outside academia.

Careers in the United States: How to ﬁnd a place where you can shine
I really enjoyed the seminar. Information provided was very interesting and useful. It
answered a lot of questions I had about careers in the US.
I found it extremely interesting because it covered in details aspects of careers abroad
which I have not seen in many seminars and which I believe are interesting to compare with
the information about the careers in Japan offered in past seminars.

Visits to overseas sites have been made in the academic years 2018 and 2019 but became impossible in the academic
year 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I-HoP decided to organize lectures by researchers who were active
abroad, in order to continue to support students who would like to pursue their careers abroad even in the midst of
the pandemic. Three seminars live-streamed from the United States could be held. Whereas only a limited number ofpeople could participate in the visits to overseas sites, more students could participate in the online seminars and ask
questions directly to researchers in the United States. This new form of seminar proved to be a great success.

POINT

I- HoP Activity Report 2020
6

I-HoP
Activity
Report2020

Lecturer
Number ofparticipants

7

Ms. Ayumi Sudo/Originator
88 (video views)

Activity Report 2020
From around the end of 2019, it became
difficult to hold face-to-face meetings
because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We
took this opportunity to actively holdonline events from the beginning of theacademic year 2020. This has encouraged more students from other universities to participate, and led to career support for young international researchers
not only within Hokkaido University but
also throughout Japan.

2020

Online5

Job Hunting Guidance forinternational students_Online

28

Lecturer
Number ofparticipants

Ms. Ayumi Sudo Originator

88 (video views)

I-HoP has distributed a video for international students.
Originally we had planned to invite the lecturer and hold a seminar, however we changed
to video recording and distribution due to COVID-19.

2020

Online8Time Management
7

LecturerDr. Greg Story President/Dale Carnegie Training Japan

Number ofparticipants

18（HU :18／ Other university:0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Time escapes minute by minute and hour by hour. Nothing you do will stop or rewind aclock or calendar. Everyone has the same amount of time: 24 hours, which is 1,440 minutes per day. There is no short cut to managing yourself more effectively. The key is toinvest your time in the most productive way, not only for the sake of your organization but
also or your own peace of mind.
In this webinar, you will discover where your time is spent. With a clear picture of wheretime gets lost, you can see where you can improve. You will review speciﬁc tools andapproaches to help you stay on target, increase productivity, and get better results in work
and in life.

I- HoP Activity Report 2020
8

2020

8

27

Lecturer

OnlinePotential Long-term Effects of the Coronavirus
Pandemic in the Research Community
Mr. Greg Adams Managing Editor FORTE Science Communications

Number ofparticipants

29（HU:6／ Other universities:23）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

The impact of COVID-19 is enormous andunavoidable, even for research institutions
and researchers. This seminar will discuss
the impact the pandemic is having on journals and publishers, as well as the impact
on research institutions and individual
researchers and what to do about it.

2020

9

4

Lecturer

OnlineDrug Development in the PharmaceuticalIndustry
Tomoko Maeda-Chubachi, MD, PhD, MBA,Founder and Chief Mentor, The Institute of Drug Development Career
Promotion; Vice President, Medical, Novan, Inc.

Number ofparticipants

23（HU:13／ Other universities:10）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

The landscape of drug development in the pharmaceutical industry changes in a shorttimeframe. Once the seeds show promising potential in the venture company or startup
companies, these seeds will be bought by large pharmaceutical companies which haveabundant resources to run clinical trials. Running clinical trials is extremely expensive
and the average cost exceeds billion dollars. Therefore, any pharmaceutical companies
make efforts to minimize the cost, maximize efficiencies toward early approval of the
drug. Many animal studies and pharmacology studies are often outsourced to the contract
research organizations (CROs) and academic institutions. Depending on the expertise, thecareer path crosses between the sponsor and CROs. It is important for your career planning to understand the structure and functions of the matrix team of the pharmaceuticalcompanies and identify where your strength contributes most.

9

2020

Online9

How to write “Entry-sheet” appealing toJapanese industries

17

Lecturer

Mr. Tomonori FUKASAWA
President Emerging Technologies Corporation

Number ofparticipants60（HU:29／ Other universities:31）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Obtain basic information about industry/company for exploring your career paths inJapan with guidelines for job hunting!

2020

10

20

Lecturer

OnlineJapanese workplace communication &Business manners and online interviews
Mr. James Corbett

ANA Business Solutions

Number ofparticipants10（HU : 8人 ／ Other universities :2）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

A seminar for international students to learn about communication and businessetiquette in the Japanese workplace. Japanese culture, communication, and online interview skills, as well as individual consultations with the instructor.

2020

10

OnlineCAREER LINK MEETUP 2020
28

Number ofparticipants-For international DC and PDs28（HU : 22人 ／ Other universities :6）

I-HoP will provide international doctoral course students and postdocs the special opportunity to meet up with Japanese companies who are looking to hire international talents
in ENGLISH.

I- HoP Activity Report 2020
10

2020

11

6

Lecturer

OnlineResearch opportunities outside academic
institutions
JEAN-PHILIPPE THERRIEN, Ph.D.
Principal & Owner /JP Therrien Consulting LLC, Davidson NC

Number ofparticipants

13（HU:8／ Other universities:5）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Research in Industry: What are my options? Pharma, Biotech/Startup, or CROs
-A review/discussion of the different non-academic options to pursue a scientiﬁc career
and their different opportunities.

2020

12

OnlineImportant Points for Journal Submission
8

Lecturer

Mr. Greg Adams Managing Editor FORTE Science Communications

Number ofparticipants106（HU:56／ Other universities:50）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

The popular annual English article writing seminar for young researchers was divided
into elementary and intermediate courses so that researchers could participate according
to their academic level.

2021

1

20

Lecturer

OnlineCareers in the United States:
How to ﬁnd a place where you can shine
Mariko F. Matsuura Ph.D.
Protein Engineering Scientist (R&D) at Corteva Agriscience (former DowDuPont)

Number ofparticipants

38（HU:23 ／ Other universities:15）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Mariko F. Matsuura Ph.D. will give you a lecture regarding working in the U.S. andcareers. She is a corporate researcher in the U.S. and actively communicates about science, working, studying and living in the U.S., and English through her blog and YouTube.
This is your chance to ask questions directly to the researchers from U.S.!

11

2021

2

OnlineJapanese Manners for Recruitment
12

Lecturer

Ms. Inami Sumiko

ANA Business Solutions

Number ofparticipants8（HU:8／ Other universities:0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

A course on business etiquette for working in Japan. Students will also learn theimportance of ﬁrst impressions, how to behave when meeting with company people
online, and will be introduced to and practice common interview questions.

2021

2

25

OnlineBroaden Your Career Horizon:
Tips to guide your future job search
Lecturer / Ms. Yuuki Iida

Lecturer

General Advisor of International Student Support at JAPI, Career
Advisor for International Students, Linkedin Official Creator

Guest speaker / Mr. Ray, Chuan-Ling Yang
Number ofparticipants

33（HU:25／ Other universities:8）

Category

Transferable Skills SeminarLet ʼ s connect with the world! This seminar will provide you withways to ﬁnd a job in Japan and abroad. JAPI, which provides
career support for international students in Japan, and Linkedin, abusiness social network used around the world, will introduce thelatest trends in job hunting.

2021

Online3

Improving Your Oral Presentation
Skills9Lecturer

Mr. Greg Adams Managing Editor
FORTE Science Communications : Experts in Academic Papers

Number ofparticipants

59（HU:33／ Other universities:26）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

For non-native English speakers, presentations in English may make you nervous.
We are planning to have 1.5h lecture and 30 minutes “Q&A” session.

I- HoP Activity Report 202012

Individual career consultation

Number of
consultation

167
Hokkaido University has set the aim of “enhancing
career support for international researchers” in its
medium-term plan in order to achieve the goal of
globalization in the third medium-term goals. As
one of its activities, I-HoP continues to provide
opportunities of individual career consultations forinternational researchers.
International researchers have a wide range ofcareer options, like “ﬁnding a position in a privatecompany or academia” and “remaining in Japan,
returning home, or looking for a position in othercountry” , and have to dwell on them.
In addition, even if one would like to get a job inJapan, one ﬁnds it very difficult to understand theemployment system and job hunting schedule
which are unique to Japan. Moreover, one needs toconsider the ﬁeld and kind of job for obtaining a
residence permit.
In order to support international researchers’
career selection in such complicated situations,
I-HoP provides careful and timely consultation
opportunities. First, an interview is conducted
mainly in English for understanding each researcher’s situation, wishes, and options. Then, suggestions and advice on how to take appropriate action
are provided.

Other programs
Career Plan Survey for all the international MC & DC students
and Postdocs
Networking in English / Cambridge Consultants
Support forJapanese language
learning

13

・Support for taking the BJTBusinessJapanese Proﬁciency Test
・JLPT online practice half-test

Activity Report 2019
2019

4 25

Career Seminar for International Researchers and Students
Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1

LecturerMr. Yoshichika Iida Visiting Professor, Hokkaido University JCDA certiﬁed CDA (Career development Adviser）
21（HU :21／ Other university:0） Category Transferable Skills Seminar

Number of participants

2019

66~27

Evening Japanese Course_begineer
Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1
Lecturer Ms. Yuki Ota (Nihongo Lecturer)
Venue

Number of participants

2019

6 19

6 27
2019

7 25

9 20

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1
Lecturer Mr. LI（Faculty of Engineering DC3） Mr. ALBERT RODRIGUEZ MULET（Faculty of Science DC3）1024~25
2019

10 31

3（HU:3／ Other universities :0）

Category

OthersCAREER SEMINAR for international students at Graduate
School of Environmental Science
LecturerMr. Yoshichika Iida Visiting Professor, Hokkaido University JCDA certiﬁed CDA (Career development Adviser)

Category

Others

Evening Japanese Course Advanced:Technical Japanese
Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1

Lecturer

Ryo TAKEDA Ph.D Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering,Hokkaido University

10（HU :10／ Other universities:0）

Category

Support for Japanese Language Learning

Transferable Skills Seminar Negotiations
Venue

Main Conference Room, Creative Research Institution

LecturerDr. Greg Story Trainer, Dale Carnegie Training Japan

Number of participants

2019

Support for Japanese Language Learning

Venue

Number of participants

2019

Category

Career Talk Experiences and Advice by SENPAI
Number of participants2019

9（HU:9／ Other University:0）23（HU :23 ／ Other universities :0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

CAREER SEMINAR Consultation at Hakodate Campus
LecturerMr. Yoshichika Iida Visiting Professor, Hokkaido University JCDA certiﬁed CDA (Career development Adviser)

Category

Others

How's like to work in Japan
Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1

Lecturer

Mr. Masahiro Tsukamoto CEO, Harmony For Inc.

Number of participants

6（HU:6 ／ Other universities:0）

Category

OthersI- HoP Activity Report 2020
14

2019

11 14
2019

11 25

Site Visit to Takenaka Research & Development Institute
Venue

Takenaka Research & Development Institute (Inzai City, Chiba)

Number of participants

12 1~7
2019

12 10
2019

12 17

2 12

Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1
Dr.Yumiko Enyo The part-time instructor at Hokkaido University

2 18

Venue

2 27

Number of participants

32

Venue

4（HU:4／ Other universities:0）

Category

Company Visit

Seminar room and Foyer, Frontier Research in Applied Sciences Building

Number of participants

24（HU:17／ Other Universities:7）※OIST:6, University of Hyogo:1

Writing for Academic Journals
Seminar room, Frontier Research in Applied Sciences Building
Lecturer Mr. Greg Adams Managing Editor, FORTE Science Communications
Venue

76（HU:76／ Other Universities:0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Business Communication and Japanese Manners
Venue
Lecturer

Seminar room, Frontier Research in Applied Sciences Building
Ms. Kyoko Uchida JAPAN AIRLINES

14（HU :14／ Other Universities:0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Talk with global companies
Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1

LecturerHarmony For Inc. Panasonic / Somic Ishikawa

20（HU:20／ Other universities:0）

Category

OthersBusiness Email Seminar
Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1

LecturerMr. Yoshichika Iida Visiting Professor, Hokkaido University JCDA certiﬁed CDA (Career development Adviser)

15（HU:15／ Other universities:0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

Preparation for an Oral Presentation
Venue

Meeting Room, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1

Lecturer

Mr. Greg Adams Managing Editor, FORTE Science Communications

Number of participants

15

Support for Japanese Language Learning

CAREER LINK MEETUP -For international DC and PDs-

Number of participants2020

Category

Research Triangle Park North Carolina, USA

Number of participants2020

7（HU:7／ Other universities:0）

USA Site Visit in RTP

Number of participants

2020

Company Visit

Lecturer

Number of participants2020

Category

Learning Japanese：Why now and how to start it
Number of participants2019

3（HU:3／ Other universities:0）22（HU: 22／ Other universities:0）

Category

Transferable Skills Seminar

I-HoP
Activities Report 2020

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Published in September 2022
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Hokudai International Human Resource
Development Program (I-HoP)

1st Floor, Mid-Campus Open Laboratory Bldg #1
Kita 12, Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan
TEL +81(11) -706-2157 FAX +81(11) -706-3584

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I-HoP Activity Report 2020 Hokkaido University Front Office for Human Resource Education and Development