AY 2022
Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next
Generation

Program for Developing Human Resource with
Rhizome-based Research Approach

Student Application Guidelines

Osaka City University, Osaka Prefecture University,
Office of Support forPioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation* Contents assume that the budget for academic year 2022 will be met; however, since the budget for theproject has not yet been determined, the contents related to support are subject to change.

1. Program Objective
This program actively supports students entering doctoral courses with the aim of helping
them develop the ability to solve social issues, create leading research fields, and envision andrealize a vision of the future for society. In this program, students will not only delve into thespecialized knowledge they have cultivated through research and other activities up to themaster’s level, but will also be motivated to deeply explore and develop their own research byenthusiastically absorbing expertise from other fields and disciplines, and organicallycombining diverse and interdisciplinary expertise.

2. Details of Support
The following support is available for eligible students in this program (within a standard
years of study).
1) Grant-in-aid for Rhizome Research: JPY 2.2 million yen per year (including JPY 200,000
for research expenses)
2) Rhizome Activity Support Fund: application basis (with review)2)-1 Financial support for studying abroad or in Japan (approximately 6 months, up to
JPY 1.5 million during support period)2)-2 Financial support for long-term internship (approximately 3 months)2)-3 Financial support for travel and participation expenses for international conferences
and summer school overseas2)-4 Financial support for submitting research papers (includes translation costs)2)-5 Financial support for organizing and managing independent projects2)-6 Support for career and network development【Notes】(1) The maximum period of support is 3 years (4 years in the case of 4-year doctoral course (medicaland veterinary doctoral courses). If you are enrolled in doctoral course for more than 3 years (or4 years in 4-year doctoral course), including years before this support starts, you will not be
eligible to receive supports after the end of standard years of study.
Supports may be terminated if you take a leave of absence during the support period dependingon the reasons.
(2) Support starts in April 2022 (October for students planning to enroll in October 2022).

3. Application Requirements
Applicants must have excellent research abilities and a strong desire to dedicate themselves
to research and meet any of the following requirements.
1) Persons who have applied for doctoral course (3-year or 4-year doctoral course) at theGraduate School of Osaka Metropolitan University for admission in April 2022
2) Persons who plan to apply in October 2022 to doctoral course (3-year or 4-year doctoralcourse) at the Graduate School of Osaka Metropolitan University3) Students who were admitted in April 2021 (3-year doctoral course), October 2021 (3-yeardoctoral course), April 2020 (3-year doctoral course), April 2020 (4-year doctoralcourse), April 2019 (4-year doctoral course) and are enrolled in graduate school at Osaka
Prefecture University or Osaka City University, not taking a leave of absence at the time
the support starts.

However, the following are excluded:
・ Students who have been selected as a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (DC)of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
・ Foreign students supported by the Japanese Government (Japanese Ministry ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology [MEXT]) Scholarship Program・ International students who receive scholarships and/or other support from their homecountry
・ Working students who have been receiving a sufficient amount of money as living
expenses (2.4 million yen / year as a reference) from the company to which they
belong.

Precautions
・Other financial supports from such as scholarships of JASSO and other foundations
Since this program is targeting to "create an environment where students can concentrate on theirresearch" and JASSO scholarships has the different nature, you may basically receive the support
from this program and either of loan-type or benefit-type scholarships at the same time. However,JASSO may not allow you to receive scholarships at the same time. Please make sure to checkwith JASSO as well.
Regarding scholarships from other foundations, those foundations may not allow you to receive
scholarships together with this project. Please make sure to check with the foundations.
・Second and third choice
If you are not selected for your first choice of the program, you may further apply for second
and/or third choice(s) in a different field of University Fellowship Founding Project for
Innovation Creation in Science and Technology. Nevertheless, such further application isconsidered only if the field and/or program of your second and third choices have not been filled.
If you are applying for second and/or third choice, please make sure you meet
application requirements for these programs.
Further, eligible persons who apply for this program may not apply for University FellowshipFounding Project for Innovation Creation in Science and Technology as their first choice.

4. Number of Students to be accepted
1) Students enrolling in April 2022: About 23 students
2) Students enrolling in October 2022: About 2 students
3) Students admitted in April 2021 (3-year doctoral course), October 2021 (3-year doctoralcourse), April 2020 (3-year doctoral course), April 2020 (4-year doctoral course), and April
2019 (4-year doctoral course): Several students

5. Application Process
1) Where to apply
Please visit https://forms.office.com/r/YZjcWrG5NX and submit the required information.
After you have submitted them, you will receive an email on the address that you haveentered. Once you submit the following two files, your application will be complete.
2) Files1.

Essay using Form 1 (attached)
Please name the file "Student ID Number_Name.pdf" (in .pdf format only).

2.

Face Photo (above shoulders) (jpg, bmp, png format).
Please name the file "Student ID Number_name.jpg” (or bmp, png).

If you belong to another university at the time of application, you do not need to enter yourstudent ID number.
Form 1 can be downloaded from http://rhizome-program.osakafu-u.ac.jp/.
Notes for special caution(1) Incomplete application documents will not be accepted.
(2) Documents submitted at the time of application will not be returned.
(3) No revisions of documents are allowed after the application procedure has been completed.
(4) If it is confirmed that the information entered in the application form, or the information
contained in the submitted documents, is not true, the applicant's eligibility to participate in thisproject may be revoked.
(5) Personal information provided by applicants will be used only for the purpose of selection.
(6) No application fee is required for the selection process.

6. Selection Method
1) Examination contents
Subjects forScoring
examination
EssayInterview

Outline etc.

100 points

To be prepared accordance with Form 1.

100 points

This will be conducted online. You will have seven minutes
at the beginning to present your essay, followed byquestion-and answer session.

2) Evaluation method
Evaluation (scoring) will be performed in accordance with the results of the essay andinterview. Scoring will be based on the Rubric Evaluation Table.

7. Date and Place of Interview· After the application documents are received, the date and time will be designatedsometime between February 16 (Wednesday) and February 25 (Friday), 2022.
· If, during the abovementioned time periods, you are unable to attend an interview for
legitimate reasons such as presentations at academic conferences, please specify yourunavailability for the interview with the reason in the designated column of theapplication form (you may be asked to submit documentation to verify the reason later).
However, this does not guarantee that the interview will be held at a time other than thespecified time slot.
· The interview will take approximately 25 minutes.
· We will inform you of the date and time of the interview and the URL for the Zoom
meeting by Tuesday, February 15. If you do not hear from us by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
February 15, please contact us by 5:00 p.m. on the same day at the e-mail address listed
in “10. Contact for Inquiries.”
Notes:(1) In the event that an interview cannot be conducted as scheduled due to a natural disaster, etc., an“emergency notice” will be sent out via e-mail, so please check.
(2) Emergency contact information on the day of the interview is the same as in “10. Contact forInquiries.”

8. Schedule
1) Application period
Monday, January 31, 2022 – Friday, February 4, 2022, 5:00 p.m.
2) Notification of interview date and time
Notification will be sent by Tuesday, February 15, 2022 to the email address provided on theapplication form.
3) Interview
Wednesday, February 16 to Friday, February 25, 2022 between 9:00-17:05. The interview
will take approximately 25 minutes.
4) Announcement of Acceptance
Tuesday, March 8, 2022: Successful applicants will be notified at the email address providedin the application form.
* We will not respond to any inquiries regarding acceptance or rejection by phone.

9. Student Obligations
Students selected for this program are responsible for the following. Failure to adhere tothese obligations may result in termination of support and a request for support funds to bereturned.
1) Determine associate supervisor and promote the research activities of complex
knowledge
It is possible to determine your associate supervisor by consulting your main academic
supervisor or mentor after you have been accepted to the program.
2) Obtaining a certain number of credits from common education courses at graduate school3) Study abroad or in Japan (approximately 6 months)
4) Long-term internship (approximately 3 months): Recommended
5)

Attend research progress report meetings

6)

Attend JST research ethics training and compliance training courses dedicated by theuniversity10. Contact for Inquiries
Please inquire at the Support Office of your current university.
If you are transferring from another university, please contact the Support Office of theuniversity which your expected academic supervisor belongs to.
If none of the above applies to you, please contact us via e-mail and include the email
addresses of both universities.
Please note that to avoid any discrepancies in the information shared by the Support Offices,inquiries will be accepted only by email. We thank you in advance for your understanding.

Support Office for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation<Osaka City University>
Email: kensi-jisedai-rh@list.osaka-cu.ac.jp<Osaka Prefecture University>
Email: jisedai-opu@ao.osakafu-u.ac.jp

(Form 1)

Essay
※Name
※Affiliation

Department /Major※Academic supervisor※Subject of research※Research keywords (about 3)
Name of associate supervisor(if already decided)

Please be sure to fill in the fields marked with an asterisk. Please fill in all other fields to theextent possible.
Do not revise this page. Please start your essay from page 2.
There is no set format.
 The essay should be approximately 750 to 800 word long.
(Figures, tables, graphs, and additional materials are not included in the word count.)
When describing achievements in the text, please write “Applicant” to refer toyourself. Do not include your name.
 Please include the following four points in the essay.
1) Explain your research in simple terms so that it is easy for people outside your areaof expertise to understand. Describe how you think the research results obtained
through this program will result in one or more of the following: (1) solutions tosocial issues, (2) creating leading research areas, and/or (3) creating a future visionof society.
2) Describe the complex level of knowledge you think is required to achieve yourresearch in (1) and how you plan to acquire this knowledge.
3) Describe the transferable skills* you plan to acquire through this program. Please
explain the reasons why you want to obtain these skills and how you plan to acquirethem.
(*Transferable skills in this program include skills that can be widely transferred
and applied, such as originality, flexible mindset, rising to challenges, ability toidentify research needs, research management skills, data analysis skills,
presentation ability, leadership skills to attract people, and other skills that arerequired in developing innovative human resources.)4) Describe your ideas about your career path after completing your doctoral course,
and how you would like to be active and contribute to society.