[Submission Deadline: Sunday, October 3 (24:00 JST)]
Academic Year 2022
Okayama University Science, Technology, and Innovation Creation Fellowship(OU Fellowship) [Type A] [Type B] Application Guidelines
Okayama University is calling for applications for the Okayama University Science,
Technology, and Innovation Creation Fellowship [Type A] [Type B]. The OU Fellowship wasestablished to assist students enrolling in the doctoral degree program and to cultivate young
researchers capable of promoting Okayama University priority research fields with the intentionof cultivating researchers capable of playing important roles in science, technology andinnovation 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[Type A] Approx. 10 students[Type B] Approx. 10 students
2. Qualification Requirements*Type A and B can be applied at the same time.
[Type A]
Applicants for the OU Fellowship Type A must fulfill the requirements listed below, be highly
motivated to learn and concentrate on conducting research, and be younger than 30 years of age(younger than 32 years of age for applicants have taken time away from their academic pursuits tohave and raise children or for other life events/ younger than 33 years of age for those who haveenrolled in a medical field that requires clinical research). *As of April 1, 2022
However, those who fall under any of the following are excluded:(1) Members of the workforce*(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* “Members of the workforce” here means (1) individuals engaged in a job that provides a regular income,(2) individuals who have retired from a job that provides a regular income, and (3) full-time homemakers.
However, those who fall under category (3) may be qualified to apply depending on their individual
circumstances.

Program
Doctoral Degree
Program (SecondSemester)Graduate Course
Graduate School of Humanities andSocial Sciences
Graduate School of Natural Scienceand Technology (Excluding Divisionof Earth and Planetary MaterialsScience)
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 HealthRequirements
Students who are scheduled toenroll in April 2022 (Including
individuals planning to takeentrance examinations forgraduate programs)

Five-year Doctoral
Degree Program
Four-year Doctoral
Degree Program in
the Fields ofMedicine, Dentistry,and PharmaceuticalSciences

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
2022
Students who are scheduled toenter their second year in April
2022[Type B]
Applicants for the OU Fellowship Type B must fulfill the requirements listed below, be highly
motivated to learn and concentrate on conducting research.
Working individuals are eligible to apply for Type B. However, those who fall under any of
the following 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
Doctoral DegreeProgram (SecondSemester)Five-year Doctoral
Degree Program

Four-year Doctoral
Degree Program in theFields of Medicine,Dentistry, andGraduate Course
Graduate School of Humanities andSocial Sciences
Graduate School of Natural Scienceand Technology (Excluding Divisionof Earth and Planetary Materials
Science)
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 HealthSystems
Graduate School of Natural Scienceand Technology (Division of Earth andPlanetary Materials Science)

Graduate School of Medicine,
Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences(Excluding Division of PharmaceuticalSciences)

Requirements
・Students who are scheduled toenroll in April 2022 (Includingindividuals planning to takeentrance examinations forgraduate programs)
・Students enrolling in theprograms shown on the left as ofOctober 1, 2021 (within thestandard period of completion,
excluding students who arescheduled to complete theirprograms in March 2022)*

・Students who are scheduled toenter their third year in April
2022
・Students enrolling in their 3rd to
5th years in the programs shownon the left as of October 1, 2021
(within the standard period ofcompletion, excluding students
who are scheduled to complete
their programs in March 2022)*
・Students who are scheduled toenroll in April 2022 (Including
individuals planning to takeentrance examinations forPharmaceuticalSciences

graduate programs)
・Students enrolling in theprograms shown on the left as ofOctober 1, 2021 (within thestandard period of completion,
excluding students who arescheduled to complete theirprograms in March 2022)** Students who have applied for OU Fellowship Type B for Academic Year 2021 are not required tosubmit the application again.

If you have any inquiries about qualification, please contact us as shown in “10. Contact/Address
to Send Your Application.”
3. Amount of Support /Duration[Type A]OU Fellowship Type A consists of research encouragement funding and a research budget. The
amount to be provided 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: 600,000 yen per year
*To be distributed after submission of the research plan to the secretariat every academic year.

The period of distribution of the research encouragement funding and the research budget is theperiod, beginning from April 2022 in which the successful applicant is enrolled in the doctoral degree
program (second semester), five-year doctoral degree program, or four-year doctoral degree program,which is three years in principle, and must be within the standard period of completion.
[Type B]OU Fellowship Type B consists of research encouragement funding, a research budget and a
research grant (category) which is additionally provided by the evaluations based on the proposal.
The amount to be provided 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: 400,000 yen per year
* To be distributed after submission of the research plan to the secretariat every academic year.

(3) Research Grant (Special Category): Up to 700,000 yen per year
This research grant is distributed to students who submitted their own proposals and received highevaluations in each academic year based on the submitted proposals.
*The research grant (special category) is additionally provided to OU Fellowship Type B recipients whosubmit their own approaches to increase their (1) international perspective, (2) research capability, and (3)career awareness.

The period of distribution of the research encouragement funding, the research budget and theresearch grant (special category) is the period, beginning from April 2022 in which the successful
applicant is enrolled in the doctoral degree program (second semester), five-year doctoral degree
program, or four-year doctoral degree program, and must be within the standard period of completion.
[For Both Type A and B]
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,
the funding and budget may be temporarily suspended, and then restarted after the recipient returns
to school.
[Notes (For Both Type A and B)]
In the case that the applicant for OU Fellowship Type B 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 Doctoral Degree Programs(Second Semester)(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 2021 academic year, please contact to “10. Contact/Address to Send Your
Application (OU Fellowship Secretariat)”.

4. Application Procedure (For Both Type A and B)
Students who have a desire to receive the OU Fellowship funding and budget must fill out andsubmit the following documents:
・Application Form・Certificate of Estimated Income (For working individuals, etc. who have a regular income)・Evaluation Form
Submission Deadline: Sunday, October 3 (24:00 JST) [No Exceptions]
Address to Send Your Application: OU Fellowship Secretariat *Please submit via email.
ou-fellowship@adm.okayama-u.ac.jp
Applicants must ask their individual advisors (planned) or someone familiar with their research tofill out and submit the designated Evaluation Form. (The Evaluation Form must be submitted directlyto the secretariat by the person who completes the Evaluation Form.)
Please ensure sufficient time to complete the procedures for each form.
5. Selection Process (For Both Type A and B)
Successful applicants will be determined through document screening and online interview
conducted by the OU Fellowship Screening Committee. The results of the document screening will beannounced 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 forearly November. The results of the online interview will be announced to the applicants during
November.

If a successful applicant declines the OU Fellowship, the Fellowship will be awarded to anotherapplicant.
6. Selection Criteria (For Both Type A and B)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
Japan 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
7. OU Fellowship Recipient Obligation (For Both Type A and B)
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 will be announced following selection.)(1) Submission of research progress reports for each academic year (September and March, in thedesignated OU format)*Type B requires the recipients to report the progress of research supported by the research grant (specialcategory).

(2) Periodical interviews with mentors (once every two months in principle)(3) Participation in programs related to the improvement of research capability and support forcareer path (internship, meetings with companies, seminars, etc.)
8. Notes (For Both Type A and B)(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 support funding or research encouragement funding is listed as
miscellaneous income under tax law and is considered taxable income. Therefore, successful
applicants must file income tax returns.
(3) Research budgets must be used appropriately under the supervision of the university (advisor).
10. Contact/Address to Send Your Application (OU Fellowship Secretariat)
Yoshida/Kanemoto, Research Support Office
Email: ou-fellowship@adm.okayama-u.ac.jp
Phone Number: 086-251-8462