Global COE Program

Based on assessments of the "21st Century COE Program" and verifications of its results to date carried out by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) from FY2002, a decision was made to establish the "Global COE (Centers of Excellence) Program." The program will provide funding support for establishing education and research centers that perform at the apex of global excellence to elevate the international competitiveness of the Japanese universities. The program will strengthen and enhance the education and research functions of graduate schools, to foster highly creative young researchers who will go on to become world leaders in their respective fields through experiencing and practicing research of the highest world standard.

"Foundation of International Center for Planetary Science"

The Graduate School of Science  [adopted in 2008]

Student Support Program Addressing Emerging Societal Needs

This government-funded program selects distinctive projects capable of enhancing student support for the fostering of people who can contribute positively to society.

This is a joint project between the Research Center for Urban Safety and Security and Kobe University Student Affairs Department. The program is operated by the Student Volunteer Support Center, which is newly established by those two organizations. The center aims to inherit and develop the voluntarism and the volunteer network which was formed after the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in 1995.

The Student Volunteer Support Center will:

Organize various off-campus support groups who used to support student volunteers independently into one large "Supporters for Symbiotic Disaster Reduction".

 Hold “Student Collaborative Session” to allow students who have done volunteer activities a chance to exchange views amongst themselves. 

Hold “Quake Café” told by people who have experienced various earthquakes throughout Japan to passing down the memory of the earthquake to the next generation. 

Starts a “Workshop for Development of Symbiotic” to help students who do not have any volunteer activities to experience it by working closely with the “The Supporters for Symbiotic Disaster Reduction” and experienced student volunteers.

Through these activities, the final goal of this project is to help students gain symbiotic power by addressing social issues with a sympathetic heart, finding solutions to these problems with creativity, and working closely with people of various age groups and backgrounds.

Program for the Support of Strategic University Collaboration toward University Education Enhancement

This program aims to create a base of knowledge through inter-university collaboration and the merging of advanced education with leading edge researches in the fields of medicine and pharmacy for the purpose of contributing to regional healthcare.

Medical and pharmaceutical educational collaboration of national and private universities to foster professionals capable of drug development and rational pharmacotherapy

The Graduate School of Medicine in collaboration with Kobe Pharmaceutical University[adopted in 2009]

The program includes the joint development of undergraduate and graduate school courses at Kobe Pharmaceutical University which are designed to enhance the students' knowledge in the proper usage and the safety control of drugs. In postgraduate training, both universities will work together to enrich the pharmacy residency programs, develop life-time training support for healthcare professionals and promote joint medical and pharmaceutical research collaborations aimed at fostering medical professionals in drug discovery and development. Moreover, jointly organized training programs will also be developed to enhance the quality of faculties and staff members at both universities.

Japan Studies Based on International Collaboration

Making use of various materials on Japan that exist overseas, this program seeks to advance Japan studies by unearthing and investigating sources of new information and knowledge. In so doing, it works to vitalize Japan studies while sustaining their development by building and utilizing international research networks. Concomitantly, the program has as its objective the further internationalization of Japanese research in the humanities and social sciences. JSPS is commissioned by MEXT to administer the program and to carry out its application-screening and projectevaluation functions.

Research into the World-Wide Development of the Studies on Japanese Subculture -academic cultivation and strategic dissemination of the research outcome-

Graduate School of Humanities [adopted in 2010]

The goal of this project is to systematically research the trend and information on the latest studies of Japanese comics and anime based on the international joint research project with research organizations in the European countries and America.

Cancer Professional Training Program

This is a government-funded program to support superb projects, applied by national, public, and private universities, intended to develop cancer specialists to revitalize university education and the fostering of future leaders in advanced cancer treatment.

Fostering of Highly Skilled Medical Professionals through University Hospitals Collaborations

This is a government-funded program to support collaboration projects between two or more university hospitals for the fostering of high-quality medical professionals who will become vital force in the revitalization of university hospitals and regional healthcare.

A medical professional fostering program for an area between the Sanin Region and the Hanshin District

A Joint Program with 3 other university hospitals [adopted in 2008]

A medical professional fostering program in collaboration with magnet hospitals

A Joint Program with 5 other university hospitals [adopted in 2008]

A medical professional fostering program with a core education that leads to lifetime learning

A Joint Program with 8 other university hospitals [adopted in 2008]

A comprehensive medical professional fostering program originating in a regional city

A Joint Program with 22 other university hospitals [adopted in 2008]

A professional fostering program for the old Hizen Province originating in Dejima -Fostering medical professionals who possess a rich sense of the region and the world-

A Joint Program with 8 other university hospitals [adopted in 2008]

A medical professional and clinical researcher fostering program through multipolar type cooperation

A Joint Program with 28 other university hospitals [adopted in 2008]

A medical bridge between Shikoku and Honshu to foster skilled medical professionals
-With an aim of fostering the next generation doctors who will remain in the region to become community healthcare leaders-

A Joint Program with 5 other university hospitals [adopted in 2009]

Establish a system of career development for nurse

This project aims at contributing to the establishment of a safe and secure medical care system for the people of Japan. In this project, the university hospital's nursing department and the school/graduate school of health sciences will jointly develop a clinical training program to provide efficient and continuous training for nurses and lay out a career path that they can continue on with.

Career System-Kobe REED (Reflective Educative Development) Plan-

The Kobe REED Plan is a collaborative plan between Kobe University's Nursing Department and the Graduate School of Health Sciences to facilitate smooth transfer of knowledge for novice nurses from basic nursing, taught in graduate schools, to actual practices in hospitals. This plan aims to make nursing a fulfilling profession worth pursuing throughout one's life by designing a system which integrates the career development needs of the individual and the organization.

The Kobe REED Plan is based on the following four points:

  1. Development of an Education Program
    To develop a practical training program for nurses based on empirical learning
  2. Educational System for Educator
    To Foster educational leaders who are versed in pedagogy and other professional knowledge.
  3. Personnel Exchanges
    To develop a more permanent exchange of personnel between the Nursing Department of the Hospital and the Department of Nursing of the Graduate School of Health Sciences.
  4. Career Path Formation
    To establish a new career path for educational leaders based on the existing career development support system

International Training Program for Young Researchers

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) funded programs to strengthen overseas research and education opportunities for young researchers in Japanese universities.

"Practical Training Program of Young Researchers for Strategic Bioresource Utilization and Preservation Aiming at Match-making between EU and Asia to Avoid Food Crisis"

Graduate School of Agricultural Science [adopted in 2007]

Multilateral Education and Research Program for a Symbiotic Society in East Asia

Graduate School of Humanities and Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies [adopted in 2008]

Institutional Program for Young Researcher Overseas Visits

This program supports Japanese universities and other researchinstitutions that offer opportunities for undergraduate and graduatestudents, postdocs, research associates, assistant professors, lecturersand other equivalent young researchers to go abroad and conduct researchat overseas research institutions or research venues.

Training Program for Young East Asian Researchers in Humanities through Transnational Platform

Graduate School of Humanities [adopted in 2009]

Inter-disciplinary Approach to Bridge the Gap between Theory and Practice in the Field of International Cooperation Studies

Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies [adopted in 2009]

Young Researcher Overseas Visits Program for Vitalizing Brain Circulation

This Program is intended to expand opportunities for young Japanese researchers to experience research at a high world level and to challenge various issues prevailing within the global arena, while forming networks with colleagues in overseas universities and research institutes. By supporting the overseas visit for young researchers who will engage in international research collaboration projects, the program seeks to advance science in Japan by vitalizing the international circulation of good brains.

Training and networking young researchers through investigation of space-time structure in the ATLAS experiment

Graduate School of Science [adopted in 2010]

A study on universal communication based on intention recognition of able-bodied and challenged persons

Research Center for Urban Safety and Security [Adopted in 2010]

Creation of Innovation Centers for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Areas

A program to support innovation centers which pursue the fruit ofinnovative research for market and society. The research shall beconducted in advanced interdisciplinary research-areas with marchingfund from corporations.

Innovative Bioproduction Kobe

Graduate School of Engineering [adopted in 2008]

The concept for establishing the center is to construct a post-petrochemical society by uniting the disciplines of agriculture and engineering. For producing a number of alternative materials from biomass, this interdisciplinary approach will unite the agricultural expertise of biomass resource with engineering process operation such as fermentation technology, chemical reaction engineering, and separation engineering.
Our aim at this center is research and development for the expansion of core technology of bioproduction. A special focus is placed on the building block materials/next-generation bio-fuels, bioplastics/biofiber, functional foods, and drugs/agrichemicals in this center.

Program to construct a human resource base for the revitalization of thelocal community

A program to develop a joint fostering system between the local university (or the university’s network) and the local government. The program intends to establish a “local knowledge base” to foster talented people who will remain in the area and contribute to its vitalization by making good use of the university’s unique characteristics and the utilization of science and technology.

Comprehensive base for the fostering of paramedical staff by doctors

Graduate School of Medicine [adopted in 2009]

Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of Hyogo, Kobe Pharmaceutical University and the Prefectural Hospital (cooperating graduate school), is making advanced professional training available to paramedical staff working in local medical facilities. The plan is to train them so that they can use the knowledge and technology they learned to help the people in the area, in addition to preparing for catastrophic disasters that may occur in the future. Develop a training program to foster expert paramedical staff for skill mix sites in local healthcare and disaster medical care. Upon completion of the program, the expert paramedical staff will function as leaders in the local medical facilities to advance and revitalize the quality of local healthcare and disaster medical care. The training program will foster expert paramedical staff in five categories: disaster medical care, infectious disease care, prenatal care, geriatrics care and oncology care. An intensive program, varying in length from one to three months, will be decided after consultation and adjustment with the facility the paramedical staff is employed by. The program will be made up of both lectures and practical training. This is a rotational type placement and fostering system which places the graduates as local disaster care leaders in various medical facilities responsible for the making of medical policies, including the prefectural hospital.

Fostering advanced engineers in calculation science for the advancement of the industry

Graduate School of System Informatics [adopted in 2010]

This program aims at the training of leaders who will improve the locally accumulated craftsmanship industry into the next generation manufacturing industry through the introduction and the utilization of the state-of-the-art simulation technology using super-computers. For the purpose of understanding the computational science, students are educated with the tailor-made curriculum through all the simulations with hand-made software to the ready-made simulation codes. The program offers a solid support system including the tailor-made and simulation consultation rooms in order to foster engineers who will create a new industry in the future using the most advanced super-computers.

Project to accelerate reforming the system to foster female researchers

This project will make a special quota to hire, train and support female researchers working in the fields of science, engineering and agriculture over a five year period. Kobe University will implement the following measures:

“Revolution! Female Researcher Training ‘Kobe Style’”

By the Office of Gender Equality Office [adopted in 2010]

This project will make a special quota to hire, train and support female researchers working in the fields of science, engineering and agriculture over a five year period. Kobe University will implement the following measures:

  • Employ more than 21 new female researchers in the Graduate Schools of Science, Engineering, Agriculture Science, Maritime Science, System Informatics and Human Development and Environment over the five years period. As an added incentive, each department will receive funds to hire one new assistant professor (5-year term) for every woman researcher it hires.
  • Train female researchers by providing them with (1) a start-up payment for the first three years they are hired; (2) a research mentor and a life mentor each; (3) an assistant for those who have just given birth or are in child rearing; (4) funds for English proofreading and to participate in international academic conferences.
  • Support all female researchers in the fields of science, engineering and agriculture by assisting them with funds for English proofreading and for taking part in international academic conferences.
  • Revise and upgrade the "Career Café". The new café, renamed the "Kobe Career Up Café", will not only help female researchers improve their skills but also enhance their desire to move up in their fields. A new type of "Career Café" will also be launched to motivate female students to continue their studies in the doctoral degree programs.

Fostering young researchers capable of creating innovation

A system to train young researchers who will work in the future as the core of creating innovation by offering them more than the limited expert knowledge taught in school which will enable them to gain an international perspective in creating things to match the needs of the global society.

Training Program for the Future Leaders of Innovative Study in Biomedical Science

Graduate School of Medicine [adopted in 2010]

Biomedical science is one of the growing industries in the 21st century. Training future leaders in this field is a pressing matter that influences the economic growth of our country. This program aims to foster corporate minded future leaders in a way that has never been done before with just conventional graduate school education. It will establish joint collaboration between Kobe University's Biomedical related graduate schools: Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and biomedical-related corporations in the Kansai area. The program hopes to produce people who will have deep understanding for the needs of the world and outstanding global communications skills necessary to work as frontline R&D leaders in biomedical related industries.

Research and Development School System

This system permits the school to develop new curricula or new teaching methods which do not follow the Course of Study as broad standards for all schools. The new curriculum or the new teaching method may respond to various needs surfaced through teaching or to the various requests to the education at the school.

Research and development of the curriculum and the teaching method whichensures smooth transfer between kindergarten and primary school.

Kindergarten attached to Kobe University [adopted in 2010]