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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > FY2003 White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology >Part1 Chapter2 Section4.1

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Part 1   Higher Education to Support a Knowledge-Based Society Full of Creative Vitality - New Developments in Higher Education Reform
Chapter 2   New Developments in Higher Education Reform
Section 4   Further Improvements to Education and Research
1   Creation of Centers of Excellence in Research and Education


In order to rank among the best in the world as well as to improve the standard of education and research and to cultivate creative human resources capable of leading the world, it is important for universities in Japan to foment further a competitive environment and that inter-university competition through national, public and private universities be more vigorously carried out.

The basic concept of "The 21st Century COE *2 Program" being implemented by MEXT, based on the indications of its importance in the second phase of the Science and Technology Basic Plan (Cabinet decision of March 2001) and others was hammered out in the "Policy for the Structural Reform of Universities" (June 2001) under the major policy direction of "introduction of the principle of competition through third-party evaluation," with a view to accelerating further the flow of university reform so that universities in Japan may become even more vigorous and internationally competitive than previously.

"The 21st Century COE Program" carries out priority support and promotes the building of universities of the highest international standard. This program mainly provides priority support adding advanced human resources cultivation functions to research and education centers with high research potential. It is expected that this project will also lead to the clarification of the individuality and distinctiveness of each university, and improvements in standards and revitalization for the university as a whole.

Public recruitment targets courses at the graduate school (doctorate course) level (combinations such as multiple courses and so on, and affiliated research institutions are also taken into account), and under the management structure centered on the university president as well as the university strategy concerning what courses to cultivate as global research and education centers, the university president makes an application.

Concerning the selection screening, fair third-party evaluation is implemented in "The 21st Century COE Program Committee (Chairman Reona Ezaki, mainly managed by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)", which is independent of MEXT, centered on the performance of research and education activities and the future concept of the applicable university. Each selected center is granted annual funding of approximately 100 to 500 million yen per project for, as a general rule, five continuous years. Two years after the commencement of the project an interim evaluation is implemented, and at the end of the period ex-post-facto evaluation is implemented.

Social interest in this program is extremely high, not just among people involved in universities but also among overseas organizations, and there are big expectations of future developments ( Figure 1-2-15 , Table 1-2-2 ).


*2 COE

Center of Excellence.

Figure 1-2-15 The 21st Century COE Program

Table 1-2-2 Implementation of The 21st Century COE Program


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