Program Implementation

*Basic policy: a holistic educational system

Talented people who can confront physics with broad field of view, and have balanced scientific aptitude and engineering sense are needed for research on self-organizing systems. Our division has already employed the following systems that contribute to training such people.

(1) We have established seminars in physics and applied research. Undergraduate freshmen will be assigned temporarily to individual laboratories to experience state-of-the-art research and researchers’ life.
(2) Many subjects, especially required subjects, are common within the Division of Pure and Applied Physics.
(3) Students can freely choose research subjects for their dissertation from over 30 laboratories in the division, regardless of their department.

We have attracted distinguished graduate students to this educational system. The most important things to achieve their maximum potential are: to guide them to experience state-of-the-art of research as soon as possible; to guide them to work with their rivals in same generation; and to guide them to realize competitive environment of research. This proposal presents our “holistic education system” which is expanded from pre-existing system and promote an “enlightening program for graduate students” using research fund.

*Educational plan

1. Collaboration with foreign educational institutions
We will create an exchange program with foreign universities for second-semester, doctoral course graduate students. Under the agreements between foreign research and educational institutions and our university, doctoral course graduate students in our division can conduct research in foreign universities, and foreign graduate students can study in our division for 3 months to 1 year. Both the staff of our division and professors of foreign research and educational institutions will be advisers, and be involved in dissertation review.

2. Competitive research system
We will provide grants to distinguished research proposals by second-semester doctoral course students (we especially encourage ambitious proposals encompassing fields). Candidates will present their research proposals to all staff members and answer their questions. All of full-time faculty will vote in selecting recipients. This method has been used for a long time to choose instructors in our division (3 year-term).

3. Mutual exchange program with other fields
We will hold special lectures entitled “Advanced Physics in Theories of Self-organizing Systems”, concerning self-organizing systems that appear in various levels, by experts from multiple fields (COE staff). We will also open a “Holistic Physics Seminar” where graduate students can present in their area of expertise and research to share with students from other fields. Students with less experience will be trained how to report their research. We emphasize conversion from problem-solving to problem-finding in training these students.

4. Presenting results
Students will present their research results publicly in holistic symposia or holistic discourse. Some theme research will be reported to public in open lectures to contribute to society and encourage familiarity with the physics of self-organizing systems. Distinguished graduate students will have more opportunities to present their work.