Puneet Varma (Editor)

Top Global University Project

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

Top Global University (スーパーグローバル大学創成支援, Sūpā gurōbaru daigaku sōsei shien) is a funding project by the Japanese government, beginning in 2014. The project is administrated by the University of Tokyo. The project aims to enhance the globalization of the country's public and private universities so that graduates can "walk into positions of global leadership".

Contents

History

In 2009, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) began a program to encourage foreign students to study at Japanese Universities. The program was called Global 30. 13 Universities participated by creating and offering English-only undergraduate programs. It was felt that English-only programs would encourage foreign students to come. Studying Japanese was an option, but not a requirement. The program was concluded in 2014 and replaced with the Top Global University project. The project is often mistranslated as "Super Global Universities" as it is a direct translation of the Japanese word スーパーグローバル大学創成支援.

Program

The Top Global University project began as an initiative of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe who stated its aim was to help more of Japan's universities rank in the top 100 worldwide. This requires the hiring of more foreign professors and increasing foreign student attendance at Japanese universities. According to Martin Ince of QS World University Rankings, Prime Minister Abe stated “the number of foreign students at a university will define its success”

The program is slated to run from 2014 to 2023. It's total budget is ¥7.7 billion ($US 77 million). The funds will be used to hire faculty who are either foreigners or Japanese nationals who have graduated from foreign universities. Designated universities will also establish curricula for undergraduate degree programs, provide financial support for international students, and actively recruit students worldwide.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) adopted a two-track approach, ranking institutions in one of two categories.

  • Type A—(Top Type) The Top Type is for world-class universities that have the potential to be ranked in the top 100 in world university rankings. Each Type A university will receive ¥420 million ($US 4.2 million) annually.
  • Type B—(Global Traction Type) The Global Traction Type is for innovative universities that lead the internationalization of Japanese society, based on continuous improvement. Each Type B university will receive ¥170 million ($US 1.7 million) annually.

    • Selected universities

    In September 2014, the ministry announced the selection of 37 schools for the Top Global University Project.

    References

    Top Global University Project Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA