Diversity
and Super Global Training Program
for Female and Young Faculty

On July 26th July of 2021, the Kick-off Meeting was held from 10:00 to 11:30 for the 3rd term Trainees of “Diversity and Super Global Training Program for Female and Young Faculty (SENTAN-Q)”. After having been selected for funding under MEXT’s 2019 Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment, the program launched to nurture outstanding female and young faculty members to acquire research and educational skills that meet the highest global standards.

The Kick-off Meeting was held to raise the awareness of objectives and contents of SENTAN-Q before newly selected trainees start their curriculum from August. As the special measure for the prevention of COVID-19, the meeting was held online using Zoom meeting application and was attended by more than 40 people from both outside and inside the university.

President Tatsuro Ishibashi opened the proceedings with a congratulatory address to trainees and his expectation to their future success. He also expressed his gratitude for the guests outside the university. Greetings were then extended by Mr. Yoshihide Miwa, Office of Human Resources Development for Science and Technology, Human Resources Policy Division, MEXT. He congratulated the trainees and expressed his expectation for the high-quality program making the most of online meeting application.

The attendees watched the video message delivered by Professor Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela, the Vice Provost for International Affairs and Global Strategies of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the message, she expressed her congratulation to trainees and encouraged them to cultivate their research and educational skills to become competitive in the world’s academic research through SENTAN-Q.

The final part of the event consisted of briefings of the program by the program organizer Mr. Toshiya Naito (Executive Vice President and Secretary General of KU), program coordinator Professor Kaoru Tamada (Senior Vice President of KU) and Professor Eriko Jotaki (Office for the Promotion of Gender Equality of KU). During the Q&A session, trainees asked questions about the contents of the program and showed their high expectation towards the 2-years program commencing on August 1st.

SENTAN-Q will run for 6 years, with 6 generations of trainees. Throughout the program, trainees are expected to acquire research and educational skills that meet the highest global standards and contribute to the university becoming the global hub of world top-class research and education.

Release : August 16 0:00, 2021