Some of the roles of universities are: to contribute to the development of developing countries, to develop human resources that will be responsible for international cooperation, and to organize and disseminate the philosophy and theories of Japan’s assistance. Taking these roles of universities into account, the Government of Japan is striving to cooperate with universities in terms of broad intellectual cooperation, regarding all aspects of the cycle of assistance, from organizing the theories of assistance to putting it into practice and giving back to the Japanese people through education. As a matter of fact, Japan is promoting projects in collaboration with various universities, including technical cooperation, ODA loan, and the JICA Partnership Program (JPP).

As one example, with the objective of developing advanced human resources who will become the core of socio-economic development in developing countries, Japan utilizes the JICA Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) to accept young officials from developing countries as international students in a cumulative total of 36 universities in Japan. In FY2019, 360 students were newly accepted. Moreover, Japan provides support to Thailand to establish and operate Kosen schools (Colleges of Technology) unique to the Japanese education system in Thailand, and implements cooperation to provide Kosen education that meets the same standards as that of Japan, in order to develop industrial human resources in Thailand. Furthermore, Japan has implemented the ASEAN University Network/Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net) Project*, as a JICA technical cooperation project, in which Japan is working to strengthen the network among Japanese and ASEAN universities, collaborating with the industrial sector, and engaging in joint research with neighboring countries.

In addition, a rapid surge in threats stemming from global issues such as global warming and infectious diseases in recent years calls for further advancement in science and technology for solutions. There is an increasing expectation for Japan’s advanced science and technology especially in developing countries, since they are vulnerable to the impacts of these threats, and thus require research and development based on their regional needs. At the same time, it is also imperative for universities and research institutions in developing countries to improve their self-sustainable capabilities in research and development, and build a framework which promotes continuous activities. With this awareness of the issues in mind, MOFA and JICA have been implementing Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS)(Note6) since 2008, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). By FY2019, 145 proposals have been accepted, and international joint studies between universities and research institutions of Japan and developing countries are being conducted through SATREPS (see “Master Techniques from Japan to the World” for specific examples).

Such partnerships with universities contribute to academic advancement in solving problems in developing countries, as well as the globalization of Japanese universities by welcoming trainees from overseas to train and conduct research in Japan.

1. Note 6: Refer to “Glossary” for information on SATREPS.

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