Independent Scientists: Young researchers producing remarkable research
MANA hires young researchers who have produced outstanding research achievements as MANA Independent Scientists.
MANA uses the 3D System to train these future leaders, and as the title suggests, Independent Scientists are granted "independent" authority over their research. MANA provides these researchers with special support, providing them with an environment in which they can freely pursue independent research projects and opportunities to spend long periods of time at foreign research institutions as well as actively assisting them with interdisciplinary research and assigning them world-class researchers as mentors. Independent Scientists do not merely receive support from MANA, they also actively approach companies and government institutions to secure external research subsidies and must manage their own research funding.
In this way, the top-tier research environment at MANA creates research leaders for the world. It is no overstatement to say that Independent Scientists are the future of humankind.
The “Independence” of Independent Researchers
Just as the name implies, researchers are given independent discretion over their research. In Japan, there are almost no other research institutes that give this much authority and discretion to researchers in their 30s or early 40s. Thanks to this authority, Independent Scientists can decide their own intention and take action related to their own research themes. With this as one way to speed up research, the number and quality of publications by Independent Scientists is increasing year after year. With researchers in charge of managing their own research, the quality of their research is also enhanced.
Independent Research Budget
Independent Scientists receive some funding from MANA, but not much. Independent Scientists must approach corporations and federal institutions on their own and take the initiative to acquire their own funding. In this way, they secure funding to enable them to conduct research freely and of their own accord. MANA proactively supports them in these endeavors, however, pulling in research funding from external sources is no easy task. That’s why the network of renowned researchers from all different fields and overseas research institutes that MANA can introduce to Independent Scientists is of great assistance.
Meeting directly with the scientists who set the world standard getting to know them personally and listening to what they have to say might just be the most stimulating thing there is for researchers with future potential. Since the activities of Independent Scientists are very free, it is possible for them to conduct research abroad when and for as long as they require. In order to step up onto the world stage, it is paramount to proactively engage diverse cultures and different fields so that one’s horizons can be expanded and one can grow, both as a scientist and as a person.
