National Institute for Basic Biology
In most universities, the number of faculty members is small in relation to that of graduate students. In contrast, SOKENDAI has a significantly higher ratio of faculty members to graduate students and therefore has ample opportunities for student mentoring. Currently, Basic Biology Program has 38 SOKENDAI students and 62 faculty members (As of April 1, 2022). In addition to the official teaching staff there is also a large community of researchers who actively engage in collaborative research and academic exchange with students.
NIBB holds many seminars with distinguished guests as lecturers. It also hosts conferences, most of which students in NIBB can attend. These seminars and conferences offer good opportunities for future researchers to widen their vision.
The National Institute for Basic Biology has signed academic exchange agreements and has been engaged in cooperation with a variety of international research institutions (such as EMBL in Europe, the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding, Germany, Singapore's Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, and Princeton University in the United States). Graduate students also have the opportunity of visiting these research institutions and taking part in academic exchange programs. In addition, many international conferences are held and sponsored by NIBB and the other research institutes of Okazaki. The goal of these endeavors is to use international academic exchange to create an environment where students can experience and familiarize themselves with the international community. We work to increase the English language ability of students, and practical English classes are given by native speakers.
As an Inter-University Research Institute the National Institute for Basic Biology maintains equipment and facilities for pursuing collaborative research with institutes and universities throughout the country. Facilities such as the Model Animal Research Facility and the Functional Genomics Facility have state of the art tools for cooperative use by researchers and students of NIBB with the support of the highly trained technical staff.
Basic Biology Program is engaged in the cultivation of advanced researchers. In the last five years, approximately 70% of those who finished the courses became researchers, including assistant professors and postdoctoral researchers.
At Sokendai we not only focus on specialized education, but also on training well rounded and refined individuals. Sokendai offers a unique chance to attend lectures on a wide range of academic areas and to visit and work in oversea labs.
