Hiroshima University will provide research grants for Next-Generation Fellows, Next-Generation AI Fellows and STEM Female Research Fellows (Collectively called Next-Generation Fellows) to form independent research teams and conduct interdisciplinary research. We expect that the Next-Generation Fellows will grow as independent researchers by participating in this program.

a. Requirements
⚫ Teams must include at least 2 doctoral students affiliated to Hiroshima University from different research fields (students belonging to different laboratories are acceptable).
⚫ The research subjects, newly integrated based on the voluntary intentions and initiatives of the members, will receive support.
⚫ Approval must be obtained from all team members’ supervisors.
⚫ Proposals that address social issues related to the SDGs/peace and teams with a high degree of diversity in terms of year, gender, nationality, etc. are especially encouraged.
⚫ As Hiroshima University made the "Carbon Neutral x Smart Campus 5.0 Declaration" in January 2021 and is actively working toward carbon neutrality by 2030, proposals that address carbon neutrality are especially encouraged.
b. Number of grants About 5 projects per year will be selected.
c. Amounts of grants About 1 million yen per project
d. Research period Since Adoption – March 2026
* The project must be completed within the above time frame, and the application representative must be employed as a Next-Generation Fellows for the duration of the proposed project.

（1）The application representative must be a Next-Generation Fellows. Team members other than the application representative (PI) do not have to be Next-Generation Fellows, however only Next-Generation Fellows are authorized to execute the budget.
（2）A Next-Generation Fellows may not submit multiple applications.
（3）There are no restrictions on the application representative (PI) becoming a co-investigator on other applications. However, it is not permitted to propose multiple applications that are considered to have replaced the principal applicant with a co-researcher.
（4） Students whose projects are expected to be completed during the research period for which they are applying are not eligible to participate as members

Budget execution will be done through the supervisor of the application representative (PI).
Examples of validated expenses are as follows:
（1）Goods expenses
・Expenses to purchase equipment and fixtures necessary for the proposed project. Equipment and fixtures are defined as items which cost at least 100,000 yen and have a service life of at least one year.
・Expenses to purchase expendables necessary for the proposed research project. Expendables are defined as goods, books, reagents, materials and expendables for research, etc.
（2）Travel expenses
・Travel expenses (transportation expenses, accommodation fees, daily allowance) of the team members themselves for overseas and domestic business trips for the proposed project (e.g., material gathering, data collection, meetings, announcement of the results of R&D, etc.).
（3）Rewards
・Honorarium for those who work on the proposed project (e.g., organization of materials, assistance for experiments, translation & proofreading, provision of expertise, distribution and recovery of questionnaires, collection of research materials, etc.). Team members are not eligible to receive rewards.
（4）Others
・In addition to the above items, other expenses which are necessary to carry out the proposed research project (e.g., printing costs, photocopying costs, photo developing and printing costs, communications expenses (stamps, phone calls, etc.), transportation charges, rental fees for dedicated facilities, meeting fees (e.g., rental fees for venues, etc.), rental fees (e.g., computers, automobiles, experiment instruments & tools, etc.), equipment repair costs, research results presentation fees (e.g., participation fees for academic conferences, submission fees for academic journals, official website creation costs, pamphlet preparation cost for public relations of research results, etc.), etc.)

Submit the application form (Form #1, WORD) by e-mail to the address given in Contact. The title of the e-mail should be "Application for Transdisciplinary Research Support Program". Please download the application-related documents from the following link.

Application deadline : June 6 (Fri.), 2025, 12:00 p.m. (noon, Japan Standard Time)

• Application Guidelines (English version)
• Transdisciplinary Research Support Program Application Form (Form #1, WORD) (Application form)
• Transdisciplinary Research Support Program Final Report (Form #2, WORD) (Final Report)

Selection will be made based on the submitted application forms. Interviews will be conducted if necessary. All application representatives (PIs) will be notified of the selection results by e-mail by the end of June 2025. Please note that we cannot respond to individual inquiries in regard to the selection results.

The supported application representatives (PIs) have to submit a final report (Form #2, WORD) within one month after the project completion. Furthermore, presentations at the research results conference are mandatory, and recordings of the presentation will be published on the official Hiroshima University website. In addition, interviews on the results of the project may be requested.