Jul 28 (techhq.com) - Japanese universities are being incentivized to build or expand their science-related departments, per an announcement made by the education ministry on Friday.
As part of an effort to bolster Japan’s science education, especially in fields related to green and digital technologies, 111 Japanese universities and technical colleges could receive grants through a ¥300 billion ($2.1 billion) fund set up by the government.
The country is seeking to improve its international standing in science and technology research. A report released by a ministry-affiliated think tank last year revealed that Japan ranked 12th worldwide for the number of highly cited scientific papers in the three years through 2020.
That’s a significant drop from its standing in the early 2000s, when Japan was fourth in the world.
The issue has been traced back to Japanese universities, where only 35% of students graduate with a degree in the STEM fields – in the US, it’s 38%, South Korea sees 42% and in Britain the number reaches 45%. ...continue reading