Okayama University Holds "Policy as an Ally! Practical Workshop to Understand National Trends for Young and Mid-Career University Staff" to Enhance Staff Skills
Okayama University hosted a workshop for young and mid-career staff from national, public, and private universities across Japan, aiming to enhance their understanding of national policies and trends and apply them to university management. Over 80 participants from 32 universities and one college of technology attended, learning practical skills in policy interpretation and project development, with the goal of professionalizing university staff and fostering management talent.
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- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 10:25
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April 30, 2026
National University Corporation Okayama University
https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/
◆ Overview
National University Corporation Okayama University (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Okayama City, President: Yasutomo Nasu) held a face-to-face workshop on February 26 and 27, 2026, for young and mid-career administrative staff, technical staff, and URAs from national, public, and private universities nationwide. The workshop, titled "Policy as an Ally! Practical Workshop to Understand National Trends for Young and Mid-Career University Staff," saw over 80 participants from 32 national, public, and private universities and one college of technology.
The purpose of this workshop is to enhance the skills of university staff, to understand national policies and trends, reflect them in internal university initiatives, and to foster human resources capable of proposing advanced university initiatives and plans to the government.
On the first day, the 26th, the event was held at the Okayama Convention Center in front of JR Okayama Station. It began with opening remarks by Norihito Sato, Vice President (Research and Industry-Academia Co-creation General Manager), Vice President (Academic Affairs), and Senior URA. Additionally, Takamichi Matsumoto, Chief (Team Shared Task Force, Core Facility Department Deputy Head) of the Research Cooperation Division, Research and Innovation Co-creation Management Department of the university, gave a presentation titled "Let's Learn the Mechanism of Budget Requests," explaining key points about the flow of national budget approval and public project application processes and concepts.
Following this, group work was conducted in small groups. The hypothetical task was to discuss what actions universities could take, assuming public projects would start in the next fiscal year, after reviewing the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's budget request documents (August). It was a rare and highly beneficial opportunity for staff from multiple universities to discuss aspects of university actions leading up to the start of public solicitations, which are usually never debated. Furthermore, Chief Matsumoto, in a session titled "Let's Learn How to Collect Information on National Policies and Trends," explained specific methods for information gathering, focusing on MEXT council materials, and introduced concrete examples of how collecting multiple documents, not just budget request materials, can provide a three-dimensional view of direction.
Also on the same day, Masashi Okubo, Specialist from the University Research Capability Enhancement Office, University Research Infrastructure Development Division, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, gave a lecture on "Enhancing University Research Capability," explaining the current state of research capability in Japan and initiatives to strengthen university research capability. Additionally, Takao Funakura, Chief of the Industry-Academia Collaboration Division, Research and Innovation Co-creation Management Department of the university, lectured on "Regional Innovation Led by Administrative Staff ~A New Paradigm of External Collaboration Created from Student Initiatives~," introducing multiple projects led by administrative staff and students. During the information exchange session, participants engaged in lively discussions with speakers, President Yasutomo Nasu, Vice President Sato, and other Okayama University stakeholders.
On the second day, the 27th, the venue moved to the Fiftieth Anniversary Hall on the university's Tsushima Campus, where Chief Matsumoto lectured on "Let's Learn How to Interpret National Documents." Using examples of specific documents such as MEXT council materials, budget requests, and supplementary budget materials, he introduced Okayama University's case studies on how university staff interpret documents and what perspectives they use for consideration.
Furthermore, on the theme of "Let's Learn About Project Formation," as concrete examples of project formation based on the perspectives learned on the first day, Masaki Kawamoto, Senior Deputy Director of the Research and Innovation Organization of the university, lectured on "From the Comprehensive Promotion Package for Core Regional and Distinctive Research Universities to Pre-consultation and Engagement with MEXT & Towards 'De-faculty-centricism'," Seiji Yamamoto, Head of the Research Cooperation Division of the university, lectured on "J-PEAKS Promotion Project for Strengthening Core Regional and Distinctive Research Universities: Pre- and Post-Award Management ~Towards Research Universities Driving Social Change~," and Chief Matsumoto lectured on "The Helium Network Concept Born from the Failure of a Helium Liquefier." There was also a review of the entire event from Masashi Okubo, Specialist from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
This workshop was planned by the Research Cooperation Division and the Core Facility Department. It aimed to break away from the traditional "faculty-centric" operation where faculty members provisionally handle university corporate management, and instead foster active discussions for administrative and technical staff to participate in university corporate management as management personnel and professionals, not just support staff. The discussions aimed to solve the on-site problems of young and mid-career staff who "somewhat understand national trends but are now too embarrassed to ask anyone," and to "be able to interpret national trends," "be able to plan based on national discussions," and "increase the number of people who can create from scratch." To create an environment where participants could freely exchange opinions and easily voice concerns such as "I know it's important to be attentive, but I don't know how to be attentive" and "I don't know how to interpret national documents," the workshop targeted young and mid-career administrative staff, technical staff, and URAs, with department and division heads only attending as observers.
Participants commented: "Among universities..."
National University Corporation Okayama University
https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/
◆ Overview
National University Corporation Okayama University (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Okayama City, President: Yasutomo Nasu) held a face-to-face workshop on February 26 and 27, 2026, for young and mid-career administrative staff, technical staff, and URAs from national, public, and private universities nationwide. The workshop, titled "Policy as an Ally! Practical Workshop to Understand National Trends for Young and Mid-Career University Staff," saw over 80 participants from 32 national, public, and private universities and one college of technology.
The purpose of this workshop is to enhance the skills of university staff, to understand national policies and trends, reflect them in internal university initiatives, and to foster human resources capable of proposing advanced university initiatives and plans to the government.
On the first day, the 26th, the event was held at the Okayama Convention Center in front of JR Okayama Station. It began with opening remarks by Norihito Sato, Vice President (Research and Industry-Academia Co-creation General Manager), Vice President (Academic Affairs), and Senior URA. Additionally, Takamichi Matsumoto, Chief (Team Shared Task Force, Core Facility Department Deputy Head) of the Research Cooperation Division, Research and Innovation Co-creation Management Department of the university, gave a presentation titled "Let's Learn the Mechanism of Budget Requests," explaining key points about the flow of national budget approval and public project application processes and concepts.
Following this, group work was conducted in small groups. The hypothetical task was to discuss what actions universities could take, assuming public projects would start in the next fiscal year, after reviewing the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's budget request documents (August). It was a rare and highly beneficial opportunity for staff from multiple universities to discuss aspects of university actions leading up to the start of public solicitations, which are usually never debated. Furthermore, Chief Matsumoto, in a session titled "Let's Learn How to Collect Information on National Policies and Trends," explained specific methods for information gathering, focusing on MEXT council materials, and introduced concrete examples of how collecting multiple documents, not just budget request materials, can provide a three-dimensional view of direction.
Also on the same day, Masashi Okubo, Specialist from the University Research Capability Enhancement Office, University Research Infrastructure Development Division, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, gave a lecture on "Enhancing University Research Capability," explaining the current state of research capability in Japan and initiatives to strengthen university research capability. Additionally, Takao Funakura, Chief of the Industry-Academia Collaboration Division, Research and Innovation Co-creation Management Department of the university, lectured on "Regional Innovation Led by Administrative Staff ~A New Paradigm of External Collaboration Created from Student Initiatives~," introducing multiple projects led by administrative staff and students. During the information exchange session, participants engaged in lively discussions with speakers, President Yasutomo Nasu, Vice President Sato, and other Okayama University stakeholders.
On the second day, the 27th, the venue moved to the Fiftieth Anniversary Hall on the university's Tsushima Campus, where Chief Matsumoto lectured on "Let's Learn How to Interpret National Documents." Using examples of specific documents such as MEXT council materials, budget requests, and supplementary budget materials, he introduced Okayama University's case studies on how university staff interpret documents and what perspectives they use for consideration.
Furthermore, on the theme of "Let's Learn About Project Formation," as concrete examples of project formation based on the perspectives learned on the first day, Masaki Kawamoto, Senior Deputy Director of the Research and Innovation Organization of the university, lectured on "From the Comprehensive Promotion Package for Core Regional and Distinctive Research Universities to Pre-consultation and Engagement with MEXT & Towards 'De-faculty-centricism'," Seiji Yamamoto, Head of the Research Cooperation Division of the university, lectured on "J-PEAKS Promotion Project for Strengthening Core Regional and Distinctive Research Universities: Pre- and Post-Award Management ~Towards Research Universities Driving Social Change~," and Chief Matsumoto lectured on "The Helium Network Concept Born from the Failure of a Helium Liquefier." There was also a review of the entire event from Masashi Okubo, Specialist from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
This workshop was planned by the Research Cooperation Division and the Core Facility Department. It aimed to break away from the traditional "faculty-centric" operation where faculty members provisionally handle university corporate management, and instead foster active discussions for administrative and technical staff to participate in university corporate management as management personnel and professionals, not just support staff. The discussions aimed to solve the on-site problems of young and mid-career staff who "somewhat understand national trends but are now too embarrassed to ask anyone," and to "be able to interpret national trends," "be able to plan based on national discussions," and "increase the number of people who can create from scratch." To create an environment where participants could freely exchange opinions and easily voice concerns such as "I know it's important to be attentive, but I don't know how to be attentive" and "I don't know how to interpret national documents," the workshop targeted young and mid-career administrative staff, technical staff, and URAs, with department and division heads only attending as observers.
Participants commented: "Among universities..."