Call for RIKEN Early Career Leaders Program (FY 2024)

RIKEN offers early career researchers an excellent opportunity to qualify to further their career at a higher level. The RIKEN Hakubi Fellows Program established in 2018 supports junior Principal Investigators (PIs) and has played an important role in fostering talented researchers from around the world. We are now expanding the RIKEN Hakubi Fellows Program and starting a new program, the RIKEN Early Career Leaders (ECL) Program, to provide further support to junior PIs. The RIKEN ECL program offers two types of positions, Team Leader and Unit Leader, depending on one’s career stage and research plans. The program is open to junior researchers in natural and mathematical sciences including research areas bordering the humanities and social sciences. The ECL Team/Unit Leaders are expected to manage their own laboratories as fixed-term PIs and can apply to indefinite-term PI positions within RIKEN. The program fosters stimulating interactions among the ECL Team/Unit Leaders with diverse backgrounds and encourages interdisciplinary exchanges and collaborative research with scientists within and beyond RIKEN. In the program, RIKEN will provide a family-friendly workplace and offer a number of flexible work options to help researchers balance their responsibilities at work and at home.

RIKEN is now accepting applications for the positions of Team Leader and Unit Leader. Applicants may apply for both (1) Team Leader and (2) Unit Leader positions. Female researchers may also apply for (3) the Sechi Kato Program.

(1) RIKEN ECL Team Leader

This program will offer opportunities for exceptionally talented researchers who are highly motivated to establish independent laboratories to carry out ambitious research projects with high scientific or social impacts. The laboratory term will be seven years and its start-up expenses and research budget over a seven-year period will be provided.
Number of openings: Up to two
Research budget: 10 to 40 million yen per year (an average of 30 million yen, may be more after consultation)
Additional 10 million yen will be provided to female Team Leaders in the first year from the Diversity Promotion Fund.
FY 2024 call for proposals

(2) RIKEN ECL Unit Leader

This program will offer opportunities for outstanding researchers to establish independent laboratories to take on the challenge of carrying out unique and ambitious research projects. The program welcomes talented junior researchers, such as those who have recently obtained their doctoral degrees. The ECL unit leader can lead a compact and flexible laboratory hosted by one of the research centers or other RIKEN organization. The laboratory term will be five years and start-up expenses and research budget over a five-year period will be provided.

Number of openings: Up to two
Research budget: Up to 10 million yen per year
Additional 10 million yen will be provided to female Unit Leaders in the first year from the Diversity Promotion Fund)
FY 2024 call for proposals

(3) Sechi Kato Program for RIKEN ECL Program (Female Junior PI Program)

To facilitate the active participation of female researchers and to promote recruitment of talented female researchers, RIKEN launched the Sechi Kato Program in FY 2018. This program is named after Sechi Kato (1893-1989), the first female Chief Scientist of RIKEN who was a pioneer in chemical analysis and strived to nurture the growth of female researchers. The program aims to nurture female researchers who have broad perspectives and inquisitive minds, and who are expected to shine in the international arena as world-class female research leaders. The Sechi Kato program, which has been conducted under the RIKEN Hakubi program, has been expanded to the RIKEN ECL program, providing both Team Leader and Unit Leader positions to outstanding female researchers in natural and mathematical sciences including research areas bordering the humanities and social sciences.
The Sechi Kato Program provides an additional research budget of up to 10 million yen each year for the ECL Team/Unit Leaders.
We welcome applications from female researchers who are highly motivated to change the world.

Sechi Kato Program for RIKEN ECL Team Leader
Number of openings: Up to one
Research budget: 10 to 50 million yen per year (an average of 40 million yen)
FY 2024 call for proposals

Sechi Kato Program for RIKEN ECL Unit Leader
Number of openings: Up to two
Research budget: Up to 20 million yen per year
FY 2024 call for proposals

The details are: https://www.riken.jp/en/careers/programs/riken_ecl/call2024/