Tohoku University becomes 1st selected for new Japan gov't research grants

I’m afraid this approach won’t work.

Most Japanese university professors don’t understand what it means to teach students or what to expect from a class.

Throwing them into research without the basic knowledge to understand what they’re doing will only produce a lot of low-quality academic work.

I hope I’m wrong, but I do believe that real courses with really motivated instructors need to be put out there because the current research-based approach clearly isn’t working.

Also, it would be helpful if assignments were made more difficult because, in most cases, they’re a joke.

Tohoku U. not long ago had several scandals over publishing of questionable materials in foreign scientific journals. (Common enough in Japanese academia, where many papers do not survive peer reviews.) It seems research by "elites" here often fail to meet international standards.

They got start somewhere, then maybe some of the more capable? non-japan professors may be attracted to the team? on local terms 10trill, it will go!