From April 2020, the CHAIN will start a new graduate-level education program integrating humanities and sciences. Master and Ph. D students majoring humanities, social sciences, neuroscience, and computer science in graduate schools at Hokkaido University can participate in the program provided by the CHAIN. Participants will engage in interdisciplinary joint research on one (or more) of the four main topics – the self, consciousness, sociality, and rationality. Courseworks for acquiring basic and advanced skills and knowledge in related topics will also be provided.
The program consists of three modules.
- Program-based learning module
Participants will take the coursework for acquiring knowledge and skills that are not provided in a graduate school they originally belong to. - Platform learning module
It is the core module for the entire program. All the participants are required to attend both the summer and the winter schools every year where international scholars actively working on the front lines of interdisciplinary research are invited. Participants can broaden their knowledge of cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on the four major themes, and entering into the international research network by interacting with guest lecturers.
- Practical-learning module
Participants are required to engage in international or domestic research internships for pursuing occasions for new interdisciplinary research collaborations. Business internships at collaborating IT or AI-related companies will also be available for testing what they learned in the program in practice. It is promoted to use the summer and winter schools as an opportunity for finding suitable places for the internships.
Those who get through the program with credit are entitled to receive a diploma.
CHAIN Program Schedule
- Beginning of April 2020 – Orientation (will be held multiple times)
- End of April 2020 – Student Application Period (20 spots will be made available for 1st Year Master’s Students. Additionally, a small number of spots will be open to 2nd Year Master’s Students and 1st Year Doctoral Students. [Selections will be held in the event that the number of applicants exceeds the number of open positions])
- June 2020 [Summer Term] – CHAIN Program Start
- August 24~28, 2020 [Scheduled] – CHAIN Summer School 2020
- Beginning of January 2021 [Scheduled] – CHAIN Winter School 2020
Expectations for Participating Students
- Must be enrolled as a regular student in a Graduate School at Hokkaido University.
- Must be interested in research being conducted at the meeting point between the human and social sciences, neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence (e.g., Machine Learning) and be willing to actively learn basic knowledge concerning all of these fields.
- English skills are required.
- It is preferable that students major in one of the following research fields : Human and Social Sciences, Neuroscience, or Information Science and Technology.