１. Purpose of the Ambitious Special Assistant Professors System
Hokkaido University has established the Ambitious Special Assistant Professors (hereinafter referred to as “ASAP”) System for the early development of outstanding doctoral human resources and the formation of diverse career paths. The ASAP System is designed to secure posts for young researchers who can contribute to the university’s research and education by hiring and training outstanding doctoral candidates with high potential and research ambition as specially appointed faculty members at an early stage. During the term as ASAP, the candidate will improve his/her research skills in an optimal research environment and will also be provided with a skill improvement program offered by the university. After the term as ASAP, it is possible to apply for academic positions in the department or expand one’s career path by starting a business or finding employment in the private company by making the most of one’s academic career. Through the ASAP program, we aim to nurture young researchers so that they can become leaders in various fields of society, including industry, and thereby develop human resources who can contribute to solving global problems.
２. About Ambitious Special Assistant Professors
（１）Who is eligible to apply for the open recruitment?
A person who meets all of the following requirements may apply for the position of ASAP
① Applicants must hold a doctoral degree from the Hokkaido University (including those who are expected to obtain such a degree at the time of application).
② Those who are within 3 years of obtaining the above doctoral degree at the start of employment .
（２）Duties
In addition to educational and research duties, the following duties will be performed.
① Planning and operation of doctoral fellowship programs, etc.
②Planning and implementation of graduate education programs conducted by the Institute for the Advancement of Graduate Education
（３） Term of employment
2 years (no reappointment) *However, if hired in the middle of a fiscal year, the term of employment shall be until the end of the second fiscal year.
（４）Research funds (expenses)
The prescribed research expenses will be paid.
（５） One’s post
The applicant will be affiliated with both the Creative Research Institution and the department to which he/she is assigned. (The applicant can choose the department to be assigned to. Applicants must obtain the consent of the representative faculty member of the laboratory in which they wish to conduct research.)
３. Features of the Ambitious Special Assistant Professors System
（１）This system will be implemented in an integrated manner as part of the efforts to secure an exit from the Doctoral Fellowship Program, thereby establishing a consistent human resource development system for young researchers.
（２）About the personnel we are looking for
-Recruitment is not limited to those who aspire to work in academia, but also to those who conduct research with the intention of starting a business or finding employment in the private company.
-It widely accepts candidates who meet the requirements, including doctoral students who are not participating in the Doctoral Fellowship.
-In addition to excellence in their field of expertise, applicants will also be evaluated on their flexibility in their research and career path ideas, as well as their pioneering orientation. In addition, experience in capacity building through a doctoral fellowship will also be evaluated.
（３） About activities
① Research activities will be conducted at the desired department, etc. (Laboratory, etc.) as the research site to improve research skills (the research effort shall account for 60% or more of the work). In order to secure the research effort, students are allowed to assist in supervising graduation, master’s, and doctoral research, but are not required to take on a position as supervisor or sub-supervisor. In addition, the ASAP will not be required to attend classes at the assigned department, take part in freshman education courses offered by the assigned department as the responsible department, or perform administrative duties.
② Participation in the planning and operation of graduate school programs and doctoral fellowship programs at the Institute for the Advancement of Graduate Education.
③ ASAP will participate in the following programs offered by the Creative Research Institution to acquire skills in their field of specialization and others, such as educational skills, management skills, and skills for choosing a career path.
１）There will be researchers’ exchange meetings to interact with each other from multiple perspectives
２）SDGs seminar for researchers
３）Seminars related to social implementation using research results will also be take place
（４）It is expected that your term of office of the ASAP system will be an important steppingstone in each individual’s career design.
It is not necessary to aim for a major accomplishment to be completed in your term of office, but emphasis is placed on creating a foothold for the following years. In addition, the career design of ASAPs includes not only aspirations for career advancement in academia, but also directions for utilizing their research in the private company. For example, it could be a period of time to take on a research project that expands the research field and broadens the scope of defensive research for a paid post that one can apply for in the future, or it could be a period of time to slide into research for practical applications to use the research to benefit society in the private company or in a company startup.