University's Global Strategy and its Possible Contribution toward a Development of Internationally Attractive Educational Programs

17年度文部科学省「大学国際戦略本部整備事業」の公募を機に、大学は国際戦略として各大学独自のモデルを提示し、それを日々の実践を通しグッドプラクティスとして実現することによって自ら批判的に検証することが求められることとなった。新潟大学の国際戦略構想は、優れた研究者グループを組織的に支援することを通して、環日本海地域の中で拠点となる新たな分野横断的な学問領域を開拓することを目的としている。一方、このような大学としての組織的な研究支援の帰結として、学生・地域に対する教育面での貢献もまた強く求められるようになった。戦略性を持つ研究者支援がどのような形で大学教育に貢献し、さらに留学生のための魅力ある教育プログラムとして実を結ぶことが出来るのか、国際戦略本部の初年度の活動を振り返りながら考察する。In 2005, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) launched a funding project "Strategic Fund for Establishing International Headquarters in Universities." Since then, universities in Japan have been required to publish international strategies to shape their own international exchange models, and critically prove and evaluate these strategies through their everyday practice. Niigata University has also designed a set of international strategies, which aims at 1) the cultivation of new and unique fields of interdisciplinary studies, and then 2) the formation of research centers which deserve international acknowledgement through organized supports for promising researchers and their research projects. As such, our international strategies are basically meant as a research development model; however, there is a growing demand for educational contribution to local society as well as to our students as a result of our strategic support activities. In this paper, I would like to consider how the strategic international research exchange support may bring out not only an internationally-acknowledgeable excellence of research projects but also educational programs attractive for international students by reflecting on our own support activities during the first year of our Headquarters for Global Strategy