Motivation for FRIS CoREFRIS CoRE:
Startup support proposed by early-career researchers

FRIS CoRE is an institution where “startup support” proposed by early-career researchers at FRIS, aimed at promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, will push the frontiers of knowledge.

In order to nurture scientists to become true leaders of the next generation, a new platform will be needed to produce innovative knowledge and value. This new platform is FRIS CoRE, where early-career researchers, with a wide range of advanced knowledge, skills, and sensibilities come together, share ideas, and carry out their own research.

Of course, such an environment can only exist if there are people there to use it. FRIS is home to a large number of early-career researchers with diverse skills and ideas, gathered from various backgrounds and from across the globe; therefore, we decided to establish FRIS CoRE with the aim of providing an environment to facilitate the creation of innovative disciplines at a world-leading level of research.

POINT 01 A truly unrestricted research environment

・If researchers do not have enough discretion regarding research policies and spaces,
will they need to adapt their ideas and skills to the environment in which they work?

・FRIS CoRE will provide a non-restricted environment where researchers can accomplish their objectives.

POINT 02 From startup funding to a startup environment

・When the startup budget is insufficient, the project must be scaled down to a level where laboratory equipment and budget can be supported. Moreover, research speed will be significantly reduced if equipment needs to be purchased.

・Tohoku University owns the state-of-the-art equipment, but the lack of basic laboratory equipment hampers its use ...

・Provide a basic research environment to support a wide range of fields, shortening time needed to set up projects.

・Researchers can test out fresh ideas without scaling down their projects, through the combination of routine experiments in the basic research environment and cutting-edge analysis using shared facilities available at the University.

POINT 03 A basic environment under one roof to accelerate interdisciplinary collaboration

・Work spaces and buildings are divided into research areas, limiting opportunities for day-to-day interactions that can spark interdisciplinary collaboration.

・The more interdisciplinary research there is, the more researchers need to access equipment from a wide range of fields on a routine basis, and the physical separation of facilities slows and scales down research progress.

・Provide a basic environment supporting a variety of fields under one roof, and encourage ambitious projects that transcend disciplinary boundaries.

・In the field of natural sciences or humanities/social sciences, for both theoretical and experimental projects, FRIS-CoRE will promote interaction and cultivate interdisciplinary ideas.

The Logo of FRIS CoRE

The logo consists of a number of small triangles representing basic research equipment, which combine to form a trapezoidal base. From a three-dimensional view, the height of the triangle gradually increases to form a staircase-like design. Creating new disciplines through the integration of different fields is not like climbing a mountain that already exists, but creating one to climb up into the future. We hope that FRIS CoRE will support early-career researchers in their quest to reach the top as fast as possible.