The FY 2025 call for RIKEN Early Career Leaders Program (ECL Program) is scheduled for May 2025. As announced in the Recruiting Policy for FY 2024 RIKEN Early Career Leaders Program, this year’s call will be open to all genders.

The RIKEN ECL Program was established in 2023 under the “Measures for fostering and supporting young researchers” as an expansion of the RIKEN Hakubi Fellows Program for the development of junior PIs. This program recruits promising junior researchers from research institutes around Japan and the world who aim to become international leaders as they advance their original research.

Generous support is offered to women hired as Team Leaders and Unit Leaders, such as additional research funding of up to 10 million yen per year through the Sechi Kato Program.

This is one of RIKEN’s initiatives to realize an environment friendly to researchers of all kinds. Still, difficulty increasing the rate of women in PI positions is an issue that persists not only at RIKEN but throughout Japan, a pressing challenge that calls for action by the whole country. Hoping to start a ripple effect amidst this challenge, last year the RIKEN ECL Program held a call exclusively though the Sechi Kato Program. The call received a high number of applications of from women in a wide range of scientific fields, and the talented researchers who passed the rigorous screening will soon start their posts as Team Leaders and Unit Leaders.

This year’s call will be open to all genders, and we will continue to take and accelerate measures to realize diversity. For example, women researchers in the program will automatically be eligible for the Sechi Kato Program. Of course, the core principle of the RIKEN ECL Program remains the development of next-generation international leaders who will forge new fields of research, regardless of their gender. We look forward to receiving many applications from these future leaders.

Data for enrollment in FY 2024 (As of March 2025)

• Number enrolled through this program: 12
• Percentage woman researcher: About 41.6％
• Location of prior posts:
  Japan (including RIKEN), United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany

Call details (Some details subject to change)

Schedule:

Expected to open the call in May 2024 (for about 3 months)

Start of post:

Between August 1, 2026 and January 1, 2027

• *If you would like to start your post early, please consult when applying.

Eligibility:

All genders

• *Women researchers hired through this program will be eligible for support from the Sechi Kato Program.

Job title:

RIKEN ECL Team Leader or RIKEN ECL Unit Leader

Research fields:

Natural sciences (including mathematical science), research areas bordering/blending natural sciences with humanities and social science.

Treatment:

Fixed term. Will have the opportunity to apply to undergo screening for promotion to indefinite term employment.

Screening criteria:

Based on the academic and social importance, originality, innovativeness, and feasibility (i.e., validity of research methods and plan, candidate’s past achievements and results) of the proposed research theme.

Start-up expenses:

Please indicate initial expenses in your application, as we will provide support for a smooth lab start-up in addition to annual budget.

Mentor:

ECL Leaders receive assistance and advice from mentors (assigned to each Leader) on setting up their research team/unit, and on day-to-day laboratory management matters as well as career paths.

Support measures:

• Those eligible for support from the Sechi Kato Program can receive up to 10 million yen in research funding per year in addition to the standard budget.
• If a PI takes maternity leave or childcare leave, their post may be extended by the length of time equal to the duration of leave.
• As an all-RIKEN measure, a variety of programs are available for balancing work and personal life, including on-campus childcare facilities (in Wako, Yokohama, and Kobe), support for returning to work after a break, and subsidies for hiring support staff for researchers with family priorities (i.e., pregnancy, childcare, and nursing care).
• Please consult us if you are interested in spousal hiring or have any questions.