Physics × Scientific Communicator = URA?

Have you ever heard of "URA?"

URA is an abbreviation for "University Research Administrator." A URA is a specialist with specialized knowledge and skills who is involved in research promotion aimed at invigorating the research activities of researchers at universities and other institutions. Since January 2021, I have served as a URA at the Chuo University Research Promotion Office. My duties are to support research, mainly in the form of research publicity.

I would like to begin by giving a brief introduction of a URA. The reason why URAs are active today is that researchers are finding it increasingly difficult to secure research time. The needs which society expects universities to fulfill are changing on a daily basis. The international competition involved in research is intensifying. Furthermore, researchers are faced with an excessive burden of work that is incidental to their research activities; for example, filing applications in order to secure competitive funds for financing their research and conducting overall management of research. Under these circumstances, the Science and Technology Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has launched a project entitled "Development of Systems to Cultivate and Secure University Research Administrators (URA)."[i] This project aims to create an environment where researchers can concentrate on their research, improve the quality of academic research, and invigorate research activities. Based on this project, the URA System started from 2011. Of course, positions to support research that are similar to the role of a URA existed prior to the system. Even today, there are many people who are engaged in research support work under titles other than URA.

Personally, I first heard the term "URA" six years ago when I applied for the position of URA at my previous job. (I was previously a URA at a national university in Japan.[iii])

I would now like to briefly introduce how I became involved in research support as a URA. My area of expertise is physics. I had been engaged in research on nuclear physics using accelerators and been conducting research at a facility within the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN).[iv] When I was a graduate student, I witnessed how researchers with whom I worked had difficulty securing research time. This was due to the yearly increase in the attendance of meetings and submission of paperwork. I began to wonder if there was any opportunity for human resources with expert skills to work at research institutions. However, the majority of people around me were active in academics, and there were not so many people around me with whom I could consult regarding a career path outside of academics. Besides, without many friends to consult, I was unsure of where I could obtain useful information.

During the period in which I was having such vague thoughts, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011. This caused me to consider the form of relationships between scientific technology and society. As my next step, I decided to serve as a bridge between science and society. After obtaining my degree, I worked as a science communicator[v] at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan). Through my discussions with museum visitors, I felt the expectations toward scientific technology from society. I spent time considering how scientific technology should be by engaging in various activities such as writing blog articles on research topics and developing experiment workshops in cooperation with researchers. Through these activities, I reconfirmed the need for measures to achieve more efficient two-way communication between researchers and society, including improvement to the methods used when researchers communicate information to society. I began to feel the desire to embark on a new stage of my career which involved providing close support to researchers.

Afterwards, I took my first step forward as a URA.

A URA has to handle a wide range of tasks that include procuring and managing research funds, managing and utilizing intellectual property, and planning and managing research programs. Therefore, there are many skills which are required. The functions, administrative skills, and capabilities required of a URA are summarized in the "Skill Standards for University Research Administrators (URA)."[vi] In many cases, URAs acquire their knowledge and skills while actually working to support research. Even so, I still believe that it is possible to acquire the necessary skills before embarking on a career as a URA. For example, when I was involved in accelerator experiments, we normally formed a group of about 10 to 30 people. We would then form sub-groups for each required theme of the experiment, with the experiment manager providing overall supervision. Work in the sub-groups was then executed efficiently under the guidance of the sub-group leaders. This kind of experience is similar to experience in research management. Through the aforementioned experience, I think I was able to obtain skills which are related to URAs--for example, managing schedules, building a group collaboration system, devising information sharing, ensuring risk management in the event of trouble, and facilitating flexible response. Moreover, as a science communicator, I had the opportunity to engage in dialogue with people from various positions in society, and to experience the diversity of the science communicators who were my colleagues. (Some of those science communicators had experience in overseas research/activities or corporate activities, and they all came from diverse research backgrounds.) This enabled me to acquire a broad perspective which is useful in my current work as a URA.

The number of universities where URAs are stationed is increasing. In recent years, URAs are becoming even more important due to heightened needs for strengthening research capabilities (including collaboration with industry) and for greater diversity in the procurement of funds related to university management. In view of the importance of roles fulfilled by URAs, and in recognition of the need to guarantee the quality of URAs, consideration is being given to a system for certifying the practical ability of URAs.[vii][viii] Indeed, at Chuo University, URAs fulfill the role of a "lubricant" for smooth execution of research. Personally, I will continue to take on new challenges aimed at developing an environment that enables researchers to concentrate on their research, and at achieving qualitative enhancement and invigoration of academic research.

[i] "Development of Systems to Cultivate and Secure University Research Administrators (URA)," the Science and Technology Policy Bureau; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology　https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/jinzai/ura/

[ii] URA Team, Chuo University Research Promotion Office　https://www.chuo-u.ac.jp/research/industry_ag/clip/ura/

[iii] Office of Research Strategy and Development, the Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo　https://www.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/

[iv] The Center for Nuclear Study, the Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo　https://www.cns.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/

RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science　https://www.nishina.riken.jp/

[v] Science communicator, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan)　https://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/aboutus/communicators/

[vi] "Report on Results of Development of Systems to Cultivate and Secure University Research Administrators (URA) (Creation of Skill Standards)," the Science and Technology Policy Bureau; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology　https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/jinzai/ura/detail/1349663.htm

[vii] "Report on Results of Survey Research for the Construction of Quality Assurance Systems for University Research Administrators," the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology　https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20200430-mxt_sanchi01-000005991_1.pdf

[viii] "Survey and Verification for Implementation of Certification System for University Research Administrators," Kanazawa University　http://ura-cert.w3.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/