About NII

1st call of 2022"NII International Internship Program" Guideline for Candidates

The NII International Internship Program is an exchange activity with students from institutions with which NII has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement. This incentive program aims at giving interns the opportunity for professional and personal development by engaging in research activities under the guidance and supervision of NII researchers.

This FY2022 1st call establishes internship stays in Tokyo, after two years (FY2020, FY2021) of restrictions due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Nevertheless, note that current still unstable conditions related to COVID-19 epidemic requires special measures. Refer to paragraph 10. and 11. below for more information.

1. Target candidates:

The NII Internship Program is open to Master's and PhD students who are currently enrolled at one of the partner institutions that have signed an MOU agreement with NII.

Students who have already obtained the Doctor of Philosophy degree are ineligible for the NII International Internship Program. If accepted, candidates are expected to maintain their enrolment status at their home institutions for the full duration of their Internships.

2. Application procedure:

Candidates

Consult with your supervisor and your home institution as to their own internal procedures for handling applications, and inform them of your intention to apply.
Refer to the list of available research topics.
We strongly recommend candidates to make a contact with NII supervisors whom they would like to conduct research project. (e-mail correspondence etc.).
Questions regarding any of these topics should be directed to the NII project supervisor who proposed them. For other questions, please contact your home institution or the NII International Affairs and Education Support Team <nii-internship[at]nii.ac.jp>.
Choose up to three topics out of the list of Research topics.
Fill out the NII International Internship Program application form.
Submit through the contact person designated by your home institution:
- Attach your CV, indicating clearly any and all past employment and educational history.
- If your application is supported by your home institution, it is then forwarded to NII.
- Note that no direct application from candidates is accepted.

Please note that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) maintains a list of foreign entities with which it has security concerns. Candidates currently or formerly associated with institutions or companies on this list will be subject to additional screening, which could result in their being deemed inadmissible to the program.

Please refer to https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2022/0310_002.html

Although in principle NII Internship projects could potentially serve in fulfilment of the candidates' degree requirements at their home institutions, this is not guaranteed by NII. Students seeking an internship at NII in fulfilment of their own institution's degree requirements (such as a co-supervised Master's project or other project) should consult with their supervisor before applying.

Partner institutions

Collect application forms and after the selection, send them to NII by e-mail.
MoU institutions may send a ranked list of up to two applicants meeting the institution's best standards of academic performance and research potential.
Note that NII researchers may not necessarily give priority to the top-ranked candidates when deciding which interns they are willing to supervise. Other reasons for non-selection could include the ineligibility of a candidate due to government restrictions, competitive selection, or other limits on the total number of interns that NII is prepared to receive.

3. Application deadline:

Applications must be received at NII by May 27th, 2022, at 17:00 JST
Your home institution may set an earlier deadline. Please consult with your home institution for details.

4. Selection:

Screening of candidates is conducted by each NII supervisor first, then final selection is made by GLO and NII directors meeting.

5. Notification:

Notification of successful candidates will be made around late June, 2022.
NII will notify the contact person of each partner institution.

Important: acceptance as an NII Internship student is subject to the condition that the student works on the approved project topic, and complies with NII and Japanese government regulations. In the event that these conditions are not respected, NII may take appropriate action that may include the termination of their internship.

6. Sojourn expenses:

5,700 JPY per day as sojourn expenses will be covered by NII while intern students are staying at NII. Medical insurance will also be provided.
Transportation expenses are in principle not paid.
Possible expenses due to epidemic quarantine and medical tests are in principle not supported by GLO.

7. Overseas travel insurance:

NII will provide medical insurance for internship students at no cost, which covers students in most situations (except for pre-existing / chronic conditions, dental care, vaccinations, and certain other conditions). Under the terms of the insurance program, students must arrive in Japan at most one day prior to the commencement of their internship, and leave Japan no more than one day after their internship ends.

We recommend that interns consider whether they may need other types of insurance, and if so, arrange it before arriving in Japan. Examples include travel insurance to cover the cost of flight cancellations, lost baggage, and so on.

Important: by Japanese law any visitor residing in Japan for more than three months must make contributions to the national health insurance program. Internship students are liable for payment of an insurance fee of approximately 1000 JPY per month to the local government of their residence. Students must follow the necessary administrative payment procedures at their local municipal office.

8. Final evaluation:

At the end of their internship, students are expected to submit an NII International Internship Program Report outlining the outcomes of their project. In writing their reports, interns should take care to respect any restrictions on confidential information or on intellectual property that may have been required by NII or their home institution. After the completion of the internship period and the submission of their report, NII will issue a certificate of completion.

9. Time frame:

Interns accepted for this call should arrive before end of March 2023. Exceptional cases should be discussed beforehand. The duration of the internship should be also discussed with NII supervisors. The internship activities should be for a period of 60 to 180 days excluding travelling days. A minimum of 2 months stay is compulsory.

Visa application procedure will be instructed to the successful candidates after the selection.

10. COVID-19 Vaccination:

All internship students coming to NII must have been vaccinated as the Japanese Government recommends it in order not to be subject to quarantine at your arrival in Japan. As of April 2022, this involves three shots of one of the vaccines admitted by the Japanese Government.
Please refer to https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page24e_000317.html

It may be the case that further shots are required by the Japanese Government.

All students must send to NII the official documents acknowledging that they have been vaccinated. We will not admit students that do not send us these documents.

11. Consequences of COVID-19 epidemic:

Due to the unstable status of the COVID-19 epidemic, be aware that it might be the case that the Japanese Government installs further containment periods. We want to inform you that if the situation would become as serious as to threaten your life, we might require you to repatriate to your university or your origin country. Under such situation, the internship student research work would continue as a remote on-line internship.