以下,日本生体医工学会誌 「生体医工学(50巻6号)」に寄稿した文章を,出版元の許可を頂いて掲載いたします.編集部の皆さま,どうもありがとうございます.
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日本メディアで「内向き化」「グローバル人材」などの言葉が頻繁に使われるようになって久しい.それらの言葉の意味はさておき,グローバルに垣根の低くなった世界で,今後の日本の立ち位置を考えることは,研究者として身を立てる上でも,一社会人としても重要なことだろう.私は高校卒業後に日本を離れ, 米国で学位取得し,就職して合計13年になる.今回は自国を離れて キャリアを重ねるに従って感じたことを記したい.
1.日本人の海外進出の足場になり得る海外研究者
日本には「海外在住の日本人」という人的資本に目を向けて欲しい,と思う.私は米国生活が長くなっているが,今後も日本人のアイデンティティを失うことはないだろう.日本からの短期訪問者には「それだけ長くアメリカに住めば,もう日本のことは忘れているでしょう」と言われるのだが,それほど単純なものでもなく,日本に対する愛着もある.「キャリアと私生活と自分の好奇心を総合的に考慮して,現在の状況を選んだ」というのが妥当な説明である.
実際,中国や韓国出身の同僚を見ると, 米国の大学でPIとして活躍する 研究者であっても,本国との繋がりは依然強いように見える. 彼らの研究室では,自国出身の学生やポスドクの割合が相対的に高い.米国では採用側が人種,国籍,性別などで雇用の合否の判断をすることは禁じられている.そのため,親近感,自国での知名度などから応募者側の割合にバイアスがかかるのだろうと推測するが,いずれにせよ結果として,自国の学生が米国で研究をするための機会を提供しているのは間違いない.
海外でも,PIになったり,起業する日本人は少なからずいる.彼ら,彼女らに「日本を捨てた」というラベルを貼ってしまうのは簡単である.しかし,もっとしたたかに,海外にいる日本人を上手く利用しながら,日本人の海外進出を進める戦略を考えても良いのではないだろうか.自分自身も,今後更なるキャリアを海外で積むことになれば,その協力は惜しまないつもりである.
宣伝となってしまうが,海外在住の日本人からの働きかけとして,筆者が運営に携わった2つの活動を紹介したい.世界の理工系の学生が国際的なチームでリーダーシップ経験を育む「STeLA」 (www.stelaforum.org/jp/) と,海外大学院で学位取得を目指す国内学生に情報提供を行う「米国大学院学生会」 (www.gakuiryugaku.net/) である.いずれの活動も,日本人留学生のイニシアチブに端を発し,日本国内からの多大な協力を得て,後輩に引き継がれている.このように,居住国や立場に拘らず,日本を盛り上げていければ素晴らしいことだと考えている.
2.研究分野によって住む場所が決まる時代
研究を開始して間もない頃は意識しなかったが,理工系の研究を進めるのには,とにかく資金と設備が必要になる.宇宙工学であれば,第一線の研究ができるのは,NASA,JAXA や ESA などの少数の拠点に限られるのだろうし,素粒子物理であれば,実験を行うために世界に数個しかない数千億円の加速器が必要だと聞いている.医師や病院との積極的なコラボレーションが必要である医療工学も例外ではなく,実験を進められる場所が限られる.筆者が住んでいるボストンは,大学,研究所,企業,病院が集まっており大変恵まれている.しかし,これはどこにでもある 環境ではないことも理解している.
例えば,TPP が実施されればコストに優位性のない日本の農業が淘汰されるという懸念と同じだろう. グローバル化により人的資本が動きやすくなれば,人的,金銭的な研究資本の投入も少数のエリアに集中され,グローバルな規模での分業化が進んでいくのではないか.将来「この研究を行いたければ,世界でこの研究所に行くしかない.」という時代が来ることは避けられないし, もう到達しかけていると言ってもいい.
その時代にできるだけ自分が満足できる選択肢があるよう,世界のどこに行っても楽しく暮らせる適応力や,研究テーマの幅の広さを身につけたいと考えている.また,若いうちは様々な国や 組織で経験を積むことの価値の一端は,そういうところにあるのだろう.
以上,2点となったが,「グローバル化」に伴う雑感を記した.将来の不安は尽きないが,どんな時代が来ても,どこで働くことになっても,楽しく前向きに生きられればと思う次第である.
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以上,本文でした.長さ制限ありのエッセーでしたので,様々な論点が多角的に網羅されてる分けではありません.他にもいろいろな変化は起こっているのでしょう.例えば,お金が付きやすい(あるいはお金を付けることを正当化しやすい)分野の変化,それに伴う分野の隆盛といったなどと言った論点もあれば,法規制のレベルによって,研究する場所を研究者が選んでも良いのか,そしてそれは倫理的にどうなのか,というような論点もあるでしょう.グローバル化に伴って,今後の研究者の処遇,立場,役割などがどのように変わって行くかについて考えをお持ちの方は,何かの機会に聞かせて下さい.
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