About NII

Global Liaison Office (GLO) - DAAD

DAAD-NII Special Program

The DAAD-NII Post-Doctorate Program1 offers to young2 German Ph.D. holders, or non-German Ph.D. holders having a special German residence permit3, a stay as postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Tokyo, Japan. The length of research stays can range from 3 months up to 2 years. During this period, postdoctoral researchers can work on their own research projects under the mentorship of a senior NII researcher. If the candidate already has a postdoctoral position at his or her university, the program of their stay can be set up in complete accordance between a supervisor in Germany and the NII mentor. Candidates looking to make contact with NII researchers can check the NII faculty pages, or alternatively contact Prof. Emmanuel Planas < planas (AT) nii.ac.jp >, the NII coordinator for the Program.

Postdoctoral researchers will receive a competitive fellowship during their stay. Supplementary funding will be provided for such research expenses as equipment, support for developers, visits to NII by established researchers or post-graduate interns, or participation at conferences. NII has developed a very proactive program of international collaboration, conducting joint research with more than 100 institutions around the world. In particular, the NII International Fellowship Program allows its postdoctoral researchers to apply for funding for inviting Master or Ph.D. students to build a small team at NII under their supervision, for stays of between 3 and 6 months. Furthermore, DAAD-IFI has a supplementary internship program to which Ph.D. can apply. This provides an additional funding opportunity for postdoctoral researchers seeking to build a young research team. To foster collaborative international research, NII also supports approximately 40 overseas established researchers for research visits of between 1 week and months. In most cases, research teams work in English.

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NII is Japan's only national research institute entirely devoted to informatics. It seeks to advance integrated research and development activities in information-related fields, including principles of informatics, network and computer architecture, software, content, and the interaction of IT with society. These activities range from theory and methodology to practical applications, and involve approximately 200 established researchers. NII promotes cross-functional interdisciplinary research, and promotes synergistic efforts between academic disciplines so as to enable progress in new and developing domains. NII advances informatics research with the goals of creating future value, furthering social and public contributions, promoting interdisciplinary approaches to information processing, and fostering partnerships among industry, government, academic, and civilian organizations.

Research at NII is structured into 4 permanent research divisions and various Research Centers. Permanent NII researchers belong to one of the divisions. At the Research Centers, the permanent research staff together with (Japanese and international) visiting researchers and contracted engineers work on strategic research on priority projects. As an inter-university research institute, NII has developed very strong research links with major Japanese universities and industrial research centers, giving postdoctoral researchers many opportunities to participate in formal or informal workshops. NII researchers have won numerous research awards (see our news). German postdoctoral researchers will benefit of all these activities supported by NII.

To apply, the candidate should contact via e-mail both NII (planas [at] nii.ac.jp) and DAAD (ifi [at] daad.de).

More information about the DAAD-NII Post-Doctorate program can be found on the DAAD-IFI website, as well examples of the high-quality international research being conducted at NII, and testimonials of former postdoctoral fellows.


  • Note 1: The DAAD-NII Post-Doctorate Program was initiated in September 2009, and is renewed on a regular basis. We are currently on the July 2024-June 2029 edition.
  • Note 2: Candidates should apply within 4 years after obtaining their doctorate degree.
  • Note 3: Non-German Ph.D. students can apply if they are enrolled in a degree programme at a German university to obtain their PhD degree at a German university. There must be a well-founded expectation that they will return to Germany after their stay abroad.

SPECIAL