The Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research (C-PiER) is charged with the mission of orchestrating transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research within Kyoto University thorough flexible, dynamic advancement of initiatives across academic disciplines both among different departments and across the entire university. C-PiER supports research and educational groupings of researchers from different disciplines, known as “Units.” As of April 2016, 34 Units were affiliated with C-PiER, up from 9 when the Center was first established in 2011.

There are numerous programs and systems to support outstanding research and education under the principles of “selection and concentration,” but these tend to be shaped by pre-existing perceptions. In C-PiER, however, the emphasis is on people just as much as research content. The Center seeks to create opportunities for researchers to work intensively in healthy competition, to support the research and educational groupings that grow out of such opportunities across disciplines, and to bolster the foundations of academic activity at Kyoto University on an ongoing basis.
　With a view to fostering meaningful connections with donors, this fund provides information on activities open to participants from beyond the university, and solicits feedback on activities and ideas on mobilizing the university’s academic platform.