CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

Graduate student education is one of the primary aims of CICASP, and we accomplish this aim through a variety of educational activities and content, all conducted in English.

Our for-credit educational programs include our CICASP Seminar in Science Communication, which runs weekly through both the spring and fall semesters, and our Fundamental Lectures in Comparative Animal Behavior, which is an intensive 8-part course run over a two week period in either May or June each year.

In addition, we also host other Science Communication events, such as Inuyama Nerds, which is our in-house version of the global phenomenon Nerd Nite.

We conduct a weekly CICASP Seminar in Science Communication which aims to develop students’ skills in scientific communication and critical thinking. The goal is to enhance your ability to communicate your own results, discuss scientific topics in English and critically assess scientific literature. As well as learning essential skills for scientists, you will have the opportunity to practise what you learn and receive feedback in a supportive, English-speaking environment. The seminars are designed to be interactive; with the focus on active learning.

CICASP seminars typically run in blocks of 2-3 sessions, each block tackling a major component of scientific communication. For example, blocks might be about things such as building an academic profile and CV, or tackling the publication process, or designing an effective presentation. Each week will build toward the learning objectives of the entire block. Workshops are coordinated and run by Andrew MacIntosh and Susumu Tomiya, with input and support from Yuko Hattori and our various associates and teaching assistants.

CICASP seminars are designed for graduate students and visiting students belonging to the Primate Research Institute, but we try to make our seminars available to students at the Wildlife Research Center where possible, either by holding specific workshops in Kyoto or opening up the seminars to video conference. Announcements are made for each block concerning availability outside of PRI. As far as possible, we strongly encourage all graduate students to attend and improve their skills in scientific communication. 

Our Fundamental Lectures in Comparative Animal Behavior is CICASP's offering toward master's student education that exists alongside similar fundamental lectures offered by all departments at KUPRI. 

This 8-part lecture series is developed and offered by CICASP faculty. In the Academic Year beginning in April 2021, this includes Andrew MacIntosh, Yuko Hattori, Susumu Tomiya and Nahoko Tokuyama, each of whom contributes related content from teh perspective of their own expertise. 

This course is designed to familiarize students with the field of comparative animal behavior and current wisdom about how and why animals behave the way they do. In the class, students learn multiple perspective on how to approach animal behavior and its evolution, which is a fundamental requirement for them to design their own research.

The course covers numerous topics of interest, including but not necessarily limited to: the science of animal behavior; mechanisms of behavior; cognition, learning and culture; communication; sex and sociality; cooperation and group living; evolution and the comparative approach; reconstructing behavior; conservation behavior.