Nara Institute of Science and Technology

Nara Institute of Science and Technology (奈良先端科学技術大学院大学, Nara Sentan Kagaku Gijutsu Daigakuin Daigaku), abbreviated as NAIST, is a Japanese national university located in Ikoma, Nara of Kansai Science City. It was founded in 1991 with a focus on research and consists solely of graduate schools in three integrated areas: Biological Sciences, Information Sciences, and Material Sciences. NAIST is one of the most prestigious research institutions in Japan.

In the "Evaluation of Achievements Related to the 2nd Medium-term Goals and Plans" (2010-2015) conducted by the Japanese government for national universities, NAIST was evaluated as exceedingly superior especially concerning research levels. (One of 5 institutions from the 86 national universities). In 2010, NAIST ranked first overall among the 86 Japanese national universities by the Japanese government in its first-ever six-year (2005-2010)assessment of national university standards and achievements.

The university has a total of about 1,000 Master's and Doctoral students in its three graduate schools (2010), among which more than 20% are international students (2017). There are about 200 faculty members and 170 staff (2010).

In 2018, NAIST underwent an organizational transformation to continue research in these areas while promoting interdisciplinary research and education across traditional fields.