Okayama University

Sixty-eight years ago, Okayama University was founded as a comprehensive university by a group of institutions of higher education that have played historical roles, including the Okayama-Han(domain) Medical Training School dating from the days of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 2020, our university’s Medical School will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding.

During its long history, Okayama University has managed to develop on a grand scale, with 11 Faculties, 7 Graduate schools, 3 Authorized Research Institutes, a University Hospital and Attached Schools. Our university has broad richly verdant campus in the heart of Okayama City, which has such a mild climate called “The Sunny Country .” Currently about 20,000 students, including exchange students, and faculty members devote themselves to studies in this felicitous environment.

Okayama University’s founding philosophy is expressed as “Creation of advanced knowledge and inheritance of precise knowledge .” That is, to promote stable, sustainable advancement of human society, we must always build new knowledge bases. As a seat of learning open to the public, Okayama University would like to give birth to advanced knowledge through educational, research and philanthropic activities, pass along precise knowledge to subsequent generations and contribute to the development of human society.

Okayama University is bringing this philosophy to realization through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Top Global University Project by encouraging autonomous study by its students and promoting creation of an environment and system that allows them to stretch their wings as performers able to play an active role globally. As a research university we have been chosen for MEXT’s “Program for Promoting the Enhancement of Research Universities” and have been selected by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) as a “Base for Creating Innovative Medical Technology .” While promoting support for efforts to unite divergent fields—a distinctive feature of our university—we produce world-class scientific research results.

Our university has continued its efforts to create Okayama’s own unique “academic capital,” i.e., our “academic capital conception .” Having been newly appointed president of our university, I aim to advocate a new vision of “Going beyond, toward a fruitful academic capital ,” to cross the boundaries dividing faculties or graduate schools with their own different attributes and make the outcome of that unification more substantial, and to create a “vibrant academia ” that can return society’s favors.

The many issues that human society will be facing directly in the future are predicted to involve ever more complex intertwining of diverse factors, including differences in generations, fields, cultures, ideas, national boundaries, and so on. I would like to lead with the proverbial “gentle face and kind words” as my motto. While sharing the seeds of curiosity, which is the source of knowledge, I would like to foster the world’s finest human resources who can take on the challenge of resolving these issues. I will make every possible effort to create a “fruitful academic capital” shining to the world, unique to Okayama. I thank you for your understanding and support of Okayama University.

How can we, the human race, develop and grow in a steady and sustainable manner for the sake of future generations? At Okayama University, we have the answer. It is imperative that we build up our knowledge in order to advance education and research. As a public institution of higher learning, we are committed to contributing to this advancement by providing a positive environment for the creation of higher knowledge through research and the passing on of wisdom to younger generations through education and community service.

As one of the leading universities in Japan, we aim to create and establish a new paradigm for the sustainable development of the world. We are being confronted with problems of global proportions in terms of the environment, energy issues, food supplies, economics, health, security and education. Thus, we are constantly seeking ways for humans to co-exist in harmony with nature. With this in mind, our university offers a wide range of academic fields, which become the basis of the integrated graduate schools. This not only allows us to conduct the most advanced and up-to-date research, but also provides an enriching educational experience.