Spring has arrived in earnest here in the Hokuriku region. I extend my sincere congratulations to all our fresh, new students as they assemble here for this matriculation ceremony on this wonderful day. I have just formally declared the admission of 1,855 students in undergraduate courses, 807 students in graduate courses, and 37 students in the special course. Accepting these 2,699 students is the greatest joy of Kanazawa University. Welcome to Kanazawa University. On behalf of the faculty and staff, I extend a heartfelt welcome to all of you.
The new coronavirus infection has had a tremendous impact on society at home and abroad over the past three years. Kanazawa University I am sure that those of you who have enrolled in our school have experienced various difficulties in your high school life and in studying for entrance examinations, which you have never experienced before. You have overcome these difficulties and are now about to take a new step forward. I would like to express my respect to all of you who have successfully passed the difficult entrance examinations and have made daily studies and efforts. I would also like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to your families who have supported your ambitions.
Today's society faces many global issues such as climate change, political economy, food and hunger, health, and infectious diseases. In addition, Russia's military invasion of Ukraine has made the international situation even more unstable. In Japan, as you know, the soaring prices of energy and raw materials are affecting the economy and people's lives. Witnessing such a situation, I am sure that you may feel anxious as well as hopeful about your future student life. Kanazawa University At the same time, we are preparing an environment that will satisfy your intellectual curiosity about learning and help you to expand your horizons in the world. I hope that you will take advantage of the rich environment at Kanazawa University and actively challenge yourselves. The university faculty and staff will work together to provide you with the utmost support. We look forward to discussing with you what you will learn at the university. In this time of drastic changes in social structure and values, your study at Kanazawa University will be an invaluable asset for your future.
The school where you are about to study Kanazawa University is located in the wonderful environment of Kanazawa, the academic capital of Japan, where the history of Kaga Hyakumangoku and rich traditional culture have been fostered. Kaga Domain Hikoso Vaccination Center The school has a history and tradition of more than 160 years, which has been inherited from its predecessor schools such as the old school the Fourth Higher School. You should be proud to be a student of Kanazawa University. We hope that you will aim high with a fresh curiosity and challenge yourself in many different ways. Kanazawa University In the Charter of Kanazawa University, a research university dedicated to education, while opening up its doors to both local and global society is the basic philosophy of . Based on this philosophy, we have set forth the human resources to be nurtured in each of the undergraduate and graduate programs as "Kanazawa University Global Standards (KUGS). The KUGS program provides students with the foundation for mastering the above and for pursuing specialized fields of study. We are also strengthening liberal arts education that integrates fields of study and so-called STEAM education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We actively support you to be active not only in Japan but also in the world as "Kanazawa University brand human resources" who are the core leaders of society.
The world is shifting its behavioral patterns from with-corona to post-corona. In a society where various social transformations are underway in a big way, I would like to share with you three tips that you will learn from me at Kanazawa University.
The first is to cherish your encounters with new people.
People learn a lot from others. It is important to meet people who are passionate about what they do. Please cherish your encounters at Kanazawa University, which is open to the world's "knowledge" and full of vitality. Please take a sincere interest in communicating with a variety of people on and off campus. You will surely meet people with whom you will have a lifelong relationship. It is important to be interested in yourself as well as the people you meet. I, myself 40 Like many of you, I entered Kanazawa University two years ago with great expectations. Kanazawa University I feel that I have grown through the activities and interactions with my friends during my time as a student at the University of California, Berkeley. 40 Even after all these years, I still keep in touch with my classmates and friends from that time, and they have become irreplaceable treasures in my life. 3 Due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection over the past two years, opportunities for face-to-face conversations have been greatly reduced. It is precisely in times like these that I feel the importance of face-to-face dialogues and casual chats. Kanazawa University I hope that in the future you will have encounters in your student life that will make you truly believe that chance encounters were inevitable.
My second word of advice is to think for yourself.
In your studies up to high school, you will have been provided with model responses. However, there will no such thing as a model response in the society that you will live in into the future. There is so much in the real world for which there is no answer, or for which there may be more than one answer. In a society without model answers, if we are to forge a path toward the future, it is crucial that we explore the issues of today and of the future and that we search for the questions and answers ourselves. It is important to develop hypotheses, verify them with evidence, and think deeply about whether those hypotheses are valid. This process is one of the keystones of university education. It will also be a critical point for your studies at Kanazawa University. The experiences that you accumulate as you face up to challenges in your life as a student are sure to become assets that will underpin your lives. Today’s textbooks could be described as an accumulation of knowledge built by our predecessors. Confronting the truths and challenges before our eyes and accumulating efforts that will lead to their solutions will, I believe, lead us to the textbooks of tomorrow. I urge you, as the leaders of the next generation, to attain “human resilience,” founded on a strong aspiration to overcome barriers, and “comprehensive knowledge” that integrates all types of knowledge. I hope that you will forge a path for society, with the courage and aspiration that you will be the ones who will solve issues and create a better society. It is my wish that you will grow into valuable people who will use “future-oriented intelligence,” the wisdom to explore future issues and help overcome them, to contribute to society. It is you who will write the textbooks of tomorrow and beyond and build the society that the future deserves. My message to you is that you can change yourselves and the future, and that the future is something that you will create yourselves. Do not be afraid of failure and take that first step toward that goal. There is much to be learned from failure. Thinking and taking action are what will forge a path toward the future. At Kanazawa University, we promote education in which students learn and grow by themselves. We are strengthening our support systems to help students think and act for themselves.
My third and final word of advice is to “compete outside your lane.”
I hope that, while at Kanazawa University, you will gain experience of “living among strangers” and “venturing outside your lane.” “Venturing outside your lane,” by which I mean placing yourself in different cultures and environments, will surely help you to grow. I highly recommend it. I believe that doing so will change the way you look at the world. My own experience of living and studying abroad left a great impression on me. It gave rise to many diverse values and I learned many things. It is also important to collaborate with people from different environments both in Japan and overseas. Interacting with people from diverse backgrounds will give you fresh perspectives from different angles.
Here is a glimpse of the research environment at Kanazawa University. Kanazawa University has several research centers of international standard, including Nano Life Science Institute Nano Life Science Institute is the "World Top Level Research Center Program" at Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (WPI) The program has been adopted as a "Research and Development Project". Based on these advanced research skills, students are expected to learn interdisciplinary knowledge as well as specialized fields and acquire the ability to gain a bird's-eye view of the entire picture of issues. Kanazawa University The University of Tokyo has an environment that will help you achieve these goals.
Learning outside your own specialization and interacting with people with different worldviews and insights from your own. This is what I mean by the “venturing outside your lane,” “boundary transcending” experiences that I urge you to take proactive steps to achieve. Through such experiences, I hope you will acquire deep general knowledge and human resilience with which to resolve issues and create new values for the future. It is my wish that you will become people who will be recognized and respected as “Kanazawa University graduates” and use “future-oriented intelligence” to lead society as it should be.
A future filled with bright promise stretches out before you. I hope that you will hold the excitement of today in your hearts and, with high aspirations, enjoy a fulfilling student life at Kanazawa University. Once again, my sincere congratulations on your matriculation.
April 4, 2023
Takashi Wada, President of Kanazawa University
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