President’s Address at the Fall Entrance Ceremony 2009

Kenichi Iga
President, Tokyo Institute of Technology
(October 1, 2009)

It is my great pleasure to hold the 2009 Fall Entrance Ceremony of Tokyo Institute of Technology in presence of Academic and Executive Staff Members. I am delighted to welcome all of you who have been accepted to the Graduate Schools. I’d like to express my sincere respect to the family who has supported students until now. The total enrollment of the fall entrance is 344, of which 177 is for the master’s course, including 12 for the professional master’s course, and 167 for the doctoral course. I would also like to emphasize that 225 students are from overseas.

I am sure that Tokyo Institute of Technology will provide you with high-quality education and various research opportunities. I sincerely wish you to study eagerly on your own will and promote your self-discovery in a free atmosphere of our Institute.

Tokyo Institute of Technology, or Tokodai, is the largest science and technology university in Japan. Our Institute has always been a front runner and played a key role as a reliable leader in science and technology with the long tradition of “manufacturing: Monotukuri”, and we will celebrate the 130th anniversary in 2011.

Our Institute is highly appreciated by the international community. In the World University Rankings published by the Times Higher Education-QS in 2008, our Institute is rated 61st in the overall ranking and 4th among Japanese universities, and in technology, rated 21st overall and 2nd in Japan.

As a university which has the long tradition of “manufacturing” and foresees the future, we have made a future plan called “Tokodai Vision 2009”, which can be summarized as follows:

“Tokyo Institute of Technology regards nurturing ‘knowledgeable, skilled, ambitious, peace-minded and harmony-seeking scientific creators of the times’ to be its primary objective. We will endeavor to enhance the Institute’s overall standing from a global perspective, prioritize strengthening fields capable of contributing to society, and create new values. We will respect freedom and diversity, pursue fairness, and strive to engender the trust of the world.”

Our alumni club "Kuramae Kogyokai" is one of our main strengths. Having over 90,000 graduates in the world, Tokyo Institute of Technology has greatly contributed to global industry. Our Institute is supported by a great number of excellent graduates who actively engage in various fields. As already mentioned, our Institute will celebrate the 130th anniversary in 2011. It will be a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our strength to society, industry and the international community through various exciting projects. As a joint project with Kuramae Kogyokai, a new building called Tokyo Tech Front (TTF) was constructed and opened last May. I strongly expect this building will actually be a “front” runner to lead the whole “130th anniversary project”.

As our mission clearly states, Tokyo Institute of Technology aims to develop global human capabilities. I would like to ask each of you to grow up to be a noble person who has a deep feeling of sympathy for others in our atmosphere of freedom.

Finally, I wish to express my hearty welcome again to all of you, and wish you great success in your challenges in Tokyo Institute of Technology. Thank you very much for your attention.