Kenichi Iga
President, Tokyo Institute of Technology
(October 1, 2010)

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2010 Fall Entrance Ceremony of Tokyo Institute of Technology, or Tokodai, in presence of Academic and Executive Staff Members. I am delighted to accept all of you to the Graduate Schools of Tokodai. 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 355, of which 174 is for the master’s course, including 10 for the professional master’s course, and 171 for the doctoral course. I would also like to mention that 141 students are from overseas.

I am sure that Tokodai 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.

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

Our Institute is highly appreciated by the international community. In the World University Rankings published by QS in 2010, our Institute is rated 60th in the overall ranking and 4th among Japanese universities, and in technology and engineering, rated 23rd overall and 3rd in Japan. From next year, we are going to start the new PhD program which will be called “Global Doctor Graduate School” to emphasize broader academic education including internship as well as studying in one’s specialized field.

As a university which has the long tradition of “manufacturing” and foresees the future, we have made a future plan called “Tokodai Vision 2009” last year, 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, to contribute to society, and to 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, this new building called Tokodai- Kuramae Kaikan was constructed and opened last year. I strongly expect this building will lead the whole “130th anniversary project”.

As our mission clearly states, Tokodai 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 Tokodai. Please enjoy your life in Tokodai.