Tokyo Tech academies for WISE Programs celebrate AY 2021 graduates

Published: April 25, 2022

Tokyo Tech celebrated the graduates of its Doctoral Programs for World-leading Innovation and Smart Education (WISE) at a ceremony on March 28 at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza (Taki Plaza) on Ookayama Campus. In academic year 2021, seven students graduated from the Tokyo Tech Academy for Convergence of Materials and Informatics (TAC-MI), while two students graduated from the Tokyo Tech Academy for Super Smart Society (WISE-SSS). Eight of the nine graduates were present at the ceremony.

There are currently three academies at the Institute which implement WISE Programs supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) — TAC-MI, WISE-SSS, and the Tokyo Tech Academy of Energy and Informatics (ISE). These academies manage their own educational programs, which operate across various academic disciplines and enable seamless transition between master's and doctoral degree programs at the Institute. They aim to train outstanding professionals with broad knowledge and perspectives, and are connected to Tokyo Tech's three priority research fields — next-generation element strategy, integrated energy science, digital society devices and systems.

Graduation ceremony

Prior to the graduation ceremonies for master's, professional master's, and doctoral degree students, the ceremony for WISE Program graduates of academic year 2021 was held in hybrid format. All graduates were presented with medals to commemorate their achievements in these challenging programs.

Academic year 2021 WISE Program graduates at in-person ceremony

Online participants who joined ceremony

During his congratulatory speech, Tokyo Tech President Kazuya Masu lauded the graduates for their efforts to create new value and develop their leadership skills through the WISE Programs. "I believe your discussions with professors from various fields, the advice you received from mentors of both domestic and overseas institutions, and the networking and discussions with students across disciplines have made you who you are today," Masu stated.

President Masu offering his congratulatory message

Executive Vice President for Education Tetsuya Mizumoto and the directors of each academy also shared their congratulatory messages. After this, Masari Watanabe spoke on behalf of the graduates of TAC-MI and Yue Yin gave a short speech on behalf of the graduates of WISE-SSS. Both representatives shared their memorable activities, hardships, and future aspirations, and thanked the faculty members and staff who supported them during the WISE Programs.

Graduate Watanabe giving speech on behalf of graduates of TAC-MI

Graduate Yin speaking on behalf of graduates of WISE-SSS

The Tokyo Tech community is excited to see how these highly skilled professionals embrace the global leadership roles that await them in the future. Congratulations to all the newest graduates!

All affiliations in this article were accurate at the time of the event.

Graduates with their commemorative medals on stairs of Taki Plaza

WISE Programs at Tokyo Tech academies

The MEXT-supported WISE Programs were launched in academic year 2018. The programs aim to leverage the unique strengths and capabilities of each participating university to cultivate outstanding doctoral graduates with strong academic and research prowess while carrying out systematic collaborations with other domestic and overseas universities, research institutions, and corporations.

TAC-MI began training multitalented individuals capable of promoting creative, interdisciplinary research in materials science and informatics in January 2019. WISE-SSS kicked off efforts to nurture knowledge professionals who can integrate physical space technologies with cyber space technologies as well as advanced sciences and technologies such as quantum science and artificial intelligence, in December 2019. ISE, which aims to cultivate multi-scope energy WISE professionals who will help realize a sustainable, human-centric energy society with the help of big data science, began operating in December 2020.

All three Tokyo Tech academies for the WISE Programs aim to foster outstanding, professionals with doctoral degrees through an integrated, Institute-wide curriculum.

Contact

WISE Program Group, Promotion Office for Education Programs, Student Services Department

Email tak.sui@jim.titech.ac.jp