1. TOP
2. About Us
3. President's Address
4. 2025_spring_commencement_ceremony

Surrounded by the gentle light of spring, we are delighted to welcome 1,803 new students to the University of Hyogo -- 1,300 undergraduates and 503 graduate students -- each with a unique personality and potential.

On behalf of the University, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations and respect to all of you who have overcome the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and have achieved your goal of entering or continuing your studies here today. I also wish to congratulate your families and other people involved who have encouraged and supported your growth.

At today's entrance ceremony, we have many distinguished guests, including Mr. Motohiko Saito, the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture, and Mr. Tomoaki Hamada, the Speaker of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly, who are here to offer their congratulations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our distinguished guests and the people of the local community who have watched over the growth of our young people.

The University of Hyogo was established in 2004 through the merger of three distinctive prefectural universities: the Kobe University of Commerce, Himeji Institute of Technology, and College of Nursing Art and Science, Hyogo. Tracing our roots back to the founding of the former Kobe University of Commerce -- the oldest of the three -- our history spans nearly a century.

Today, it is one of the leading public universities in Japan, with six faculties, nine graduate schools, five research institutes, and an attached junior high school and high school. Approximately 6,700 students and graduate students are enrolled, and the total number of graduates and alums from the three former universities exceeds 70,000.

Hyogo Prefecture, where the University is located, is made up of the former five provinces of Tajima, Tanba, Harima, Settsu and Awaji, and is said to be a microcosm of Japan because the climate and natural features vary significantly from region to region. As new students, you will study hard at one of the University's nine diverse campuses scattered across the wide expanse of Hyogo Prefecture, refining your sensibilities and cultivating sincere, compassionate character.

In addition to the wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, the University also has three sub-major programs that draw on the University's unique strength: the Regional Revitalization Education Program, the Global Leader Education Program, and the Disaster Reduction Leadership Program. These initiatives will allow you to deepen your interdisciplinary, problem-based learning and forge friendships that transcend departmental boundaries. I encourage you to take up this challenge.

The University has five affiliated research institutes in social data science, advanced science and technology for industry, natural and environmental science, nursing care for people and community, and advanced medical engineering. In addition, the University has large-scale research facilities, such as the 'NAYUTA' telescope, with a diameter of 2m and is one of the largest in Japan, and the 'New SUBARU' synchrotron radiation facility, which are not found at other universities, and these are used to promote international joint research and industry-academia collaboration. Furthermore, the Harima Campus for Science and Kobe Campus for Information Science are developing education and research in collaboration with the world's most advanced large synchrotron radiation facility, 'SPring-8', and the supercomputer 'Fugaku'.

The University's graduate schools are attached to a variety of Hyogo Prefecture facilities, including the Museum of Nature and Human Activities, which is famous for its conservation and management of forest animals and the Tamba dragon, the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork in Toyooka City, the Awaji Landscape Planning & Horticulture Academy, and Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution at HAT Kobe. They are achieving original research results while providing citizens with a wide range of learning opportunities. We encourage you to visit these educational and research institutions, which the University is proud of, and gain a new perspective.

Let me briefly touch on the reasons for the existence of the University from the perspectives of education, research and social contribution. The first reason for the existence of the University is to foster independent and flexible intellects with advanced expertise and deep cultural understanding that respond to the demands of the changing times, as well as the ability to make accurate judgments and engage in international dialogue. Through your studies, I hope you grow as an individual and acquire a global, multifaceted way of thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit.

The second reason for the existence of universities is to contribute to the solution of various issues facing the world through interdisciplinary and practical research activities. There are no borders in science and technology. Integration of diverse knowledge is essential to accelerate innovation. We will continue to promote industry-academia-government collaboration at the global level and return the results to society through university-based ventures supported by startup programs.

The third reason for the existence of universities is to show a vision of a rich and diverse future society and to create new value and hope. Our university will accelerate creative reform from the perspective of putting students first, aiming to be a space for academic knowledge trusted by the local community and recognized worldwide, based on the concept of 'No one left behind' as advocated in the SDGs.

Here, I would like to mention a few points about the trends in modern society and their impact on universities. We are living in an era where it is difficult to predict the future, with rapid advances in information science and technology typified by AI, intensifying conflicts around the world, and a global crisis of biodiversity.

DX (Digital Transformation) has completely transformed the social environment around us and overturned the very foundations of education. AI, which makes full use of big data, has the power to create images and videos instantly, let alone write papers, and it is also bringing about significant time savings in technological innovation in engineering and medicine through simulations and experiments. As the first digital generation to have studied information subjects in high school, you should not only be dazzled by the benefits of information science and technology but also use your university life to develop your critical thinking skills, which allow you to see through the flood of fake information and think and judge for yourself, and your creative thinking skills, which will enable you to present counter-proposals based on layered thinking.

Please do not be swayed by easy words that are difficult to verify and lack objectivity, and never cease your efforts to get closer to the truth. Thoughtless words can hurt people's hearts. Please bear in mind that you are responsible for your words and that words have consequences.

Not to mention the names of Ukraine, Gaza and Darfur, the wars and terrorism that continue to be repeated around the world are creating huge numbers of victims and refugees and continue to undermine the human spirit. The shift from international cooperation to a policy of power diplomacy, as typified by the tariff wars, is accelerating the trend towards xenophobic chauvinism, and even universities that have been actively promoting DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) based on the principle of diversity are being buffeted by the rough waves.

While the new coronavirus pandemic has imposed significant restrictions on cross-border movement, it has also provided an excellent opportunity to ensure access to higher education that transcends time and space by promoting the online delivery of classes that do not require students to be in a specific location to study, and the development of international joint programs with universities around the world. We will continue to connect with academic institutions worldwide, protect academic freedom and harmony, and nurture young people responsible for a diverse and prosperous future for our planet and who build bridges rather than walls between people.

When we look at the global environment, we see that large-scale weather disasters that only occur once in a century are occurring more frequently, and coupled with tectonic changes that cause enormous damage, they are undermining our lives and social infrastructure. Efforts are being made to achieve GX (Green Transformation), which is based on carbon neutrality, but we are still far from reaching the 1.5°C target to stop global warming, and the Earth is boiling over.

In order to confront these crises, which are putting the achievement of the SDGs, a shared goal of the international community, on red alert, and to realize a just society in which human freedom and dignity are protected, we, the citizens of the Earth, must pool our wisdom and act while trusting and supporting each other.

In a letter to his disciples from prison, Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to independence through the non-violent movement of civil disobedience, wrote, 'Good travels at a snail's pace.' Even if you have to wait, stop, or detour along the way, you should never give up on your goal.

The University regards you as an adult and expects you to take responsibility for your actions. Please use your university life to shape the contours of your life by observing social norms and managing yourself well. The University allows you to meet others with diverse sensibilities and relativize yourself. It is said that the friends you make during university will be lifelong friends. Please meet many fellow students with whom you can work hard together.

There are dates and times we will never forget. 5:46 am on 17 January 1995. This year marks 30 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and we have learnt the importance of preparing for disasters and being prepared for the unexpected. We have been working on creative reconstruction (Build back better) with the support of many warm hands from home and abroad. Even those of you who did not experience the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake have a responsibility to protect the lives and hearts of future generations.

Bertolt Brecht, the German playwright who represented the 20th century, wrote in his diary on 15 September 1920, 'What we create is not a commodity, but a gift.' You are the precious gift that we will deliver to the future. Let us join hands and move forward to create new value and hope in a chaotic world while sharing our joys and hardships and always being grateful for our good fortune.

Together, we can change the world for the better.

Congratulations, and welcome to the University of Hyogo.

4 April 2025
President, University of Hyogo
Makoto KOSAKA