Message from the President
A Message from the President
The roles that a university must fulfill lie in education, research, and contributions to the local and international communities. To this end, we are called upon to continue reforming autonomously through unceasing effort, preserving the wisdom inherited from our predecessors while creating new knowledge based on free thinking.We at Kochi University have now set a new goal: to become a “Super Regional University (SRU)—a university that supports and transforms the region,” with our roots firmly planted in the Kochi region. Under this slogan, we continue to take on the challenge of building a new model as a leading regional university that shines brightly.
Over the past 20 years since becoming a public corporation, Kochi University has undergone significant transformation.Starting with the establishment of the Faculty of Regional Collaboration in fiscal year 2015, we strengthened the teacher training functions of the Faculty of Education and reorganized the university into the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences, Agriculture, Forestry and Marine Sciences, and Science and Engineering. Following these faculty reorganizations, at the graduate school level, we established the Graduate School of Advanced Teacher Education (Graduate School of Education) in fiscal year 2018, and reorganized the master’s programs in fiscal year 2020 and the doctoral programs in fiscal year 2022.In the 2023 academic year, to prioritize “Primary Industries × DX (Digital Transformation),” we reorganized the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Marine Sciences, and in the 2024 academic year, we launched the new Department of Sports and Arts and Culture Co-creation. These are all reorganizations of our educational structure necessary for the university to make a leap forward as an SRU (Special Research University), and they represent reforms aimed at further enhancing our role as a “hub for human resource development.”
In terms of research, we are leveraging the rich natural environment of the Kuroshio region to promote diverse interdisciplinary research, with a view to contributing to regional revitalization and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Through the “Evolution Toward ‘Next-Generation Protected Horticulture’ Led by ‘IoP (Internet of Plants)’” project—launched in fiscal year 2018 under the Cabinet Office’s Regional University and Regional Industry Revitalization Grant Program—Kochi Prefecture and local higher education institutions are collaborating to accelerate research, including social implementation, aimed at promoting the region’s core industries.After the initial five-year phase concluded, the project’s achievements were highly evaluated, and it was selected for a four-year “Expansion Phase” starting in fiscal year 2023. During this phase, we aim to transfer the research outcomes to Hokkaido and Fukuoka Prefecture, as well as to Vietnam and India. Additionally, in fiscal year 2023, we submitted a joint application with Ehime University as the lead institution for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s “Facility Development Project for Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration and Joint Research through Partnerships Among Regional Core and Distinctive Research Universities,” and the application was approved.We will continue to enhance our research activities as a “hub of knowledge” that shines with its own unique character.
This year, our university marks its 75th anniversary. In May 2022, we launched the “Kochi University 75th Anniversary Commemorative Projects” and designated a two-and-a-half-year anniversary period leading up to the commemorative ceremony on November 3 of this year.To date, we have organized various commemorative events, such as establishing a “Yosakoi” performance venue on the Asakura Campus, thereby creating opportunities for interaction that bring many alumni together on campus. Furthermore, as the highlight of these commemorative initiatives, we have newly established the “Kochi University Alumni Association.”This alumni association is designed to be open not only to graduates but also to anyone with an interest in our university. The “new connections” fostered through the association’s role as a “hub for interaction” will surely serve as a source for creating new value. We sincerely hope that you will join us (membership and annual fees are free) and look forward to seeing a variety of interactions and activities unfold.
We sincerely ask for your continued support and cooperation as Kochi University strives to grow and develop as an SRU.
Profile
| Date of Birth | March 12, 1960 |
|---|---|
| Degree | Doctor of Agricultural Sciences |
| Area of expertise | Food Analysis, Food Chemistry, Food Functionality |
Work History
| August 1986 | Research Assistant, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University |
|---|---|
| February 1991 | Visiting Researcher at the German Research Centre for Biotechnology (until February 1992) |
| December 2004 | Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University |
| May 2005 | Concurrently served as Director of the Kochi University Center for Regional Collaborative Research (until June of the same year) |
| July 2005 | Concurrently served as Director of the Center for International and Regional Collaboration at Kochi University (until March 2014) |
| April 2006 | Concurrently serves as Vice President for International and Regional Collaboration at Kochi University |
| April 2008 | Professor, Department of Agriculture, Division of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Education and Research, Kochi University (Full-time faculty member, Faculty of Agriculture) |
| April 2010 | Professor, Department of Life and Environmental Medicine, Division of Integrated Sciences, Faculty of Education and Research, Kochi University (Assigned to the Faculty of Agriculture) |
| April 2014 | Concurrently served as Director of the Center for Regional Collaboration at Kochi University (until September 2018) |
| April 2015 | Professor, Faculty of Regional Collaboration, Kochi University |
| April 2018 | Also serves as Vice President for Regional Collaboration and Public Relations at Kochi University |
| April 2019 | Board Member (in charge of Regional Affairs, International Affairs, Public Relations, and Investor Relations) and Vice President, Kochi University |
| April 2022 | Board Member (in charge of Regional and International Collaboration and Public Relations) and Vice President, Kochi University |
| April 2024 | President of Kochi University |
What is the "SRU" that Kochi University is aiming for?
Super Regional University (SRU)
A university that fosters learning within the community and provides educational opportunities for everyone in the region, while connecting the region with the world through world-class research capabilities—a university capable of transforming both the region and the world
Specifically,
- We support students’ independent and proactive learning and cultivate self-reliant individuals capable of transforming both their local communities and the world.
- We will promote collaborative learning with the local community and provide diverse lifelong learning opportunities to all residents of the prefecture.
- Through the internationalization of education and research, we will promote a program that enables every student who wishes to study abroad to do so, connecting Kochi with the world.
- We aim to serve as a regional hub of knowledge and, through world-class research capabilities, contribute to the utilization of local resources and the resolution of regional challenges.
- We will serve as the core of the regional collaboration platform and act as a driving force for regional innovation.
- We are committed to university management and organizational reform that addresses the diverse needs and expectations of local governments, businesses, and other stakeholders.