Address at the 2021 Kochi University and Graduate School Entrance Ceremony
To all those who have been admitted to Kochi University, congratulations on your admission. On behalf of the current students, faculty, and staff, I extend our warmest congratulations and a heartfelt welcome.
To all parents, congratulations.
Amid the ongoing hardships of daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic, I join you in celebrating from the bottom of my heart that you have successfully become undergraduate and graduate students.
Starting today, you have become part of Kochi University—in other words, members of “Team Kochi University.” Everyone in Team Kochi University is both a friend and family, encouraging one another and striving together to improve.
Kochi University aims to become a “Super Regional University”—a national university that is deeply rooted in the local community and evolves continuously through shared development with the region. To date, we have been working on organizational reforms to build the foundation necessary to achieve this vision. Our undergraduate programs were reorganized between 2015 and 2017, and our graduate and master’s programs began operating under a new structure last April. We are currently preparing to launch a new doctoral program next April, which will establish a framework to guide you into the world of advanced research.
First and foremost, I encourage you to gain practical knowledge and experience through your studies at the university. Through our university’s community-based collaborative education program, I hope you will hone your skills through a combination of classroom learning and on-site internships and practical exercises, enabling you to truly shine. Additionally, to broaden your international perspective, we are currently preparing a program that offers study abroad opportunities to all interested students. At present, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conditions for traveling abroad have not yet been established, but we sincerely hope that things will return to normal in the near future.
In recent years, we have been particularly focusing our efforts on community-based research conducted in collaboration with Kochi Prefecture, Kochi University of Technology, and Kochi Prefectural University—initiatives that are at the forefront of global innovation.This initiative is titled "The Evolution Toward 'Next-Generation Protected Horticulture' Led by IoP (Internet of Plants)." It aims to transform protected horticulture—a major industry in Kochi Prefecture—by accumulating and analyzing plant physiological data during the crop growth period in the cloud, and then applying this data to a production system utilizing AI. Since the system encompasses everything up to shipment management, we have high hopes that it will become an agricultural system capable of generating sufficient profits even for those with limited knowledge or experience, while simultaneously reducing the labor required.Our goal is to transform Kochi’s protected horticulture—which currently boasts the highest productivity in Japan—into a model that leads global agriculture.
The information society will continue to evolve and develop in the years to come. To all of you who will be at the forefront of this new era, I have one request. The world is engaged in a wide range of initiatives aimed at achieving the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). While pursuing your studies at this university, I encourage you to broaden and deepen your global perspective. And I hope you will find a way of life that suits you.
Please look forward to the continued growth of Kochi University.
And please make the most of this opportunity to hone your skills right at the heart of it all.
Let me say it again.
Congratulations on your admission.
Welcome to Super Regional University.
April 1, 2021
Katsutoshi Sakurai, President, Kochi University