2012 Kochi University Entrance Ceremony Address
To all incoming students: Congratulations on your admission to Kochi University.
You have all overcome the intense pressures of the college entrance exam season and successfully navigated the rigorous admissions process at Kochi University, a national university corporation, to reach this momentous day. I would like to express my deepest respect for all the hard work you have put in up to this point.
Up until now, your studies have focused on understanding and memorizing the material within a set curriculum in order to achieve good grades. In other words, this has been a passive form of learning. In contrast, the kind of learning expected of university students is self-directed and active. I hope that, starting today, you will keep this in mind as you embark on your university life.
Self-directed learning begins with each of you setting goals based on your individual strengths and asking yourselves what you need to learn and how to acquire that knowledge in order to achieve those goals. In other words, it means learning on your own how to develop strategies for solving the problems you encounter during your college years—such as determining what is necessary to solve a problem, what you need to research, whose assistance you should seek, how to interpret your findings and translate them into action, and how to evaluate the results of your actions.This is the first challenge university students must overcome. Rather than readily asking faculty members questions about things you don’t understand, you should first research the matter yourself and clearly identify what you were able to solve and what you could not. It is important to discuss these findings with faculty members afterward. There is not necessarily just one correct answer, and it is important to adopt an attitude that encourages faculty members to guide you through the learning process, rather than simply providing you with the correct answer.Unless students make a conscious effort to acquire practical knowledge and skills through daily ingenuity, their learning will remain superficial—knowledge that cannot be applied in practice or utilized in society—if it relies solely on classroom lectures. Of course, universities are constantly planning, evaluating, and refining strategies to achieve excellent educational outcomes.
The 21st century is often described as a century for building a new paradigm, yet we are still in a phase of exploration, and the world has not yet emerged from its current state of turmoil. It is precisely at times like these that we look to well-educated, capable young people to take the lead.Kochi University is currently pursuing reforms with the ambition of becoming a university that is more deeply rooted in the local community than ever before, a university that develops alongside the region as demanded by the 21st century, and a truly unique institution. Please keep these four words in mind: Chance, Challenge, Change, and Create.I hope you will view the opportunity to study at Kochi University as a golden chance, maintain a spirit of challenge at all times, shift your mindset from passive to active and self-directed learning, and ultimately create a better version of yourselves. These four Cs championed by Kochi University are goals befitting you, the students of Kochi University, who are the future leaders of the 21st century.
You are a select group of individuals who have been admitted to Kochi University and granted the privilege of studying alongside us. Furthermore, studying at Kochi University means you have earned the right to receive an education funded by the taxpayers’ money. This is a privilege reserved for the elite, and as such, you are expected to uphold a sense of pride and adhere to certain standards in addition to this right. As future leaders poised to make a difference both in this country and on the international stage, I hope that you will study not merely to assert your rights, but with a constant focus on how you can contribute to society.
Great expectations rest upon all of you studying here at Kochi University—a place that could truly be described as Tosa on the eve of its rebirth. We invite you to take the first bold step in your journey here on the Kochi University campus, together with our faculty and staff.
Congratulations on your admission.
April 3, 2012
Hiroshi Wakiguchi, President, Kochi University (National University Corporation)