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The Future Vision of Kanazawa University “Kokorozashi”

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The Future Vision of Kanazawa University “Kokorozashi” Version UP 2024

The Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred on January 1, 2024, and the Noto heavy rain that occurred in September 2024 caused extensive damage in various areas, especially in the Noto Peninsula. We would like to express our deepest sympathies to all those affected by these disasters. The affected communities are still far from returning to their normal lives, but we will continue to make every effort toward the earliest possible restoration, recovery, and reconstruction of the region.

In the immediate aftermath, Kanazawa University mobilized all of its capabilities to respond to the initial stages of these disasters. At the end of January, we established the Noto Resilience and Revitalization Center, and we built systems to respond to the earthquake recovery with a view to achieving a medium- to long-term recovery. Under an unwavering philosophy and Kokorozashi (aspiration) to “contribute to society through ‘Future-oriented Intelligence’ based on an All Kanazawa University approach”, we aim to bring together our Future-oriented Intelligence, create new value in Noto, demonstrate the society of the future, and disseminate this vision to the world. Through these efforts, we will continue to make efforts as an academic organization to assist the earthquake recovery.

 

Formulating The Future Vision of Kanazawa University – “Kokorozashi”

Kanazawa University was ?founded in 1862 as Kaga Domain's Hikoso Vaccination Center. We are a comprehensive university that has inherited the history and traditions of our predecessor schools, including the Fourth Higher School, Ishikawa Normal School, Ishikawa Youth Normal School, Kanazawa Higher Normal School, Kanazawa Medical College, and Kanazawa Technical College.?

????After I was appointed Kanazawa University President in April 2022, I formulated an unwavering vision for the future of Kanazawa University - Kokorozashi. This built on the history established by our predecessors and our basic philosophy of being “a research university dedicated to education, while opening up its doors to both local and global society”, as stated in the Charter of Kanazawa University. I presented Kokorozashi both within the university and the society in May of the same year.

Our goal is to contribute to society through “Future-oriented Intelligence”, which means exploring and overcoming future issues, as well as solving current issues, by utilizing two perspectives – local and global.

With this in mind, our research, education, and administrative aspirations are as follows: Research: Enhance ourselves as global research bases through the development of innovative, world-class research. Education: Produce core leaders of international society as “Kanazawa University Graduates”  Administration: Realize sustainable and autonomous administration that creates a virtuous cycle of people, knowledge, and society”.

These three aspirations are closely related to each other. Research and education form a positive loop with a mutually positive impact. At the same time, this is supported by solid administration and management. The vision of Kanazawa University is to integrate these three functions and contribute to society through “Future Oriented Intelligence”.

Building on our basic philosophy, our vision for the future – Kokorozashi – and aspirations for research, education, and administration have led us to develop missions for what Kanazawa University should aim for at this stage, and individual action plans for what Kanazawa University needs to do with urgency.

 

Measures Initiatives since Formulating the Future Vision of Kanazawa University “Kokorozashi”, and Revisions.

It has been about two years since we presented the future vision of Kanazawa University “Kokorozashi”. We have decided to review on our initiatives and revise the Kokorozashi for the next generation. To date, We have been striving to realize Kokorozashi with an all Kanazawa University approach, in which students, faculty, and staff transcended their respective positions and worked together with mutual respect and collaboration. Their efforts have been successful in research, education, and administration.

In terms of research, we are implementing various initiatives under the Interfaculty Institute for Frontier Science to accelerate our contributions to society through future-oriented intelligence driven by basic, applied, and social empirical research. In April 2023, we established the Experimental Research Center for Envisioning the Future, which will serve as the core of our demonstration research. Kanazawa University was also selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for the “Program for Forming Japan's Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS)” with the aim of forming world-class bases for discontinuous innovation through the fusion of the humanities, sciences, and medicine to lead social change in this unpredictable era. Vision Incubate Co., Ltd., a venture capital company in which we have a 100% stake, began operations in August 2023. we will further contribute to society by improving our research capabilities as a global research university and implementing them in society.??????

In terms of education, we are promoting an integrated education and support system from elementary education to graduate school under the Interfaculty Institute for Future Education. Selected for the Science and Technology Challenge Program for Next Generation, we offer a long-term, seamless training program for elementary, junior high, high school, and technical college students. In addition, since 2024, we have greatly expanded the admissions capacity for our bachelor’s degree programs in the fields of digital technology and tourism sciences.  In academic year 2025, we will open a new graduate school connected to the College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation. We are very much looking forward to more highly motivated students deciding to enter and pursue studies in the doctoral program. To this end, we will also promote the initiatives of the Strategic Project for Development of Doctoral Students and Research Promotion (HaKaSe+). At the same time, we also offer field- and objective-tailored reskilling programs for working people seeking to acquire new skills and knowledge and improve their abilities to help them respond to changing social conditions and solve social issues.??

??In terms of management, Kanazawa University was selected by MEXT in November 2022 for the National University Management Reform Promotion Project. Through these efforts, our university has built a foundation for investing in people and promoting projects strongly toward its ideal of being a global research university with multiple world-class research bases. In addition, under the coordination of the Hokuriku Economic Federation, we will further enhance the HOKURIKU Open Platform for Co-creating the Future, which is jointly operated by four national universities in the Hokuriku region, including our university. Through this organization, we will accelerate open innovation through industry-academia-government collaboration.

????????In May 2023, the G7 Education Ministers' Meeting Excursion in Toyama and Kanazawa was held at our Kakuma Campus. Ministers from G7 countries and representatives of international organizations visited our university and talked directly with students and faculty. It was a very valuable opportunity. The acceptance of Japanese students abroad and students from abroad studying in Japan, which had previously been affected by the COVID-19 disaster, is also recovering and expanding. Our University continues to make efforts as a research university, while paying close attention to global developments.

These achievements will become stepping stones for Kanazawa University to achieve our aspirations. Under our revised Kokorozashi, we present a timeline for the next two years toward the ideal Kanazawa University. All members of our organization will work together based on an All Kanazawa University approach to reaffirm our goal of “contributing to society through ‘Future Oriented Intelligence’”. As a research university, we will continue to push forward with education and research, and contribute to the creation of future value.

 

 

(Reference) Previous university reform policies

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