President's Address: AY 2026 Entrance Ceremony

To all our new students, congratulations on your admission to Gifu University.

We are extremely pleased to have 1,356 new undergraduate students and 700 graduate students join us this year. I am overjoyed to share this new beginning with all of you as we embark on a new chapter in our lives.

You now stand at the starting line of a new chapter in your lives, filled with great anticipation and a measure of uncertainty about the university years that lie ahead. On this auspicious occasion, I would also like to extend my heartfelt congratulations and deepest gratitude to the families who have supported you on your journey thus far, as well as to your high school teachers and all others who have contributed to guiding you to this moment.

This year as well, entrance ceremonies will be held in two parts--one for graduate students and one for undergraduate students--and a welcome ceremony will also be conducted for those entering the undergraduate program. I sincerely hope that you will regard this day as a meaningful and positive starting point for your life at the university.

Now, I would like to offer some brief insights into Gifu University. As a comprehensive general university, Gifu University consists of four faculties and two schools: the faculties of Education, Regional Studies, Engineering, and Applied Biological Sciences, and the schools of Medicine, and Social System Management. Although Gifu University was officially founded in 1949, our institution's history can be traced back to the founding of Gifu Normal School in 1873, making it one of the oldest universities in Japan.

Among these, the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, originally established in 1923, underwent a reorganization in 2025. With the establishment of four departments-- Applied Bioscience and Chemistry, Food and Agricultural Science, Biosphere Environmental Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine, the faculty now offers a comprehensive framework in which students can pursue a broad and integrated study of food, life sciences, and the environment.

Both the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Medicine were founded in the 1930s. However, I must add that Gifu University Hospital has roots in an institution formed by the amalgamation of Gifu Public Hospital with a medical school and built in Tsukasa Town, Gifu City, in 1875. Last year, we held commemorative ceremonies for the 80th anniversary of the School of Medicine and the 150th anniversary of the University Hospital.

Furthermore, Gifu University has established a well‑developed framework for graduate education. In 2025, the Graduate School of Social Systems Management was inaugurated, bringing the total number of graduate schools at Gifu University to nine, including two united graduate schools for which Gifu University serves as the core institution, as well as one jointly established graduate school. Among them, the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, which offers master's degree programs, provides interdisciplinary education that integrates engineering with applied biological sciences, and is also distinguished by its incorporation of design thinking into the learning process. Even for those of you who are still early in your undergraduate studies, the environment is well in place for graduate study to be a clear and attractive option to begin aiming for.

Over the past several years, society has undergone profound changes at an unprecedented pace. Generative artificial intelligence has spread rapidly, the challenges of climate change have grown ever more severe, and instability in the international landscape appears only to worsen. Each of these issues has a deep and direct bearing on the lives of every one of us, as well as on the future that lies ahead for you.

Gifu University shares the mission, underpinned by the Tokai National Higher Education and Research System (THERS)ー"Make New Standards for the Public"ーand, guided by the philosophy of "Learning, Exploring, and Contributing," has long been committed to education, research, and public service. By learning together with the local community, advancing outstanding research, and creating new values, we seek to contribute to the resolution of regional and societal challenges. With this aspiration firmly in mind, we continue to move forward with steady determination.

What Gifu University strives to achieve is a vibrant environment in which people from diverse backgrounds work together across the boundaries of faculties and organizations, generating new knowledge and ideas and applying them for the benefit of society. Creating and sustaining such a positive and forward‑looking cycle is one of the university's prime objectives.

These efforts have led to notable advancements in research and education. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Gifu University has made remarkable gains since 2019. Moreover, in the performance-based allocation of government grants, we rank among the very top institutions. Gifu University's initiatives in education, research, and social engagement have received high acclaim, and these achievements stand as clear testimony to the steady and substantial advancement of the educational environment in Gifu University.

Now, I would like to speak about "learning," which will form the core of your life at the university in the years ahead. At Gifu University, a wide range of academic disciplines is offered, and each field is supported by faculty members with deep expertise and extensive experience who are actively engaged in both education and research. While you will, of course, pursue specialized studies within the faculty and department you have chosen, your learning need not be confined to that alone; you will also have ample opportunities to explore a broader spectrum of academic fields.

In particular, the Campus-Wide Core Curriculum offers a wide array of courses that allow students to learn beyond the boundaries of their individual faculties. By venturing into fields that differ somewhat from your own area of specialization, you will no doubt encounter new perspectives and ways of thinking.

Moreover, as a member of THERS, Gifu University has further enriched its educational programs through close collaboration with Nagoya University. Within the framework of the Campus-Wide Core Curriculum, students are able to study subjects related to mathematical and data science, and artificial intelligence, as well as English language education, through jointly offered courses and a mutually recognized credit transfer system in partnership with Nagoya University.

I encourage you to make full and active use of these opportunities, and, through your university studies, to cultivate diverse abilities and skills that will be essential in society of the future.

We continue to provide graduates with the support they need even after graduation, whichever career path they pursue, and whether they decide, as fully fledged members of society, to enter the workforce or seek an academic career as a researcher.

I would also like to add that due to the relentless efforts of all involved, we have been able to offer waivers for university tuition and financial support to PhD students. These initiatives are designed to allow students to advance to doctoral courses and focus on their academic pursuits and objectives.

The implementation of the innovative 'Student Status System' enables students to assess their own progress and accomplishments. It ensures transparency and accessibility of students' academic achievements for anyone eligible.

At Gifu University, we have been advancing a range of reforms aimed at enhancing the quality and substance of our education. These efforts include a comprehensive review of teacher training within the Faculty of Education, the establishment of the Graduate School of Social Systems Management, the strengthening of human resource development in information‑related fields within the Faculty of Engineering, and the reorganization of the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences. Through these initiatives, we are steadily working to cultivate individuals who will support and shape society of the future.

Gifu University has also been making steady progress in the field of research. Across a wide range of disciplines, our scholars are conducting research with global reach, including studies in glycoscience that seek to elucidate the mechanisms of life, the "One Medicine" initiative that brings together expertise from medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary science, and collaborative research with industry in the field of aerospace engineering. In addition, the university has been selected to participate in national projects related to environmental and energy issues, such as hydrogen energy and carbon dioxide recycling, thereby contributing to the resolution of global challenges.

Strong ties with the local community are also one of Gifu University's defining strengths. To advance regional collaboration, the university has established dedicated organizations and has steadily built networks with local industries while deepening cooperation with Gifu Prefecture. Through these efforts, a solid foundation is now being formed for the university and the community to work together in shaping a shared future.

At Gifu University, a significant number of international students and researchers are studying and engaging in research activities on campus. To date, Gifu University has 51 foreign partner universities in countries ranging across Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania. Various faculties offer comprehensive support to students who wish to study abroad whilst at university. In addition, our Joint Degree Program (four international master's and PhD programs) with the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and the National University of Malaysia was launched in April 2019 to accelerate the internationalization and enhancement of educational and research capabilities among the three universities.

In the Japan of the years ahead, and in the future that awaits each of you, an ever-greater capacity to engage with the world will be required. To cultivate such capacity, it is essential not merely to learn in a one‑sided manner, but to engage in "mutual and interactive exchange," through which we learn from one another. I sincerely hope that you will take Gifu University as your point of departure, turn your eyes toward the wider world, and actively cultivate global experience.

In April 2025, the Tokai Kanjo Expressway Gifu Interchange opened near Gifu University. We anticipate that this development will further expedite our university's emergence as a hub for academic research, life sciences, and manufacturing innovation, thereby contributing to the prosperity of our region.

At present, Gifu University is embracing a new model of university--one we describe as a "university, committing to social implementation through co-creation." This approach goes beyond learning and research conducted solely within the university; it represents an effort to work hand in hand with people from diverse fields to address societal challenges and to generate new values for the future.

In this era of profound change, each of you is an indispensable part of Gifu University's new journey--walking forward together with us and helping to shape what the university of the future will become.

As of today, you are university students. You are also adults with the right to vote and full members of society. Learning at the university is no longer something that is simply "given" to you; it is something you must pursue with responsibility and your own initiative. I ask you to be ever mindful that each and every action you take during your university life represents a first step toward becoming a member of society.

In your studies at the university, you will be expected not to remain in a passive stance of waiting for the correct answers, but rather to think for yourselves, exercise judgment, and take action. There will no doubt be times when things do not go as planned. Yet it is precisely these experiences that will foster your growth. I hope that you will cultivate a spirit of earnest challengeーone that embraces effort without fear of failure.

The capacity to continue learning, the flexibility to engage constructively with change, and an attitude of respect for diverse valuesーare qualities which I am confident that you will develop within yourself through studying at Gifu University, according to its maxims, enabling you to move forward toward a future filled with hope.

At this point, there is a set of words that I would like each of you, who will be studying at Gifu University from today onward, to keep in your heart. They are the words "Art, Science, Humanity." These are the words that I myself have long cherished through more than four decades of experience as a clinician and as a surgeon. "Art" does not refer merely to techniques or skills. It signifies the ability to view matters from multiple perspectives, to create, and to generate new values.

Underlying this is Science--the practice of thinking rigorously and scientifically, and of pursuing truth with intellectual integrity. And above all, what is essential for us as human beings and as members of society is Humanity: the capacity to care for others with genuine compassion, to respect diverse values, and to engage with society sincerely and responsibly.

What Gifu University has cherished throughout its long history is not only the pursuit of deep learning within one's chosen field of specialization, but also the cultivation of this kind of comprehensive capacity as a human being. Your university life will not be confined to classrooms and laboratories alone. It is also a time to devote yourselves to scholarship, to engage in dialogue with your peers, to connect with the local community and society at large, and, at times, to experience uncertainty and failure as you develop your own inner compass. Each of these experiences, taken together, will serve to refine and enrich your own Art, Science, and Humanity.

All of us on the faculty and staff are fully committed to supporting you so that your learning at Gifu University may be both meaningful and fulfilling.

With my heartfelt hope that each and every one of you will enjoy a campus life beginning today that is rich in promise and abundant in achievement, I hereby conclude my address as President of the University.

April 7, 2026
YOSHIDA Kazuhiro
President, Gifu University
Tokai National Higher Education and Research System