Graduation Ceremony for Graduate School of Engineering 2019

26 Sep 2019

Vice President Kazuhiko Terashima granted 6 students the Doctoral Degree of Engineering and 30 students the Master's Degree of Engineering on September 24, 2019.

The congratulatory address from Vice President is as follow:

The Congratulatory Address in the Graduation Ceremony,
Kazuhiko Terashima,
Executive Trustee, Vice President
Toyohashi University of Technology
September 24, 2019

First of all, today, President Takashi Onishi can not participate in this ceremony by sudden other errands, so I am covering for him.
I would like to congratulate all of you for the successful completion of your program at the Graduate School of Toyohashi University of Technology.

I understand that you spent a lot of time and made tremendous effort to accomplish your research in your program. This is the day when you feel it has been rewarded. But, at the same time, we have to keep in mind that the graduation is a new start for your next challenge.

It is often pointed out that the only technological innovation can change our society positively. Of course, the source of the technological innovation is scientific knowledge which you learnt here during your study.
Scientific knowledge is useful to create what are beneficial to people' life and society as a whole. I think they are real power to develop the society toward the enlightened future.
You learnt and absorbed a lot of knowledge in this university. Some were taught in lectures or textbooks. They are important of course, because you learnt the systematic structure of the knowledge in an accumulated form based upon historical development of your study fields.
Moreover, the knowledge newly gained by your own research is indispensable, because it is original and has a lot of possibility to create many new things which may be useful in the society.

Of course, you may think it is not enough to obtain knowledge through research conducted for master's or even doctoral theses. That is true particularly in this scientifically well-developed modern society.

But you learnt in this university the methods of research, that is, how to conduct your scientific research. This is your true asset. You may apply the methods which you have been learning here to whatever subjects face you in the future. Whatever problems, whatever questions you have in the future, you can apply the scientific methodology for finding answers to them.

Therefore, I would like you to understand the scientific degrees granted to you today is not the goal of your carrier but its start. I hope that all of you will improve your scientific and technological ability further and contribute to the society.

Finally, I would like to extend also my congratulatory message to your family members. Without their supports and encouragement, this graduation day would never come to you. Therefore, today's celebration should be shared with the graduates and your families.

When you came back to your home country, please talk to your family, friends and people in your country concerning with Japanese people and Japan. There were many strange Japanese in Japan, and about bad and good custom in Japan , and everything on impression you got here. People in your country will have interests for Japan. We are very happy then.

I would like to conclude my little speech expressing my thanks to academic advisors of the graduates.

Congratulations, once again. And thank you for your attention.