Past Events | April 15, 2024

On April 5th, 2024, the Entrance Ceremony for the Academic Year 2024 was held. President Terashima wore an academic gown for the ceremony.

• Toyohashi University of Technology Entrance Ceremony 2024 (2024/04/05) (TUT Official YouTube Channel)

President Terashima delivered the following address at the ceremony.

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Toyohashi University of Technology is pleased to announce the enrollment of a total 932 of 2024 students, including first-year undergraduate students, third-year transfer students, master's students, and doctoral students. We are pleased to welcome a total of 932. Congratulations to all of you on your enrollment. I would also like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all parents on the enrollment of their children, whom they have worked so hard to nurture. As president of the university, I am pleased to deliver my congratulatory address on this auspicious occasion.

First of all, before entering this university, I am sure that you have been suffering for more than three years from the pandemic of the new type of coronavirus infection. In addition, there have been rapid changes in the environment, including wars, energy problems, and disasters in several parts of the world. However, the corona is nearing its end, and I sincerely hope that you will be able to renew your spirits and live a new life at our university. Once a person is down, he or she may think that the misfortune will continue forever and never get better, but at such times, there is a Chinese　proverb that says, inscrutable are the ways of heaven. The moral of this story is that in a long life, there are happy times and sad times, but what makes us happy and what makes us unhappy is not immediately determined. As Shakespeare said in his play "All's Well that Ends Well", keep going toward your goal.

Next, this April marks my fifth year as President. When I took office, I set forth the slogan, "Contribute to society and build a vibrant university: Changing the world through technological science. In order to achieve this, I advocate the phrase "Gather, Connect, and Shine Light. This means that we will gather excellent students, faculty members, and staff, as well as external funds to improve our environment. We will network not only within the university, but also with a wide range of external organizations to create connections that will help organizations and individuals grow and develop. We also set objectives and provide support to achieve those objectives. I believe that the concept of gathering, connecting, and shining light applies not only to organizational theory, but also to your individual study and self-improvement at this university. Please think about it when you have time.

Now, the university is the highest academic institution of learning, and I encourage you to study hard. In the 1980s, Japan was one of the world's top-ranked countries in both industry and academia. Today, it has fallen down the ranks and is now in a mediocre situation. However, it has produced many of the world's best young people in the areas of sports, culture, arts, and academics, such as Shohei Otani, a professional baseball great leaguer. Japan is a nation of science and technology. Japan is also a country that excels in a wide range of cultural and artistic endeavors. At our university, for example, our Robot Contest Club won the NHK Robot Contest in 2023, the National Championship eight times in total, and the World Championship in ABU Robot Contest. What these people have in common is that they have clear goals. They work harder than anyone else. They devote themselves consistently every day. They have their eyes on the world and are expanding their experience not only within their narrow domestic market but also within the world.

Currently, AI technologies such as Generative AI and Chat GPT are becoming a hot topic around the world. These are wonderful technologies that can change the lives of mankind if utilized well. Students of this university are encouraged to actively challenge this new technology and study in addition to their own specialty. However, please do not misuse this technology and observe moral principles. We would like to clarify the ethics of AI applications in the future. In addition, quantum computers, carbon neutrality, new energy, automatic driving, and other new disciplines are being created one after another. Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Toyota Group and inventor of the automatic loom, who was born in Kosai City next to Toyohashi, left the famous words, "Open the shoji and you will find a wide space. 　We hope that you will actively open new academic doors at our university and study hard so that you can make innovations in the world and contribute to society.

By the way, I am sure you all have goals in the field of technology and science, but do you have clear goals? If you have not yet, please find a job that you will be passionate about for the rest of your life, either while you are at this university or after you enter the workforce. Until then, please do not be in a hurry to find a job that you will be passionate about for the rest of your life and do your best in your studies. My specialty is systems control engineering and robotics, but I was very troubled before deciding on a clear path to follow. I would like to tell you a story from my youth that may be helpful to those who have not yet decided on a clear path. When I was in high school, I was astonished when the Apollo spacecraft arrived at the moon. I was also interested in moving things such as Astro Boy and other robots, so I entered the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering. During my first two years at the school, there were few specialized courses, and to be honest, I did not put much effort into my studies.　So, for the first two years of school, I took English conversation classes outside of school and read every book I could find of interest. I also joined the judo club in order to train my body.

When I was in my third year of undergraduate school, I was seriously considering what I should specialize in, and I came across the field of systems and control engineering. Control" in control engineering means controlling things. Control engineering technology is needed in various fields, such as room temperature, robot movement, and rocket trajectory control. It can be applied not only to the sciences, but also to the social, economic, and humanities fields. As someone who has always been interested in both the humanities and sciences, it was a very rewarding learning experience for me and exactly the kind of study I was looking for. From my third year of university to the end of my master's program, the professor who had the greatest influence on me was my advisor. He taught his classes in English and taught in a very interesting and easy-to-understand manner. He often traveled abroad, and when I heard that his theory had been published ahead of researchers from other countries, I felt how amazing it was that he was competing with the rest of the world. I entered his laboratory in my fourth year of undergraduate school and truly enjoyed learning. I entered the doctoral course of the graduate school because I genuinely wanted to learn more. I did not think about the job opportunities that lay ahead. I devoted myself to research so much that I forgot to eat and sleep for a period of time without thinking about the job opportunities that lay ahead. Up until high school, I had the mindset that all I had to do was my best. However, since joining the laboratory, I have been able to face each challenge with the attitude of "growing together" through friendly competition with my peers. I feel that I was able to grow as a human being through encounters with my wonderful mentors. I believe that it is often through encounters with mentors and friends, encounters with books, experiences of failure, and experiences of success that we find what we really want to do. Please live each day with care and strive to improve your sensitivity and sense of style.

Finally, let me offer some advice to you. It is important to pursue what you are interested in until you "get it. There is no need to decide early on that you want to go down this path or enter this field, and if you study extensively, you will surely find what you really want to do somewhere.
I would like to leave you with this message: "Young people, when you find what you want to do, challenge　towards　the future with　strong　passion　without fear of failure, and spread your wings to the world.
These are my words of farewell to you all.