HIROSAKI UNIVERSITY

Principle and Goals

communicating to the world;
creating with our community

Ideals and Principles

Hirosaki University has, in the spirit of the Basic Act on Education, established the following institutional goals: 1) to incorporate extensive bodies of knowledge into our campus culture; 2) to engage in the teaching of and research in a broad range of specialized scholarly fields; 3) to educate persons of character and integrity who can contribute to human culture.

Future Vision of Hirosaki University

Basic Principles

Hirosaki University, under the slogan of “Communicating with the world; Creating with our community,” has positioned the four themes of renewable energy, the environment, radiation emergency medicine, and food, which are also the “strengths” of the region, as priority areas for the university, and has promoted education and research as well as regional cooperation. In the 3rd Midterm Target Period, the University carried out innovative research that focused on regional characteristics and has also achieved solid results in education and research, internationalization, and administration. In the 4th Midterm Target Period, our basic policy will be to contribute to the revitalization of the region and drive the sustainable development of the entire regional society by creating more value to the “strengths” of the university that we have accumulated so far, while accurately taking into account the needs of the region and national policies.

In response to the major social changes triggered by the new COVID-19 pandemic, we will promote the creation of regional innovations, develop human resources, and based on our distinctive world-class research capabilities encourage research and development that will lead the way in social reform and for regional development.

In addition, we will accelerate our transformation into a “regional national university with distinctive characteristics” with the aim of further developing our university as a regional “knowledge” center. To this end, we will reorganize and strengthen the functions of our education and research organizations, reform our entrance examinations to cope with the declining birthrate, reform our education to make it more student-centered and promote new internationalization for life after COVID-19.

Furthermore, Japan has an ageing society, a low birthrate as well as a shortage of medical doctors in rural areas and these factors hinder the development of local regions. In Aomori Prefecture, where the population is ageing rapidly, the University has taken the lead in providing regional medical care, and will collaborate with local governments to establish a new, sustainable regional medical care delivery system that will serve as the foundation for regional development

In order to realize the above initiatives, the University, under the leadership of the President with a medium- to long-term perspective, will implement bold and strategic management and administrative reforms unconstrained by conventional ways of thinking.

Educational Reform

In this new version of society, Society 5.0, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and creativity will become essential skills for the future. In addition to these skills, we will promote educational reforms to cultivate students’ knowledge across the humanities and sciences, so they can respond flexibly to the changes in the global society and engage in regional development.

Based on the starting point of learner-centered education, we will actively use Institutional Research (IR) for teaching and learning, introduce mathematical and data science education throughout the university, improve faculty development (FD) programs, make learning outcomes more visible to the students, and further strengthen various types of support for students.

In addition, we will strive to secure a diverse range of student applicants by examining admission methods based on the results of previous entrance examinations and by improving the publicity of the entrance examinations.

Promotion of Research

We will promote research that is done at the international level, opens up new fields of research, and protects and enriches the region. In this context, we will strengthen our research capabilities based on the following perspectives: support for young and female researchers, attain competitive research funds, create and put to use intellectual property, promote international joint research, and develop researchers at the University.

In addition, we will promote research in the following areas: the environment, energy, radiation, food and nature, extending the health and life expectancy of local residents, improving regional power, and utilizing cultural resources, which are positioned as important themes of the University.

Internationalization of the University

Internationalization is an essential element for universities as institutions of higher education. Aomori Prefecture, which is ambitiously developing a focus on “agriculture, forestry, and fisheries,” is also seeking talented individuals with a global perspective to expand exports of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries products abroad, and working together with the local community, the University aims to cultivate such global-minded individuals to drive these industries into the future.

In addition to bidirectional study-abroad programs between Hirosaki University and overseas partner universities (international exchange), we will work to improve the environment for international education and research through online collaboration to further internationalize the University in the post-COVID-19 era, and promote international initiatives linked to the local community.

Regional Cooperation and Regional Contribution

The University will promote education and research that are useful for solving regional issues and that can be implemented to improve society. To accomplish this, the University aims to cultivate students who will be able to lead the local regions forward into the future, promote regional establishments, and create new innovations that will benefit society and the local regions.

As “a university that supports the region and is supported by the region,” we will further strengthen our relationships with other universities, local governments, and industries that have been cultivated to date, and we will continue to play a leading and central role in promoting contributions to the region, thereby revitalizing the region and achieving regional development.

Administrative Management

The University aims to strengthen governance by moving forward in unison, with the President exercising leadership and the entire university having a common understanding of the university’s goals and plans regarding education, research, community contributions, advanced medical care, etc. From this point of view, we will continually review the University’s management and administration system, administrative organization, and methods of performing duties. Moreover, as a core part of management, the University will also continually aim to strengthen its financial situation.

Education/Research Organization

We will examine the reorganization of faculties, graduate schools, and research institutes implemented during the 3rd Midterm Target Period, and continually promote reforms to maintain the basic academic disciplines necessary as an institution of higher education and to improve the overall functionality of the University. As for the future reorganization of education and research organizations, we will also review the nature of the faculty organizations that support them.

Medical Care

As a key contributor to the medical care in the region, the University will continue to provide specialized and advanced state-of-the-art medical care and promote medical support to remote areas by utilizing information and communication technology.

In addition, in order to foster various medical personnel including doctors, and to research and develop advanced medical technology through clinical research, we will strengthen our functions as an educational and research institution and further strengthen our management base to promote the facility improvement plan.