Okayama University Portal Site http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/ 2012-01-31 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id1376.html “The International Students’ Alumni Association of Okayama University Establishment Commemorative Ceremony and the 1st General Assembly” was held at the conference Hall in International House on the 22nd of October which is Homecoming Day, celebrating in the anniversary of the founding of Okayama University. About 150 guests, including alumni, in Japan and from abroad, as well as current international students at the university, attended the assembly. Dr. Chou Kou from China, at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, served as the founding chairperson. She addressed the group and said, “Improving the global competitiveness has become an inevitable demand for the university. I hope the association becomes a bridge that connects the university with the economic industries in the world and the region.” After approving the regulations of the association and the introduction of directors, participants enjoyed watching the performances conducted by international students dressed traditional costumes. They also spent time talking with local business leaders from economic industries in the region. All members sang the nursery rhyme "Furusato"(My Sweet Home), and in doing so strengthened the relations, between Okayama natives and others. Honorary guests such as, Kong Duozi・Yushupu, Vice- Consul at Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Osaka, Sun KeQiang Consul,　Mr. Tsutomu Komoto, Chairperson of the Okayama prefectural congress, Dr. Masaru Araki, vice president of Okayama University, gave congratulatory messages. The message by Mr. Ishii Masahiro, the governor of Okayama prefecture was also read by proxy. In addition, many congratulatory telegrams from　higher education organizations in Okayama prefecture, mayors of municipalities, various economic organizations, and international exchange groups, including Dr. Kiyoshi Morita, present of Okayama University, Mr. Shigeo Takaya, mayor of Okayama, were read out to emphasized the importance of this occasion. There are currently plans to build a network system via the Internet, where members can exchange information. Also plans are being made to create chapters in Tokyo, China, and Vietnam in the future. Office of the International Center TEL：086-251-7047 2012-01-13 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id1285.html The 2011 Okayama University Graduate School Autumn Entrance Ceremony was held in the 1st conference room on the 6th floor of the Administrative Center of Okayama University, on Friday, October 11th. Thirty-six new students attended the ceremony and embarked on a new chapter of their lives. Dr. Kiyoshi Morita, President of Okayama University approved the new candidates and welcomed them with the message “We expect everyone will with great ambition devote themselves to their chosen path of study and will continue putting forth this great effort as they contribute to the development of the future of human society.” 曽川裕介(SogawaYusuke), a student from the Graduate School of Natural Science addressed the ceremony and said; I am looking forward to contributing to society by deepening my knowledge.” Photo: Students listening to the President’s address. Contact: General Affairs and Planning Department, General Affairs Division 086-251-7007 2011-11-25 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id1220.html The 2011 autumn graduation ceremony of Okayama University was held at 50th Anniversary Hall on Friday, September 30th. Ninety-nine undergraduate and graduate students participated in the graduation ceremony and embarked on a new chapter of their lives. Dr. Kiyoshi Morita, president of Okayama University, awarded the graduation certificates to the representatives of the graduating candidates and addressed the ceremony. He said, “I want you to face the challenges with the motivated personality to develop Japan and the globe.” Masahiro Kihara, a graduate student from Graduate School of Natural Science, addressed the ceremony and said, “We learned about the kind of ‘creation’ which is suitable to the environment. We want to contribute to society by using the best of our knowledge to create better products.” Photo: The representative of the graduates receiving certificates. Contact: General Affairs and Planning Department, General Affairs Division 086-251-7007 2011-10-20 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id1173.html The 5th entrance ceremony of Okayama-Hue International Master's Program was held at Hue University, Vietnam on Friday, September 16. New 8 students entered this special course this year. President, Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Morita, Vice-president for Social Responsibility and International Affairs, Prof. Dr. Masaru Araki and other related persons attended the ceremony. In addition to that, 1st and 2nd course students who completed this course and graduated from Okayama University and 4th course students who are now studying at Hue University also attended the ceremony. President Morita expressed the appreciation for all the staff who are involved in this program as well as words of celebration and encouragement for new students. He also explained the importance and value of this program for Okayama University from the view point of international strategy. On behalf of Hue University, Vice President Dr. Le Manh Thanh also explained that they highly estimate both the quality and the achievement of this cooperative educational program between Okayama University and Hue University. In this program, students mainly study subjects related to their major (agriculture or environmental science) at Hue University during the first one year. After that, they learn Japanese language for 6 months at Hue University of Foreign Language. Then, they will be transferred to related graduate schools at Okayama University. Finally, they will receive Master’s Degree from Okayama University after they complete the course. Okayama University places great expectation on the further development of this program, which we believe it is a great impact for getting more and more excellent international students not only for this program, but also for whole Okayama University. Contact: Administrative Office of International Center TEL: 086-251-7039 2011-10-03 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id1001.html The opening ceremony of the “Okayama Medical Center (OMIC)” was held in the Shikata campus on April 27th 2011. The facility’s main focus is on research and development of cancer treatment with the cooperation of Okayama University, Okayama prefecture, and it’s industrial sector. OMIC is the research center build as a part of regional innovation activities for development of industry-academia-government collaborative research center by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) in 2009. It consists of three research areas; molecular imaging, incubation, and animal testing. OMIC aims towards conducting frontier research on new industry creation based on molecular imaging technology, which enables researchers to capture the image of cancer cells as well as physiological activities of drugs without damaging human body. OMIC is equipped with two state of the art PET machines, which are essential for molecular imaging. An incubation facility has been established to support research and new bio-venture industries. In addition, the Center is also involved with human resource development by mediating clinical research at Okayama University Hospital and joint graduate school course with The Riken. Dr. Kiyoshi Morita, president of Okayama University addressed the gathering, saying “We wish to support the management together with Okayama prefecture and the local industrial sector of Okayama prefecture, and we hope that the center may function as a joint research facility as well as a human resource development center for the private sector, universities, and government agencies which are not limited to the prefecture”. Afterwards Masahiro Ishii the governor of Okayama Prefecture and Hiroshi Nakashima, the chairman of Keidanren, Okayama prefecture, also made speeches. Michio Obara, director of JST delivered a congratulatory address. Ribbon cutting and unveiling of the Center took place after Mr. Kumon Hiromi, president of the Industrial and Governmental Relation Center, outlined the functions of the facility. Ribbon cutting Unveiling; Mr. Kumon, President of the Industrial and Governmental Relation Center (right) and Hirofumi Makino, president of Okayama University Hospital Contact: Graduate School of Medicine Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Collaborative Research Center for OMIC TEL：086-235-6529 2011-07-07 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id910.html On April 13th the students of the “Okayama University – Hue University Graduate School Special Program” attended a ceremony to introduce themselves to their sponsors. They will be transferred to the second year of the Master’s Course in The Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Okayama University in April. The ceremony took place with the participation of Dr. Kiyoshi Morita, President of Okayama University, eight students from Hue University, their academic advisors, the representatives of companies sponsoring the program, and individual sponsors. During the ceremony, each student delivered a speech in Japanese. They shared their impressions after coming to Japan and their future dreams, and expressed their gratitude to their sponsors. A message of encouragement was also delivered to the students by the sponsors, and they took the first step of the program together with hopes of a bright future. The“Okayama University – Hue University Graduate School Special Program” is a joint educational program between Okayama University and Hue University in Vietnam. This program provides an opportunity for Vietnamese students who study in the fields of environmental science and agriculture in the Graduate School of Okayama University to obtain their master’s degree．In preparation, students are required to finish a program including their field of study and the Japanese language in the Graduate School of Hue University within one and a half years. Companies and sponsors who want to support this program contributed scholarships and became the sponsors of individual students. Photo: A Vietnamese student making a speech Contact: Administrative Office of International Center TEL: 086-251-7039 2011-06-06 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id842.html The graduation ceremony of Okayama University 2011(Academic Year of Heisei 22) was held at Momotaro Arena on Friday, March 25th. 3,391 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the graduation ceremony and embarked on a new chapter of their lives. A moment of silence was observed before the ceremony in respect for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster. Dr. Kyozo Chiba, president of Okayama University awarded the graduation certificates to the 33 representatives of each faculty and graduate school. Students who have shown excellence of character and performance in their fields of study were awarded the “Okayama University Kokusho Award”. A certificate of commendation was given to the representative of 15 “Okayama University Kokusho Award” winners by President Chiba, who mentioned the Great Earthquake in his address, “The damage caused by the earthquake is enormous. This is a national disaster. I want you to establish the next generation while overcoming the present situation and reconstructing our country”. Photo: The representative of the “Okayama University Kokusho Award” winners receiving the certificate of commendation. Contact: General Affairs and Planning Department, General Affairs Division 086-251-7004 2011-05-02 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id843.html The Entrance Ceremony 2011 was held at Okayama City’s Momotaro Arena on Friday, April 8th. This semester 3,590 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Okayama University. Overall, approximately 6,000 new students and their family members participated in the ceremony. A moment of silence was observed before the ceremony in respect for the victims of The Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster. Kiyoshi Morita, president of Okayama University admitted the new students, and delivered a message to them; “We experienced man’s vulnerability in front of the enormous power of nature. Because of The Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster, it is required that we work towards stable and sustainable development of human society with ‘creating and fostering higher knowledge and wisdom’ as our mission.” Introductions of the Vice President, Deans of Graduate Schools and Deans of Faculties were held. The Symphony Orchestra of Okayama University played a celebratory song. After the ceremony, the university’s cheerleading group gave a round of cheers for the new students. Contact: General Affairs and Planning Department, General Affairs Division 086-251-7004 2011-05-02 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id831.html Okayama University offers its sincerest sympathy to those affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon DaiShinSai ) which occurred on March 11, 2011. Although more than one month has passed since the earthquake, many survivors still have no other choice but to live in emergency shelter. Overall, however, Japan is slowly recovering while, at the same time, dealing with the serious situation of the radiation leakage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant which has been given an international severity rating of “seven.” In light of this situation, Okayama University has been working on a number of support projects to aid the recovery of the affected areas. Okayama at this moment has not felt any direct consequences of the earthquake or tsunami; neither have there been any significant effects from the radiation leakage, power restrictions nor shortages of daily necessities. The university has made every effort so that all members of Okayama University can carry out their duties with peace of mind. Okayama University greeted 3, 600 new students at its entrance ceremony on April 8; teaching and research has been carried out as usual. 2011-04-27 http://admblog1.cc.okayama-u.ac.jp/okayama-u/en/tp/news/news_id832.html The “Okayama University International House” was opened on March 29st 2011 and an opening ceremony was held on the same day. This New facility offers accommodation and an area for cultural exchange among international researchers and international students. The International house, which is located to the north of the central library on the Tsushima campus, is a steel framed, three story building, covering an area of about 2170 square meters. This facility is comprised of a building for accommodating students and researchers and an international exchange building. The accommodation building has 14 rooms for married researchers, 33 rooms for unaccompanied researchers and 18 rooms for international students. Each room is equipped with a desk, chair, bookshelf, locker, bed, hot and cold air-conditioner, bath, toilet, kitchen, refrigerator, microwave, electric kettle, television set and an internet connection. With a conference hall and an exchange lounge with a setting capacity of 100 people, the international exchange building aims to actively encourage exchange between the occupants of the International House and the local Japanese community. The opening ceremony took place with the participation of chief guest Shigeo Takaya; the Mayor of Okayama city, Dr. Chiba Kyozo; the president of Okayama University, people involved in international affairs at Okayama University and about 60 people from the local community. “The objective of this facility is to invite talented students. Not only with faculty members and students, we also aim to strengthen exchanges with local communities.” said Dr. Chiba in his opening address. Photo: Dr. Chiba, delivering the welcome address during the opening ceremony. Facility description here Contact: Administrative Office of International Center TEL: 086-251-7047 2011-04-22