PRESS RELEASES

Japanese

Print

Inauguration of Tokyo College: A new platform for global collaboration and communicationAnnouncement

February 28, 2019

The University of Tokyo has established a new institute, named Tokyo College, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together leading scholars, young researchers and public intellectuals from around the world. Tokyo College aims to generate new knowledge to contribute to the creation inclusive society and spark deeper public engagement with the University.

Tokyo College is a presidential initiative led by Professor Masashi Haneda, a historian and former director of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia and executive vice president. Professor Sir Anthony Leggett, joint recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize “for pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids,” is honorary director.

Other members of Tokyo College will include UTokyo Special Emeritus Professors Takaaki Kajita (recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics) and Yoshinori Tokura (recipient of multiple international research awards). Fellows will be invited from among the world’s leading researchers and intellectuals with the aim of stimulating interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration.

 “Tokyo College will bring together leading researchers and intellectuals from all parts of the world to create together a vision of what the world could be and lay out a pathway to realizing that vision,” says Professor Haneda. “Interaction between leading international scholars, young researchers at the forefront of their fields, students from the university and others will be an innovative spark that ignites new ideas that we hope will spread throughout the university and be shared with our communities far beyond the campus. Public meetings are an important aspect of Tokyo College.”

Tokyo College will focus on “The Earth and Human Society in 2050” as the main theme to be tackled in the mid-to-long term. Under this main theme, there will be four priority areas;

1. Digital Revolution and Future of Humanity
2. Tackling the Planetary Boundaries through Interdisciplinary Approaches
3. Japan Viewed from Inside and Outside
4. Humanities in 2050 - World Philosophy, World History and World Literature -

Other than these four areas, Tokyo College also plans to invite excellent researchers who can share the "Joy of Discovery and Power of Knowledge" through seminars, public lectures and collaborative research.

“I empathize with the University’s passion to serve Japan and the world by driving societal change,” says Professor Leggett. “Tokyo College will serve as a platform to provide new perspectives and wisdom that will contribute to the creation of an inclusive society. I am looking forward to collaborating with the members of Tokyo College and the University of Tokyo.”

“Our university charter calls for us to strive to become a global center for knowledge creation,” says UTokyo President Makoto Gonokami. “This new initiative will give leading researchers and intellectuals the freedom to focus on their research, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. By promoting international and interdisciplinary cooperation, we hope that researchers affiliated with Tokyo College will partner with the public and private sectors to tackle today’s most challenging issues.”

Tokyo College will be located under the UTokyo Institutes of Advanced Study (UTIAS), an umbrella organization which already includes the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), the International Research Center for Neurointelligence (IRCN) and the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S).


Tokyo College Website
http://www.tc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/


Contact:
International Strategy Group,
Management Planning Department,
the University of Tokyo
intl-strategy.adm@gs.mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp


Comments from Director of Tokyo College, Professor Masashi Haneda, Honorary Director, Professor Sir Anthony Leggett (recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize) and UTokyo President Makoto Gonokami can be found in full text of the press release.
 
Access Map
Close
Kashiwa Campus
Close
Hongo Campus
Close
Komaba Campus
Close