Address of the President of the University of Tokyo
at the 2014 Autumn Semester Matriculation Ceremony
Many congratulations to all of you who are entering graduate schools of the University of Tokyo. Besides, my congratulations extend to undergraduate students of PEAK―Programs in English at Komaba and students who are being transferred to the Department of Chemistry, Undergraduate Faculty of Science. My warmest congratulations go also to your families, who have supported you while you devote yourself to studies.
The total number of students entering our graduate schools this autumn is 543. Of which, there are 274 in master’s courses, 232 in doctor’s courses, and 37 in professional degree courses. In addition, from around the world, we have accepted 20 applicants to become PEAK students and seven transferred students to the Department of Chemistry. In sum, 437 international students are entering the University this autumn, accounting for around 76% of the total. On behalf of all the staff of the University, I would now like to offer a few words of welcome to all of you.
The University of Tokyo is an organization where world-leading research is conducted across a broad range of disciplines. I hope you will develop your intellectual strengths by being in close proximity to the legacies of our professors and researchers past and present. At the same time, I have confidence that you will make significant contributions to the University of Tokyo, so that we can continue to excel in academic performance. Those of you entering graduate schools are expected to develop your academic capabilities not only by studying the concepts, logic, and methodologies of our predecessors, but also by crafting your own concepts, logic, and methodologies, and facilitating advances in your fields of study. We launched PEAK in 2012, followed by the Department of Chemistry this year. Those of you entering these undergraduate courses can undertake a complete course of study in English, which presents a new challenge to the University. I expect you all to make best use of these exciting new academic environments, explore a broad range of academic disciplines and specialist fields.
You are about to further discover the world of academia, which offers unlimited inspiration and dreams. Above all else, my expectations are that you absorb a wealth of intellectual knowledge through continued studies and research, and develop the ability to marshal that collection of knowledge, while, at the same time, acquiring the courage and freedom of a cultivated individual. I am confident that this will be the logical outcome if you sincerely and genuinely pursue your studies.
How does studying give you courage? How does it give you freedom? Studying or doing research broadens the range of your knowledge, and helps you assemble the analytical abilities needed to interpret it. This will lead you to a deeper understanding of the various events that shape societies and academia, and enable you to observe the academic terrain from a bird’s eye view. You will then be able to arrive at own judgments and take actions more confidently than otherwise. This will expand your potential to act courageously based on your unfettered ability to make sound judgments. The education in which cultivated individuals are fostered is often referred to by the term liberal arts. This concept, which originated in ancient Greece and Rome, symbolizes the belief that study brings people freedom. However, I think this benefit is fundamentally available not only through liberal arts studies, but also through the whole gamut of studies.
I may be giving you an impression that only knowledge obtained as a result of your studies will help you acquire courage and freedom. However, my message to all of you, who are about to enter the world of academia and delve more deeply into your studies, is that it is not only the results of studying but also the process of studying itself that gives you courage and sets your minds free. Please remember that the process of studying matters, and your attitude towards studying is also very important.
I guess you do not have many experiences making oral presentations on research results, or publishing an academic paper. Unlike expressing your opinions in everyday discussions, presenting your thoughts and research results in a formal setting is an intense experience. On many occasions I have seen a student almost freeze before making a presentation. To overcome that strong sense of tension, you need some courage and by piling up such trials, you can step up to the next challenge.
As you study, you may wonder if you can offer something to the public arena that is soundly based and truly profound. So a feeling of some insecurity is quite healthy in academia, which in essence requires constant and critical verification. However, unless you overcome the associated feelings of anxiety, you will be unable to fully engage in the academic world. It is courage that helps you overcome that anxiety. When you overcome it, you will find the seeds to the next level of courage beginning to germinate. At the same time, you will feel an expanding sense of freedom that is supported by confidence in your abilities.
What is important, however, is how you have overcome those feelings of anxiety to publish your research results. Was it simply audacity or being fearless that enabled you to overcome anxiety? If you have had such experiences, try to recall what you actually did to overcome anxiety, hesitation, and indecision. Speaking from my experience, I used to read the output of my predecessors over and over again, take notes, and organize the various ideas that came to my mind. Then, I would think more about them by rewriting my responses many times. And, if I still felt unsure, I would consult my supervisors or debate with colleagues. By repeating this process, I eventually found the courage to present my thoughts publicly. I think the foundations of study lie here. Let me take a different point of view. Studying requires you to learn about the sense of fear that can overwhelm even a highly developed intellect. Being fearless is often considered to be the same as being courageous, but that is not true. Recognizing fear is actually the first step towards finding courage. It is only because you recognize fear that you are able to inspire the confidence in your abilities needed to overcome that fear, and to form the bedrock on which to build the courage and freedom to think.
I used the word fear, but what kind of fear concerns us? In the world of academia, it is a feeling of awe for the high standards of research of our predecessors, and for their achievements. At the same time, it is the fear that we are going to be found lacking, a fear of making our perhaps insignificant thoughts public, a fear of lacking rigor in concepts and logic, and a fear of inaccuracies in our experimental methods and processes. To overcome these fears, there is no alternative but to conduct study or research in depth and with integrity, and to apply research ethics in practice. You will read the relevant literature extensively, interpret deliberately, repeat experiments and observations over and over again, and analyze the accumulating data sincerely. From such solid foundations, you will build a structure of rigorous concepts, logic, and arguments using your own words. Courage and freedom will emerge only after demonstrating such attitudes and integrity in your studies or research.
The courage and freedom you develop will give you the strength to debate your ideas explicitly with other people, and to confront and respond to the criticisms of others face to face. In many cases academic results are well received and used fully by society. However, the relationship between academia and society is not always flawless. Rather, there are not a few occasions when academics criticize and challenge society’s dominant ways of thinking and its institutions. We may take a somewhat indecisive stance toward criticizing a theory that has been accepted in academia for a long time or a theory that has been advocated by an influential researcher. We may hesitate to express critical opinions against current political, economic, or social circumstances. However, expressing criticism and enjoying a challenge are the essence of academic studies at their best. The concepts and logic built upon an attitude to research that is backed by integrity form the cornerstone for presenting criticisms and challenges. These will serve as sources of your courage and freedom.
Many nations around the world now face numerous issues encompassing poverty, food, the environment, energy, aging societies, security, and peace. Looking at a full list of these issues can sap our spirit. However, no matter how difficult these issues might be, and no matter how difficult the underlying situations might be, people do find solutions through their free exchange of ideas and their actions, while gathering strength to confront them. That is the history of mankind. Throughout history, the roles played by academic inquiry and its practitioners have never been insignificant. I believe, during the process, that intellectual curiosity and rigor have not only bestowed upon people security, safety, and more comfortable lives, but also have cultivated the courage and freedom to invent a new future.
I would like to close by saying that I sincerely hope all of you present here will make contributions to the advancement of the academic world, while acquiring courage and freedom through a sincere attitude to your studies or research, and then awaken people and society to the courage needed to build the future, and inspire people to seek freedom of thought, which comes from within.
Junichi Hamada
President
The University of Tokyo
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