令和6年度千葉大学大学院入学式　学長告辞

Congratulations to all the students newly entered the Master's, Doctoral, and Professional Degree Programs at Chiba University Graduate School.  I would also like to extend my sincere congratulations to your families and all those involved.

I believe you have made the decision to enroll with the desire to either begin or deepen your research and acquire advanced skills.  I am very pleased and proud to welcome all of you, filled with a strong spirit of learning and inquiry.

I am fully committed to supporting the realization of your dreams.

There are as many seeds of research as there are researchers.  I believe there are many unknowns hidden behind what we take for granted.  I hope that you will delve deeply into the areas of research or academic disciplines that you are interested in and wish to master.

For example, although your memories may have already faded, it was just four years ago, in 2020, that the COVID-19 pandemic began and swept across the world.  Until then, infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, while significant on a global scale, were considered to be "diseases of the past" by many in developed countries, due to advances in antibiotics and improvements in sanitary conditions.

However, the emergence of COVID-19 quickly shattered that notion.  This pandemic is often compared to the Spanish flu, which spread at the beginning of the 20th century.  The Spanish flu, believed to have been caused by the influenza virus, spread globally from 1918 to 1920.  Thus, the duration of that pandemic was not much different from COVID-19, leading some to wonder if humanity has made any progress in the last 100 years.

However, human movement facilitated by the development of global transportation networks like airplanes has increased incomparably over the past 100 years.  Originally, COVID-19 could have caused much more damage and lasted much longer.  The fact that the spread of the infection was "only this much" is due to the scientific innovation of mRNA vaccines, which also led to last year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

However, the research by Drs. Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, which led to this innovation, was initially dismissed by many, as the researchers themselves have reflected.  Pursuing unique research driven by one's own interests, regardless of trends, eventually saved humanity at the right time.

Today, as graduate students, you are not only students but also young researchers who play a role in the university's research.  To ensure that you can devote yourselves to your research, I want to make Chiba University a place where "everyone can pursue their individuality and enrich one anothers with their charm."

To that end, we are investing in financial support and the development of educational environments. For example, we have Doctoral Program for World-leading Innovative & Smart Education, which includes many attractive initiatives, and the SPRING program or Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation, which supports challenging research by next-generation researchers.  Each year, more than 200 graduate students receive various forms of financial support.

I encourage you to take full advantage of these opportunities.  Chiba University is fully committed to supporting young researchers.

This year, Chiba University celebrates its 75th anniversary.  Including the newly established "Faculty of Informatics and Graduate School of Informatics," we now have 11 faculties, 19 graduate schools, and over 30 centers.  I hope you will pursue your specialties to the fullest, and by utilizing the strengths of a comprehensive university, expand your horizons through interdisciplinary exchange across faculties, enriching your lives.

Finally, I would like to leave you with a phrase that I encountered more than 30 years ago when I finished my first PhD program at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Founded in 1477, Uppsala University has nearly 550 years of history. And contrary to what one might expect from such a traditional institution, it was filled with an atmosphere where everyone engaged in research freely and truly enjoyed academia.

It has seen many Nobel laureates and hosts annual lectures by the winners.  On the wall of the auditorium there is an inscription in Swedish language that reads: "To think freely is great, but to think rightly is greater”.

What do you think it means to "think rightly"?  It may sound more restrictive than freedom, but in these words, I sensed an attitude of seeking truth beyond facts.

To think freely, yet continually question oneself, deepen understanding, and think rightly about things — this is precisely what resonates with Chiba University's philosophy of "always aim higher" and it is my wish for all of you as you forge new futures.

I, too, have been reminded of the meaning of these words and the importance of continuing to learn, no matter the age.  I intend to keep these words close to my heart and practice them diligently.

I sincerely wish you all the best in your endeavors.

Thank you for your attention.

October 1st, 2024

Koutaro Yokote

President, Chiba University