令和5年度千葉大学大学院入学式　学長式辞

Congratulations on your admission to the Master's, Doctoral, and Professional Degree Programs at the Graduate Schools of Chiba University. I am so proud to see that all of are full of curiosity with aspiration for knowledge. Our faculty and staff are more than welcome to support you in achieving your goals. I would also like to add my warmest congratulations to the family members who have been supporting you.

With the spread of the COVID-19, the entire world is now facing a major turning point. We are required to change our ways of thinking at all levels, including how we learn and work. To overcome these challenges and develop our society sustainably with other countries, we need "talented persons who create new values." First, it is essential to develop excellent research skills in your area of expertise. Besides academic knowledge and techniques, you should acquire other skills, including diverse perspectives, flexibility, high language abilities, and communication skills. Then, please aim to be a leading researcher in your field.

Just like you, I entered graduate school about 40 years ago. I specialized in immunology and researched allergies and cancer. After achieving my Ph.D., I started to work as a university faculty member. The theme of my research has been developed in about 30 years since my graduate school days. Now, I would like to share two important things that I learned from my experience.

First, please proactively adopt the latest technology in your research. Let's look back at the development history of life sciences. The optical microscope was invented about 400 years ago. This enabled us to observe cells for the first time in human history. Since then, cell biology has started to develop. As infectious diseases, such as cholera bacteria became visible, infectious disease medicine made significant progress. Later, the invention of the electron microscope made it possible to see viruses. You might have seen the images of　SARS-Cov2 in the media. These images were obtained with an electron microscope. The invention of new technology could be a breakthrough that leads to the explosive development of several research fields. This is a typical example of innovation. It is very important for a scientist to aggressively take in cutting-edge science and technology to advance their research. If you do that, I am sure that you will find exciting discoveries in your research field.

Secondly, during your graduate school days, if you feel the research life is enjoyable for you, you should continue the research life as long as possible. Research is always creative, and sometimes innovative. There are many very high level laboratories in Chiba University. We have a very good program for the financial support of Doctoral students. Approximately 200 doctoral students received last year. In addition, It is very important that working together with foreign researchers with different values and perspectives, and most importantly, make friends. These friends will enrich the rest of your life.

I hope that you all be outstanding researchers who create new value for society. To that end, please continue pursuing your research with sincere academic inquiry while keeping Chiba University's philosophy, "Always Aim Higher," in mind. Besides academic expertise, please try to acquire a rich and profound cultural experience and knowledge. I sincerely hope that you find your graduate school life fruitful and that your research achievements are excellent.

October 2nd, 2023
Toshinori Nakayama
President, Chiba University