Aiming to Be a World-Class Research University Centered on Knowledge Integration
The City of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture has been a hub of industry and driver of Japan’s development since the 19th century, when Yokohama was the touchstone of Japan’s modern-era enlightenment. This city is also a part of Japan where various global issues are felt most acutely. Yokohama National University (YNU), Kanagawa Prefecture’s only national university, is medium in scale, gathering faculty members with diverse specialties such as humanities, social sciences, sciences, and engineering at One Campus. Leveraging this advantage, YNU is leading the move to a new “age of regions,” nurturing world-leading research at all times while responding flexibly and dynamically to the many issues each region confronts through the integration of advanced knowledge. We encourage students to participate in these processes and the synergistic effects they generate, so they can learn to overcome the limitations of given scope and conditions, supporting social reform through integration of knowledge and the virtuous cycle of investment in people and knowledge. In this way YNU is painting a picture of its future self as an “university centered on knowledge integration,” illuminating the path of solving problems on a global scale.
Based on the principles of “practicality, innovation, openness and internationality” since its foundation, YNU has brought together faculty members with diverse specialties such as humanities, social sciences, sciences, and engineering at One Campus and accumulated education and research that emphasizes the practical application of knowledge, and achieved front-line research results in various fields. Building on these achievements, we hope to continue to be at the center of innovation in our country and region by mobilizing diverse academic and practical knowledge and by openly collaborating with various stakeholders, both domestically and internationally, across disciplines, including local government, industry and citizens. In so doing, we aim to become a world-class research university centered on knowledge integration that contributes to the construction of new social and economic systems as well as innovation and development of science and technology.
IAS Strives for Preeminence in Research, IMS for Uniqueness
In October 2014, the Institute of Advanced Sciences (IAS) was founded at YNU. In April 2023, the University founded the Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (IMS), also at YNU’s single campus.
Global conditions are changing at bewildering speed today, giving rise to numerous social issues and distortions. In view of these transitions, Japan’s national universities aim to achieve Society 5.0: a sustainable and resilient society that secures safety and peace of mind for citizens and assures the diverse well-being of everyone. Japan’s national universities must play a leading role in making those goals a reality.
To fulfill their missions, universities must apply two approaches in tandem. First, they must foster creative technological innovation. Second, they must integrate knowledge in ways that supersede the conventional fields and organizations for solving problems and social issues specific to the present day. IAS is a research institution seeking world-leading status in advanced research fields and domains, while IMS is a research institution that advances research ranging from interdisciplinary and elemental topics to their social implementation. With IAS and IMS working together, YNU seeks to realize its proactive vision for building this future and becoming a driving force in that coming society.
President, Yokohama National University
Director, Institute of Advanced Sciences
Director, Institute for Multidisciplinary Studies
Izuru UMEHARA