AY2026 Autumn Entrance Ceremony was held

On Thursday, October 1, 2026, the autumn entrance ceremony for the 2026 academic year was held. A total of 53 new students, 4 to the undergraduate school, 35 to the master's program, and 14 to the doctoral program were declared to admit by President TSUKAHARA Tsuneo.
Mr. DANG　Dinh Khanh (Doctoral program) made an oath on behalf of the new students admitted to the undergraduate school and the graduate school.

Mr. DANG　Dinh Khanh

Today we welcome 53 new students, including 4 new undergraduates, 35 new master's students, and 14 new doctoral students. It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you taking your first steps as members of the University of Aizu.

In recent years, technologies such as AI, Big Data, IoT, and self-driving cars, have become indispensable parts of our daily lives. Each falls under the umbrella of information and communication technology (ICT,) which is the subject you will study at our university. Today, ICT is not limited to computers and communications technology. Rather, it enriches human lives in everything from daily life to advanced medicine and space exploration, and will be indispensable in shaping the future. The remarkable development of generative AI, in particular, continues to have an immeasurable impact on all of society.

It is within this context that achievements of the excellent faculty and students recruited from around the world have rapidly increased UoA's domestic and international recognition of the University, leading to increased attention from fields outside informatics.
For the last three years, our university ranked 11th amongst Japanese universities and 1st among public universities in Japan according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, illustrating how highly our university has been evaluated, particularly in the areas of internationalization and research. Examples of research that have attracted public attention include community-based projects such as the use of AI to prevent damages caused by bears and other wild animals, as well as the recent capturing and analysis of images with the camera onboard the SLIM lunar lander. As you can see, UoA faculty members are working on projects of an astronomical scale.

As science and technology advances and society changes, so too have changed the knowledge and skills required of individuals. However, I believe that the learning process is largely universal and unchanging.
Nobel laureate author OE Kenzaburo described the learning process as having three stages; "to know," "to understand," and "to realize." To quote Oe; "'To know' is to be taught knowledge. 'To understand' is to be able to use that knowledge. 'To realize' requires deepening that understanding by repeating the first two steps until you are able to break through novel challenges on your own." Research, the activity through which new things are created, is merely the repetition of this process. Looking back on my own life as a student and researcher, I now realize its importance.
I hope you will engage in learning that gets to the essence of things based on "knowing," "understanding," and "realizing."
On another note, discovering new solutions and promoting the creation of knowledge requires the power of imagination. The great physicist Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." The field of information and communications technology advances at a blinding pace, and technologies such as generative AI are playing an increasingly integral role in society. A superior imagination is forged by the full mobilization of our intellect and sensibilities. I believe this is the fact that keep mankind in a favorable position as we coexist with AI. 
Learning requires hard work and perseverance. Please pursue your daily studies while ambitiously developing your intelligence and humanity with a belief that a future of your own lies beyond.

I will conclude by expressing my hope that you will acquire a broad education and an international outlook, and grow into talents capable of global success.

Congratulations on your admission to the UoA.

October 1, 2026
TSUKAHARA Tsuneo, President, the University of Aizu