AY2025 Autumn Entrance Ceremony was held

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, the autumn entrance ceremony for the 2025 academic year was held. A total of 34 new students, 4 to the undergraduate school, 20 to the master's program, and 10 to the doctoral program were declared to admit by President TSUKAHARA Tsuneo.
Mr. OBATA　Youssef Yuto (Master's program) made an oath on behalf of the new students admitted to the undergraduate school and the graduate school.

Mr. OBATA　Youssef Yuto

Today we welcome 34 new students, including 4 new undergraduates, 20 new master's students, and 10 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.

With the 2024 Nobel prizes in both Physics and Chemistry being awarded for AI-related research, it has become clear that AI is causing an upheaval in the fundamental sciences, and is also having an immeasurable impact on 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.

In this year's T.H.E. World University Rankings, we ranked 11th nationally and 1st among public universities for a second consecutive year, receiving high marks in the areas of international outlook 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.

Technological progress in ICT has been remarkable, and technologies such as generative AI are rapidly penetrating society. I hope you will engage in learning that gets to the essence of things based on "knowing," "understanding," and "realizing."

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, 2025

TSUKAHARA Tsuneo, President, the University of Aizu