Shinshu University holds kickoff forum entitled "Advanced Leading Graduate Program (Grants for Creating Research and Education Bases): Global Leader Program for Fiber Renaissance."
On December 13, 2013, Shinshu University held a kickoff forum for its Global Leader Program for Fiber Renaissance, which was selected as an Advanced Leading Graduate Program (Only One Type), at a hotel in Tokyo. Guests and other attendees gave voice to numerous expectations and wishes for the program, and faculty from the University reaffirmed their commitment to making the program a success.
About 90 people attended the event. In a welcome message from the University as the forum's organizer, President Kiyohito Yamasawa said, "We want to endow the graduates who will become top leaders in the global textile industry with not only technical, but also human, skills." Kunihiro Hamada, program director and dean of the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, expressed the program's aspirations while touching on the Faculty's 103 years of history, saying, "We want to train global leaders by tapping into our accumulated research and educational achievements."
Two of the guests also greeted attendees. Director Shino Inomata of the Office for University Reform in the University Promotion Division of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Higher Education Bureau, pointed out three reasons that the program was selected as a leading program: (1) the uniqueness of the program owing to the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology being Japan's only faculty dedicated to textiles, (2) the fact that the program was carefully proposed based on the essence of what it means to be a leading graduate school, and (3) the fact that the Faculty has a long and well-established track record of partnership with industry and has carefully considered industry-academia partnership based on corporate human resources needs as well as post-completion career paths. She also expressed hope that the program would "function as a model for reforms that will enable Japanese universities to meet the needs of a new era." Manager Susumu Kataoka of the Manufacturing Industries Bureau's Textile and Clothing Division at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry noted that Shinshu University has built a network of connections with more than 50 universities worldwide and expressed his hope that the University would orchestrate a "high-quality program that attracts attention from around the world."
Representing the program's stakeholders, Japan Chemical Fibers Association vice president and Kuraray CEO Fumio Ito discussed the current state of the textile industry and the type of professional needed by the industry. He said, "As the only university with a faculty dedicated to textiles, Shinshu University is a reassuring presence for those of us in the textiles industry, and I am extremely grateful to see this new program undertaken." Introducing past programs in the same area, Professor Daizo Ishiyama of the Graduate School of Engineering and Resource Science at Akita University described that institution's New Frontier Leader Program for Rare-metal and Resources. He concluded by saying, "I hope that Shinshu University and Akita University will continue to enrich and develop their programs."
Assistant Dean Koji Abe reported on the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology's history and educational reform initiatives. After Advanced Leading Graduate Program coordinator Professor Masayuki Takatera provided an overview of the program, the three individuals offered a series of recommendations from stakeholders. Society of Fiber Science and Technology vice president and Tokyo Institute of Technology professor Takeshi Kikutani listed five characteristics that the program should cultivate: (1) awareness of one's presence at the center of the field of textiles; (2) a high, world-class degree of specialization in a specific field that is related to textile science and technology; (3) extensive knowledge of textile science, both upstream and downstream; (4) a broad, overarching perspective on multiple fields and a constant awareness of the potential that derives from combining them with textile science and technology; (5) an international outlook combined with the ability to communicate and conduct joint research with key persons overseas. President Tadahiko Takeda of Tec One told attendees, "I'd like to see Japan's textile technologies, which lead the world, passed on to young people. I'd like to see the program graduate leaders who can take responsibility for the future of textiles." Finally, Director Yuji Enomoto of the Toyama Industrial Technology Center touched on the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa in 2016, noting that the development "will bring industry in the form of Hokuriku textile production and academia in the form of Shinshu University's Faculty of Textile Science and Technology closer" and strongly encouraging partnerships between the two.