Message
Ride on the “fresh green wind” to enhance your abilities for your future self.
Okayama Prefectural University, established in 1993, is a university composing of Faculty of Health and Welfare Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, and Faculty of Design. The university’s founding philosophy is “Respect for People and Promotion of Welfare.” Under this founding philosophy, the Faculty of Health and Welfare Science is dedicated to “earning certain trust of people,” the Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering is dedicated to “moving toward a future interwoven with people, products, and information,” and the Faculty of Design is dedicated to “designing ourselves and society 10 years from now,” for achieving the basic philosophy of education and research, which is “to create practical learning that emphasizes the relationship among people, society, and nature, and to contribute to the community.”
The university is located in the Kibi area, which is surrounded by rice paddies and satoyama landscape. At the time of the opening of the university, the boundary trees of the university campus were planted under the guidance of Dr. Akira Miyawaki, a plant ecologist, and a variety of trees, including the Kai tree, were carefully planted on the campus. These trees have grown over the past 30 years, and in harmony with the prestigious auditorium and other buildings, they form a nature-rich learning environment with a “fresh green wind,” where knowledge, sensitivity, and technology are interwoven.
From FY2025, the fourth period of mid-term goals and mid-term plans begins. The medium-term goals regarding education, securing students, student support, research, regional contribution, globalization, and management of the corporation were presented by Okayama Prefecture, the organization that established the university. As basic policies to achieve these goals, we are promoting various activities by setting the following three objectives: to foster human resources capable of generating innovations to solve various problems in society, to promote original researches and interdisciplinary researches utilizing our unique faculty structure, to return the results of education and researches to the local community, and to open our campus to the public.
The University is a place where you can acquire basic knowledge and abilities related to your specialty as well as a rich culture in order to fulfill your own dreams. It is also a place to establish your own approach to learning that will last a lifetime.
In recent years, the emergence of new tools called Creative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the development of robot technology are changing the structure of society. In order to cope with such an era in which it is difficult to predict the future, I believe it is important to have imagination, the ability to think flexibly, and the ability to verify the certainty of information, as well as solid professional skills.
The University provides educational curriculums to develop these abilities. One particularly distinctive educational program is the “Kibi no Mori” minor major. To improve practical skills, in cooperation with local companies and municipalities in the region, we offer a group of subjects and PBL (Project Based Learning) exercises that cross over fields and connect undergraduate and graduate schools (master’s course).
So, why don’t you ride on the “fresh green wind” and enhance your abilities for your future self?
Akio Gofuku
President,
Okayama Prefectural University