Fukuoka University

Introduction

As one of the largest universities in western Japan, Fukuoka University carries on a history and tradition dating back 80 years, and continues to play a vital part in the region. The University's large campus in the southwestern part of Fukuoka City incorporates a wide range of facilities, including the University Hospital. It is home to over 20,000 students in a diverse range of undergraduate (31 departments in 9 faculties) and postgraduate (34majors in 10 schools) programs, and is the hub for a community of about 245,000 alumni. The University remains committed to its constant goal of providing high-level support in the three key areas of education, research and medicine. We believe in responsible education, in research driven by a questing spirit and backed up by hard work, and in quality medicine at the forefront of the field. We will continue to strengthen our performance in these three activities, educating and developing the talented professionals who will shape the region, the nation, and the international community, in accordance with our founding philosophy and our commitment to education and research. In recent years these three basic functions have been further strengthened through a variety of cooperative agreements, including collaborative projects between industry, academia and government, tie-ups with high schools and other universities, and stronger cooperative links with the local community. We have positioned these cooperative arrangements as crucial to the fulfillment of our obligation to society. There is rising demand from society to prepare graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in today’s world of accelerating globalization, and to better fulfill this need we have launched the Fukuoka University Global Graduate Educational Initiative. At the founding of the Fukuoka Higher Commercial School, the origin of the University, the founders declared that Fukuoka would continue to thrive as a gateway between Japan and other nations, and that there was a pressing need to nurture graduates with the broad perspectives that would be needed. From its home in Fukuoka, the “Gateway to East Asia,” the University continues to contribute to society through graduates with an international outlook, active on the global stage. Universities today face a harsh operating environment. We are implementing a variety of policies and plans designed to further improve our competitiveness, and stabilize and strengthen financial soundness. The value of the University, sited here in the Nanakuma region of Fukuoka, has been widely recognized thanks to our constant commitment to close regional interaction, and collaborative projects within it. Our approach and performance have earned the respect and trust of the people of the area, and we will continue to evolve together with them to remain a leading educational institution.