Daisuke Yonekura: Non-peeling Plating

2023/11/16

Coating treatment is a part of surface treatment, which is my field of expertise. This involves coating substrate materials, such as metals, with extremely thin surface layers of nitrides, oxides, etc., to enhance the functionality of the material or add new functions while maintaining the original functions of the substrate material. Naturally, if the coating layer peels off, those functions are lost.

Now, the environment surrounding universities has changed drastically over the last 20 years, and especially in the last few years. One of those changes is the shift in the trends of incoming students. Working at a regional national university, I feel that there are increasing concerns around me regarding the decline in the basic academic abilities of new students.

There are various reasons why trends among incoming students have changed. The biggest reason is likely the declining birthrate. The 18-year-old population began to decrease after peaking at 2.05 million in fiscal 1992 and is now around 1.12 million. In contrast, the number of students entering national, public, and private four-year universities has gradually increased from 540,000 in fiscal 1992 and has remained at approximately 620,000 since fiscal 2000. In short, it is natural that the average basic academic ability of incoming students has declined compared to 30 years ago.

On the other hand, demands from society are becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated, and students are expected to acquire more skills than before. Various topics such as internationalization, globalization, regional revitalization, innovation, entrepreneurship, data science, cross-disciplinary studies, interdisciplinary fusion, and transferable skills are being proposed one after another. Every time these matters are proposed, universities are required to establish new educational systems. For the past 10 years, I have also been busy with work related to educational reform within the university, struggling with reorganization and the resulting reforms of the educational system. It cannot be denied that these successive new initiatives are causing indigestion among some students, affecting their acquisition of basic knowledge in their core specialized fields.

In the field of coating, research on multilayer films that combine various thin films is increasing. In the education of students as well, I feel it will be important to create a system that provides various layers of knowledge and skills suited to the times while maintaining the foundation of each specialized field, ensuring that they do not easily peel off.