The September Entrance Ceremony for the 2021 academic year for new students of both undergraduate faculties and graduate schools was held at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall from 10:00 on Wednesday, September 22.
This academic year, a total of 235 new undergraduate and Japanese Language Program students were admitted in September: 102 at the Faculty of Economics; 5 at the Faculty of Law; 5 at the Faculty of Business and Commerce; 29 at the Faculty of Policy Management; 26 at the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies; and 68 in the Japanese Language Program. Of the 234 students admitted to the graduate schools, 169 will enter master's programs, 49 will join doctoral programs, and 16 will enroll in the professional degree program.
The ceremony began with an Incoming class report from Vice-President Yoshimitsu Matsuura. This was followed by President Itoh's welcome address in English, during which he quoted a passage from a speech by Yukichi Fukuzawa "The Mission of Keio University," extolling the task of devotion to one's studies, and freely leveraging one's imagination and creativity to contribute to the betterment of all society. President Itoh offered a rallying cry to new students, touching on his expectation that they engage with research topics which would have significant influence on the progress of knowledge, and imagine the world 50 years from now to become invaluable resources responsibly forging future society.
After a congratulatory address by Professor Tomohiko Taniguchi of the Graduate School of System Design and Management on behalf of faculty and staff, Rin Miyamoto a student at the Faculty of Economics offered remarks as a representative for new students. The ceremony concluded with a playback of the Alma Mater "The Juku-ka," to replace the traditional singing of the school song.
Following the ceremony, there were jubilant scenes of new students taking commemorative photos in front of Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall.
Participation in the ceremony was limited to new students and proceedings were streamed online in order to give the utmost consideration to preventing the spread of coronavirus disease.