20 Years of History and the Evolution of Universities | Hideyuki Tokuda (Dean, Graduate School of Media and Governance)

May 25, 2010

On Sunday, April 4, 2010, a refreshingly clear day, a ceremony was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SFC. The venue was attended by approximately 2,300 people, including faculty from our double degree partner schools, Yonsei University in Korea and Halle University in Germany, as well as many distinguished guests and affiliates such as the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture and the Mayor of Fujisawa City. For me, as an attendee, it was a memorable ceremony. My honest impression is, "Before I knew it, 20 years had flown by."

I contributed a short article that begins with these opening lines to the June 2010 issue of Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), which featured a special on SFC's 20th anniversary, so I would be grateful if you would refer to it for the topic at hand. Due to the limited word count, I was unable to go into great detail, but it is an article that looks back on the past 20 years, describing the first 10 years as the founding period, the next 10 as the succession period, and the next 20 as a period of redevelopment, and offers a perspective on the future of SFC.

Here, I would like to consider Japanese universities from the perspective of 20 years of history and the evolution of universities. First, from the standpoint of university history, it cannot be said that our country's universities have a particularly long history. The oldest university I have ever visited is the University of Bologna in Italy, founded in 1088 and said to be the oldest university in the world. The restored Department of Anatomy, which I visited with students, was very impressive. The University of Cambridge in the UK, home to the Computer Lab. where my friend Prof. Andy Hopper serves as Director, was founded in 1209. At the entrance, vacuum tube components from one of the earliest computers are on display. The University of Siena in Siena, Italy, which I visited in connection with the COE (Center of Excellence) program, was founded in 1240. A painting of a commemorative ceremony displayed next to the hall entrance is inscribed with "750th Anniversary." Twenty years may be but a mere dot in the history of the world's universities.

In terms of the evolution of universities, the world's universities have entered an era of great competition to attract talented individuals, and major reforms are underway regarding their mission, education and research, and operational structures. In Europe, based on the Bologna Process established in 1999, reforms are underway to restructure the framework of university education across the continent, aiming for the standardization and quality assurance of degrees such as bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. They are also aiming to create an environment where many people from outside Europe can study and work in Europe. Finland, which I visited last week for an international conference, has also introduced a new framework for bachelor's and master's degrees. However, financial support for students is very generous; not only does the state cover the full cost of tuition, but many students in the Ph.D. program are also given the opportunity to study abroad at foreign universities or research institutions for short (~3 months) or long (1 year or more) periods. At the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, where I used to work, the model is for students to pursue their Ph.D. while participating in their supervisor's research projects, and they receive a monthly salary in addition to having their tuition covered. Basically, they advance their research while working at a ratio of roughly 50% on the project and 50% on their own research. At the aforementioned Computer Lab. at the University of Cambridge, they solicit donations from IT companies around the world to financially support students in the Ph.D. program. On the other hand, German universities offer one example of a radical system aimed at increasing faculty mobility and improving quality. In Germany, reforms to faculty employment have been implemented, where new positions are advertised internationally, and a system is in place that requires junior faculty members to change universities upon promotion. A friend of mine also had to leave Karlsruhe University and was fortunate enough to have just returned this April as a professor. However, he was complaining that his wife could not join him immediately due to her work. I hear that some professors commute about 200 km.

Compared to these universities, what is the situation at universities in our country? The faculty hiring process and student job hunting are both very domestically oriented. If our universities do not become more open to diverse people from around the world, it is only a matter of time before they become invisible on the international stage. I also want students to increase their mobility and enhance their ability to be active in various parts of the world.

The next 20 years may also fly by, but I hope that SFC, which has entered its redevelopment period, will play a role as a pioneering campus within Keio University in driving these transformations.

(Published: May 25, 2010)