Keio University

[EduCativ]

Established in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa as a small school of Western learning, Keio has a history as Japan's first private institution of higher learning. Over 150 years since its founding, Keio has thrived under its founder's motto of jitsugaku, or empirical science, as it continues to transform Japan as a modern nation through contributions to education, research, and medicine.
Founded in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa, Keio University is Japan's first modern institution of higher learning. Over the years, Keio has continued to evolve while preserving its management tradition through the willing cooperation of private individuals and groups.
To survive globalization, which has been the defining feature of the 21st century, universities must meet world standards while maintaining their uniqueness. Keio's distinctive characteristic lies in its contribution to Japan's modernization by remaining private and sending out individuals who are instilled with the spirit of independence and self-respect and who can think independently about the future of our world without being swayed by the trends of the moment—to every field of society. While this is an enduring principle of Keio, we must strengthen education and research to adapt to the changing times. Keio University must not forget its origin as a place of learning and contribute to society by enhancing education, research, and medicine.
"A school is not a place for teaching. It is an instrument for supporting individual growth without hindering the flowering of innate talents." (Bunmei Kyoiku-Ron, Yukichi Fukuzawa). In an age of transformation, we need to acquire knowledge and the ability to break through and rise above unexpected challenges. To become a global leader with the spirit of independence and self-respect in a century marked by dramatic changes, one needs to have the insight to discern the true nature of unrecognized problem creativity to generate solutions communication skills to understand different cultures, correctly convey the history and culture of your own country, and overcome differences and universal moral values that transcend ethnicity and religion.
To foster such individuals, a knowledge acquisition approach to learning is insufficient. There is a need to unlock and maximize each student's potential by providing a diverse learning environment and education outside of Japan. In recent years, Keio University's undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as its affiliated schools, have undertaken various initiatives to develop distinctive international programs, such as expanding the study abroad system, promoting double degree programs, and implementing Japan's first double diploma program at the high school level. Furthermore, to attract a wide range of talented students from within Japan, the university has established the Keio University Gakumon no Susume Scholarship for students living outside the greater Tokyo area. It has also implemented new test-optional admissions policies that evaluate communication skills and the ability to think. At the same time, the university has built a framework consisting of the three initiatives of Longevity, Security, and Creativity in which the wide-ranging distinctive research carried out at the university is integrated and into which capital and human resources are injected. A new hospital building is under construction at Shinanomachi Campus—a facility befitting a global hub for world-class, cutting-edge medicine and research.
Diverse students are pursuing a diverse range of learning in a free and uninhibited atmosphere—this is how global leaders with the spirit of independence and self-respect are fostered. One person alone cannot implement successful university reform. The entire community of Keio must think independently, while the headquarters supports the individual departments' autonomous efforts and acts as a powerful facilitator to solve university-wide issues. I believe the spirit of "national independence through personal independence" also applies to university reform.

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