Our Objectives
Education at Hokkaido University is guided by four basic philosophies: “Frontier Spirit,” “Global Perspectives,” “All-round Education” and “Practical Learning.” These four guiding principles have been cultivated over the course of the institution’s long history, which dates back to 1876 – the year its predecessor, Sapporo Agricultural College, was established. Against this backdrop, the university aims to play a steady role as a global center for education and research. We aim to establish a university open to anyone worldwide, a world-class educational system, and strive to continue expanding the depths of our knowledge and its application/utilization. Finally, we work towards strengthening our university’s operations.
(1) Fundamental Goals of Education
We develop curricula of international quality, so that students may be given a distinguished all-round education and acquire global perspectives. This is so that we may nurture students who are open-minded, of high intellect, and who possess a wide knowledge base. Graduate courses are designed with the aim of producing highly skilled individuals who can a play central role in their respective field and will contribute to society with their expertise and ethical views. For undergraduate courses, there is more of an emphasis on improving the liberal arts education they receive so that they may become talented as global citizens.
(2) Fundamental Goals of Research
We focus on developing world-class research programs so that we may push the boundaries of our knowledge and contribute to the sustainable development of mankind and society while each student and staff member of the university retains academic freedom and independence to carry out their research. Our goals are based on the two concepts of practical leaning and the Frontier Spirit. We base our goals on these concepts to return the fruits of research to society and let each student and staff member tackle contemporary issues while laying out the path for the future.
(3) Fundamental Goals of Social Contribution
As a national university, we will positively promote partnerships between universities and industry based on our world-class, leading-edge, and trans-disciplinary research and education. We will serve as a bridge to the world for local communities and industrial agencies.
(4) Fundamental Goals of University Operations
We will establish the structure necessary to address domestic and overseas challenges promptly and appropriately. We will also promote autonomous top management in order to fulfill our educational, research and social goals.
The above outlines our mid-term goals, which will cover the length of six years from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2016. For detailed information, please download our “Mid-Term Goals” document.
