The 100th Anniversary of Tohoku University

The third in a succession of national universities established in Japan at the turn of the twentieth century, Tohoku University will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2007.

In the opening years of the twenty first century, Japan, like much of the rest of the world, has been facing some hard realities and a difficult economic climate. As such, Japanese national universities were reorganized as university corporations on April 1st 2004.

As Tohoku University's centennial approaches, its challenges is to create and maintain an environment which fosters top level research leading to major contributions in global development and the prosperity of mankind. This will further ensure the further advancement of Tohoku University as a research intensive university open to the world and the community, and will serve to reaffirm the achievements of the university's first one hundred years, as well as secure its legacy.

In preparation for this important milestone, the Tohoku University 100th Anniversary Committee is working on four project areas: the creation of a Tohoku University Fund; the construction of a commemorative building; the publication of a 100-year history; and event planning.

1 ) Establish the Tohoku University Fund

The Fund will ensure that Tohoku University can maintain its highly valued autonomy and assume the responsibilities of a university corporation.

2 ) Construct a commemorative building

The Tohoku University Commemorative Building will be situated on the Kawauchi Campus where the city and university boundaries meet.

3 ) Publish a 100-year history

The One-Hundred-Year History of Tohoku University will be an objective account of the events that have marked the development of the university.

4 ) Plan Centenary Commemoration events

The events will include commemorative ceremonies, award presentations, special lectures and commemorative symposia open to students, faculty and the community, and special exhibits designed to make the university's archival and other resources open to the public.

Tohoku University Global Operations Centre (GOC)

On June 1st, 2005, the Global Operations Centre (GOC) was established as a base for the international strategy of Tohoku University, supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

This Centre will be an administrative headquarters for all matters related to international exchanges, and will serve to devise and put into action a united set of strategies in all faculties.

The Centre is aimed to create an environment for academic staff to make Tohoku University as an internationally competitive university with highly acclaimed world-class research and education and to ensure the university is well-equipped to maintain a position of excellence in the global academic community.

1. Make international strategies to promote the university.

2. Put the international strategies into practice and coordinate the accomplishments in such a way that the action plan functions well for all the university faculties and institutions (strengthen the overseas liaison offices).

3. Make available multi-lingual versions of university information and be the first contact point for foreign institutions and individuals.

4. Create a global communications system (provide services and make information available through the Internet).

5. Improve the support system for foreign researchers and students.

6. Support fund-raising from outside sources at an international level.