Office of the President

Happy New Year from Kyushu University.

As we step into 2025, I remain committed to advancing the goals of Kyushu University VISION 2030. Building on our achievements thus far, I am eager to work alongside the university community and our stakeholders through meaningful dialogue and collaboration to achieve even greater progress.

The year 2024 marked a symbolic crossroads between the past and the future for Kyushu University. In April, we selected a preferred bidder to redevelop the Hakozaki Campus site. This historic campus served as the university’s main hub since its founding in 1911. The redevelopment will transform the campus into the HAKOZAKI Green Innovation Campus, honoring our legacy while fostering new industries, growth, and innovation.

Another highlight of 2024 was the centennial celebration of the first Japanese performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Known globally as the "Ode to Joy" or “The Ninth,” the first Japanese orchestra to perform this iconic piece was the Kyushu Imperial University Philharmonic, the predecessor of today’s Kyushu University Philharmonic Orchestra. To commemorate this milestone, the orchestra delivered an extraordinary performance, bringing the grandeur of this historic work into the present and deeply resonating with all who attended.

The year 2025 marks the fourth year of Kyushu University VISION 2030, a strategic plan launched in 2021 to address global challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration. The Integrated Initiative for Designing Future Society fosters cooperation across organizational boundaries, uniting researchers from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Key contributors include our design-focused Think Tank Unit and research teams specializing in decarbonization, medicine, health, the environment, and food security. Together, they are advancing interdisciplinary research aimed at creating a better world.

These initiatives are already yielding significant results. Notable achievements include the creation of carbon dioxide separation membranes, Japan’s largest integrated medical and administrative data platform, and a predictive model for marine plastic waste with world-first quantitative targets.

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