President   OHTSUKA Hirofumi

　National Institute of Technology, Ariake College opened in 1963 as one of the second group of national colleges of technology, here in the Ariake region encompassing the cities of Omuta and Arao — an area once known as the “coal capital.” Since then, the College has sent some 10,000 practical, advanced engineers out into the world.

　After establishing the Advanced Engineering Course — comprising the Advanced Production and Information Systems Engineering Course, the Advanced Chemical Science and Engineering Course, and the Advanced Architecture Course — in 2001, and transferring to the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN) in 2004, the College was reorganized in 2016 into a single Department of Creative Engineering with two divisions and six courses: the Division of Environmental and Energy Engineering, comprising the Energy Course, the Applied Chemistry Course, and the Life and Environmental Science Course; and the Division of Human and Welfare Engineering, comprising the Mechanics Course, the Information System Course, and the Architecture Course. This reorganization was carried out under our educational philosophy of “fostering practical, advanced engineers who are creative, diverse, interdisciplinary, and internationally minded, on the basis of a broad engineering foundation and a rich liberal arts education,” and this structure remains in place today.

　The times have moved on from the era of rapid economic growth, and today we face a number of social challenges at once, among them energy, global warming, and a declining birthrate coupled with an aging population. Each of these is a complex, compound problem for which better solutions are difficult to find. The key to resolving them lies in the continued evolution of cutting-edge technologies that closely integrate virtual and physical space — data science, AI, IoT, and robotics — and in the development of the technologies that put them into practice. Achieving both economic development and the resolution of social issues on a foundation of innovation, and thereby realizing a sustainable, human-centered super-smart society (Society 5.0), depends above all on developing people who can take a broad view, consider matters from many angles to identify the essence of a problem, and marshal science and technology to create and sustain the society of the future.

　At Ariake KOSEN we are committed to socially implemented education and joint research through industry-government-academia collaboration centered on the Regional Collaboration Center, and to international education projects that cultivate an international outlook through partnerships with educational institutions overseas, centered on the Global Education Center. Through these efforts, we advance an education that develops people who possess not only practical skills, knowledge, and experience in their specialist fields but also broad culture and sound judgment, an interdisciplinary and international perspective, flexible thinking, and abundant creativity.