Congratulations to all the new students on your admission to Niigata University. On behalf of Niigata University, I extend my heartfelt congratulations.
I would like to tell you three things on the day of your enrollment.
First, let me talk about dreams and hopes. With various dreams and hopes for the future in mind, I am sure you all welcome your enrollment day. Dreams and hopes are the driving force for living. Can you express them in words now? Perhaps they are still vague and cannot be expressed in words, but it is important to consciously visualize them. By doing so, I believe your dreams and hopes will take shape just as the fog gradually clears. Enrollment is a good time to reflect on the hopes and dreams you have for yourself.
I believe that a university is where you define your hopes and dreams and develop the basic abilities to realize them. In fact, during your education at the university, you will often encounter challenges and questions that have no answers. Yet that is precisely how we develop the ability to face questions we cannot answer or predict. In other words, a university is not just a place to acquire knowledge but also to develop the ability to apply that knowledge to confront the unknown. Please do not forget to embrace the dreams and hopes that you now have on the day of your enrollment. I wish you all the best in your future life at the University.
Next, I would like to share Niigata University's philosophy with you. Niigata University’s philosophy is "Autonomy and Creativity." "Autonomy," as the word suggests, is to behave according to the standards you have set for yourself, and "Creativity" means to produce something new. With this philosophy in mind, we hope you will foster the habit of always thinking of things based on your own established standards while studying at Niigata University.
Put another way, the spirit of "Autonomy and Creativity" means not to imitate other people and to be in the habit of making your own observations, discerning facts with your own eyes, and making correct judgments. In other words, this will enable you to possess "genuine strength" of resilience and suppleness, just like supple but unbreakable branches of a willow tree, the symbol of Niigata City. I would like you to take to heart the philosophy of "Autonomy and Creativity" and the spirit of "genuine strength" as you expand the horizons of your learning during your life at the university.
The third topic is about Niigata University's vision for the future. In late February the year before last, the University formulated its vision for the next 10 years. As we head towards the near future of 2030, becoming "a front-runner of future life innovation" was defined as the mission for the university to accomplish.
"Life innovation" here is not confined to the fields of medical care, health, and welfare, but is also innovation that creates new values and meaning of our "existence," "whole life," "way of living," "the ideal society," and "involvement with the environment," as well as the very basis of these: the earth and nature, as we live through the 21st century. In other words, the "Life innovation" that Niigata University strives for is innovation for the well-being of humanity.
Niigata University is a large comprehensive university with 10 faculties and 5 graduate schools, as well as research institutes, Medical & Dental Hospital, and schools attached to Niigata University. It is a "repository of knowledge" that gathers experts from various academic fields. Therefore, by tapping into their collective capabilities, the goal is “future life innovation” and Niigata University aims to become a front-runner in this endeavor.
In this environment, you will be able to study not only your specialized fields but also various other disciplines. As we exchange with international students and researchers, you may also have opportunities to study abroad. I hope you will all enjoy diverse encounters to become a front-runner in this "future life innovation."
I have just talked about dreams and hopes, the philosophy of Niigata University, and the vision for the future of Niigata University.
As you enter Niigata University, I hope you will face your dreams and hopes, embrace the university's philosophy, share the university's vision for the future, and get the most out of your time as a student. Always maintain your intellectual curiosity, never forget the importance of learning, and continue to pursue the dreams you had when you entered the university.
My heartfelt congratulations, once again, on your admission to Niigata University. I hope your university life will be a truly rewarding one.
Thank you.
October 2, 2023
USHIKI Tatsuo, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Niigata University
各位新同学，恭喜你们入读本校。我谨代表新潟大学全体同仁向你们表示衷心的祝贺，也欢迎你们的到来！
借此机会，我想向各位新同学讲三点内容。
首先是关于梦想和希望。值此入学之际，我相信新踏入大学校园的同学们都怀揣对未来的梦想和希望。梦想和希望是人类生存的原动力。那么，大家能用语言将其表达出来吗？或许它还很模糊，无法形成语言或文字，那就要有意识地去勾勒它。这样一来，梦想和希望就会拨开云雾，一点点清晰和具体起来。请各位利用这样的契机，认认真真地思考自己的梦想和希望。
我认为，大学就是一个明确自己的梦想和希望并培养实现它们的基础能力的地方。大学的学习，不同以往，很多问题没有答案。甚至可以说，大家会经常遭遇没有答案的课题和问题。然而，这也可以培养自己有能力去面对无法解决或无法预测的问题。换言之，大学不仅仅是学习知识的地方，更是学习如何运用知识、面对未知世界的地方。请大家牢记自己入学之时勾勒的梦想和希望，过好大学生活。
其次，我想谈谈新潟大学的理念。我们的理念是“自律与创生”。正如其字面意思所言，“自律”就是按照自己制定的规范来采取行动，“创生”就是创造新事物。新潟大学希望大家基于这一理念在学习期间养成“始终自己制定自己的规范来思考事物的习惯”。
换言之，这种“自律与创生”的精神就是秉持不效仿他人，自己仔细观察或倾听事物，并用自己的眼睛去分辨事实从而做出正确判断的习惯。坚持做到这一点，大家就会获得“真正的力量”，宛如新潟市的象征柳树一般，会变得更加柔韧而不屈。希望同学们在新潟大学的学习生活中，汲取各种知识养分，并积极感受“自律与创生”的理念以及“真正的力量”的精神。
另外，我想谈一下我们大学的未来愿景。新潟大学在前年2月底制定了展望十年之后的未来愿景。其中，面向2030年这一不久的将来，我们将新潟大学应履行的使命定义为成为“未来的生命·创新领跑者”。
这里的“生活·创新”，不但涉及“医疗、健康和福祉领域”，还涵盖21世纪的我们人类的“生命”、“人生”、“生活方式”、“社会状况和与环境的关系”，以及构成上述要素的基础——“地球”与“自然”相关的衍生价值和意义的创新。换言之，新潟大学所追求的“生活·创新”是为人类福祉而创新。
新潟大学是一所拥有十个学系、五个研究生院以及研究所、大学医院和附属学校的综合性大学。它是一个“知识堡垒”，集结了各学术领域的专家。因此，我们要发挥这种综合优势实现“面向未来的生活·创新”，并力争成为其中的领跑者。
在这样的环境里，同学们不仅能学习自己专业领域的知识，还可以汲取其他各科的学问养分。此外，还有机会出国留学，以及同海外的学生及研究人员交流学习。我希望你们都能把成为“未来的生活·创新领跑者”作为目标，亲身体验和实践。
围绕梦想与希望、本校的理念以及未来愿景这三点，我就讲这么多。
希望大家在入学之际，认真面对自己的梦想和希望，牢记新潟大学的办学理念，共享学校的未来愿景，充分过好自己的大学生活。在保持求知欲的同时，始终牢记学习的重要性，朝着入学时树立的梦想不断前进。
最后，我再次祝贺同学们的到来，希望你们的大学生活硕果累累！我的致辞到此结束。
2023年10月2日
新潟大学校长 牛木辰男