Hirano Plan 2011

Creating a foundation on which the university can shine forth even into the 22nd century

1. Fundamental ideas

Under its 80th anniversary slogan, "Reflecting on the origin… Looking to the future…," Osaka University is returning in spirit to its starting point and building a foundation on which it will continue to shine brightly even into the 22nd century.
Universities must be centers of scholarship and education. Osaka University, with its motto of "Live Locally, Grow Globally," aims to be a world center of scholarship and education, nurturing world leaders possessing a high ethical sense. Furthermore, Osaka University actively promotes the type of education and scholarship that our nation and society should pursue in order to contribute to the advancement and welfare of human kind.
The basic unit of any university is the individual -- student, faculty, and staff. Individuals compose the education and research bodies; they constitute the university. For Osaka University to be active and continue advancing, it is important that we improve the university environment so that, regardless of school, whether arts or science, each member and each department can show their originality. We will also work to improve our environment so as to attract more outstanding personnel from home and abroad.

Respecting the opinions of our members and of our education and research organizations, we will implement transparent management through the sharing of information.

2. Education and research

It is said that a 100-year national plan should focus on education. Japan's future depends on the development of our nation's human resources. For our country to survive and develop, we must devote ourselves to the advancement of science and technology. One of the missions of a university is to foster graduates possessing excellence, graduates who will take a lead in various fields and contribute to the human welfare and prosperity. Osaka University must continue to promote its mission as an advanced education institute.
Innovative technological development and the creation of a spiritually rich and peaceful society cannot be realized without advancement in sciences. Society asks universities to further promote long-term technological development best achieved as a creative intellectual activity at a university.
Osaka University must further concentrate on promoting academic research in the cultural and natural sciences as well as innovative technological development. Additionally, Osaka University will facilitate basic academic research and education, endeavors that only a university can pursue. Applied research and university-industry cooperation can be fruitful only through the implementation of such.
We will make Osaka University a world university of the highest caliber. To this end, we must value the uniqueness of our education and research institutes as well as the characteristics that have made Osaka University unique. Valuing the characteristic of basic and applied scholarship in both the liberal arts and natural sciences, we will widely promote the advancement of learning. We believe that the energy a university invests in basic academic research gives birth to fundamental strengths. We are resolved to lay a foundation that will not chase fads, but will continue to strengthen Osaka University as an outstanding center of learning. In order to have such a foundation, all departments and research facilities must be free to exhibit their originality and aim for being top in the world. Such makes the creation of new worthwhile research fields through the integrating different fields more easily achieved.
Osaka University will become a place to nurture international-minded researchers, engineers, educators, professionals, intellectuals, and world leaders with a high sense of ethics and broad cultural understanding. Osaka University will strengthen its efforts to recruit faculty and students from overseas in order to promote the true internationalization of our campuses. In addition to improving the environment for learning English and other languages, we will improve the environment for international students to learn Japanese through a review of our current systems.
By complying with our nation's education policies and by promoting both science and culture, with awareness that universities should be centers of scholarship and education, we will claim a leading role in the learning and education of our nation and society and propose measures to promote learning and education positively and responsibly.

3. University management

How active a university can become depends upon the support of its individual members. In any organization, lack of excellence in its members precludes advancment. Activities at a comprehensive university depend on each education and research organization at the university. Education and research organizations are composed of individuals and these individuals make up a university. Based on this idea, we will improve and reform our university environment in order to attract more outstanding individuals from home and abroad. Appointments at the university should be allocated most effectively for the purpose of realizing this principle.
Cooperation between the university executive office and research and educational bodies must be strengthened:
In order to achieve this principle, we will strengthen the ability to plan and get things done, restructuring the executive office. The executive office will decide future direction and address problems at the university as a whole. Each education and research body will build a system enabling them to fully exhibit their originality. For that purpose, sharing information is of great importance, so we will make it a principle to implement transparent management, management with a broader viewpoint, that listens to opinions from members and research and educational bodies.
Building a financial foundation to achieve the ideal:
We will review our financial foundation and build a permanent stable financial foundation capable of weathering reduction in grants from the government. For that purpose, we aim to build a sound management system handling stable financial resources such as grants from the government. On that basis, highly liquid financial sources will be allocated mainly to policies for realizing the ideal. Furthermore, we will increase our efforts to obtain funds from outside the university and establish a more efficient system for obtaining such.
Establishing an administration bureau to support realization of the ideal:
The responsibility of administration bureau is to realize the above mentioned items. For that purpose, we will review the role of the administration bureau and strive to establish an administration bureau that can strongly support the university in realizing the ideal. Faculty and staff will work together to establish such an administration bureau.

In conclusion

The importance of fulfilling the original mission of our university and promoting basic academic research and education, thereby contributing to society, is paramount and must remain so. Additionally, it is the duty of universities to promote the role of scholarship and education within the nation and society.
For a university to develop, it is essential that university staff members be able to work freely with vigor and that diverse education and research organizations exhibit their originality. In order for the fulfillment of the mission of our university, executive officers, administration bureaus, and education and research organizations must blend the wisdom and power of all their members. We need to lay a foundation on which Osaka University will continue to shine brightly in the 21st century and even into the 22nd century as a world leader of learning and education.