Aiming for engineering that meets the demands of society and the community in the middle of the 21st century Chubu University-University Journal Online

In the middle of the 21st century, where current high school students play an active role as the core of society, it is expected that the way society and employment will change significantly due to the development of AI.
Chubu University has been pursuing the ideal form of engineering for 52 years since it was established as a university specializing in engineering. In 2018, the National Strategic Comprehensive Special Zone "Asia's No. 1 Aerospace Industry Cluster Formation Special Zone"* XNUMXWe are planning to open the Department of Aerospace Science and Engineering by taking advantage of the location of the area.We asked President Koa Yamashita and Professor Toshio Goto, a special adviser to the president, to talk about the background and background of the concept, the human resources development of the new department, and the goals of the education system.

* 1: "Comprehensive Special Zone (International Strategic Comprehensive Special Zone)" is one of the national strategic projects included in the national "New Growth Strategy" (Cabinet decision in June 22).In 6, 1 local governments such as Aichi prefecture, Gifu prefecture, and Nagoya city jointly applied for "Asia's No. 23 aerospace industry cluster formation special zone" and were first designated as an international strategic comprehensive special zone. One of the aerospace-related industries that is on par with the advanced regions of Europe and the United States, which is unrivaled by emerging countries such as Asia, based on the efforts of the region such as the "Aerospace Industry Forum" that mentions academia and government. Aim to form a large accumulation area.

Engineering and Chubu University required in the 21st century

Until now, our university has pursued the ideal form of engineering that responds to the demands of the times and regions under the founding philosophy of "silent execution, a reliable human being", but in the century, engineering in the middle of it In thinking about the ideal way of doing things, I have listed the following three issues for our university.

One is to revitalize engineering through integration. In the 21st century, academic research requires the development of weft threads, which connect them in order to solve various problems in a complicated society, in addition to the warp threads that deepen specialization.Engineering is no exception, and in addition to inheriting and improving conventional technologies, it is necessary to promote the fusion or synthesis of vertically divided specialized fields and elemental technologies, so to speak, problem-solving engineering education.

The second is the training of "professionals" who can practice fusion engineering and integrated engineering.Considering the positioning of our university, it may be said that it is a "worker" who can manage production.

And the third is to accelerate contributions to the region.Nearly 90% of the enrollees of this university are from the three Tokai and Shizuoka prefectures, and 80% of the graduates find employment in similar areas.For this reason, our university has been focusing on community contributions by students and faculty members even before it was called regional revitalization.* XNUMXAs the aging of rural areas and the outflow of young people continue to progress, we must accelerate it further.

* 2: In the land (knowledge) base (COC) development project by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, we have established a long-term "reward-type internship" centered on engineering, which is rare in Japan.