International Professional University of Technology in Osaka

Some students enter university after elementary school, junior high school, high school, technical college, etc., or from other universities, or even after quitting their jobs. In any case, the university itself is regarded as the highest academic institution. But what exactly is a university?

According to Shunya Yoshimi[1], in Western Europe, the university was born as a cooperative for teachers and students to secure transcendence (freedom) that could oppose secular and religious authority in the Middle Ages. In other words, the original meaning of the word “university" (universitas) is “union."

Most professional universities are small and single-department colleges that enable close communication between teachers and students. In this sense, they are similar to private tutoring schools* and can be a center for the creation of new knowledge. In the entrance examination, the interview is the most important part of the admission process, and communication already begins there.


From static knowledge to dynamic knowledge!

What is the new knowledge that professional universities are aiming for? Existing four-year universities are subdivided into faculties and departments, and students acquire specialized knowledge in their respective fields. However, it is difficult to deal with the complex and dynamically changing issues of modern society with only knowledge in individual specialized fields. Dynamic knowledge, including knowledge of the latest technologies that are constantly changing, is required, transcending the boundaries of various disciplines and even industries.

Typical examples are the serious global issues represented by the SDGs. The freedom that professional universities secure also includes freedom from these many difficult challenges such as gender balance and quality education. To this end, we place more emphasis on practical training outside of the university than on classroom learning within the university and create dynamic knowledge by constantly keeping an eye on open society, improving problem awareness and acquiring knowledge and wisdom that will become flesh and blood of students.


Realization of an inclusive society

Japanese society faces a variety of discrimination issues, and a typical one is the gender balance. There is a need to ensure diversity in all aspects in order to create our own values, rather than relying on existing views and values. By respecting each other’s individuality based on differences in gender, race, age, background, etc., we can ensure freedom from various discrimination issues and build a rich human network. This will enable us to confront the field of social advancement with a new sense of values. This extends not only to industry, but also to academia, politics, government offices, local governments, NPOs, and various organizations. Even if our students enter individual fields after graduation, they will make full use of the human networks they have cultivated to transcend the boundaries of their fields and become designers for the issues facing society as a whole.



[1] Shunya Yoshimi “Universities as idea – Beyond hopeless,", The University of Tokyo Press, 2020.

* A typical exapmple is TEKIJUKU.
Tekijuku was a school established in Senba, Osaka, the main trading route between Nagasaki and Edo in 1838 during the Tenpō era of the late Edo period. Its founder was Ogata Kōan, a doctor and scholar of Dutch studies (Rangaku). The foreign language curriculum focused primarily on medicine but also taught astronomy and other western sciences.
The school was one of the predecessors of Osaka University and Keio University, through the work of the most notable alumni, Ogata Koan and Fukuzawa Yukichi, respectively.
During the 25 years that Tekijuku was in operation, it is said that approximately 3,000 students were admitted to the school. At Tekijuku, academic studies were conducted under a system of friendly competition between those who taught and those who studied, which was different from the school system that had existed since the Meiji era.