Tokyo Institute of Technology: Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership (ToTAL) welcomes eleven new students

The Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership (ToTAL)outer has welcomed eleven new graduate students as the fourth cohort (of December 2021) to its program. A registration ceremony and orientation for the new students were held on December 9. While taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the registration ceremony was held in hyflex format, or in person and online, as was the previous ceremony in June 2021.

Established in April 2018, ToTAL offers a five-year extracurricular program for graduate students. The academy’s mission is to provide leadership excellence education to empower students in the science and technology fields to develop core expertise and the leadership skills to bring out the best in each other and become innovative global citizens in a rapidly-changing era.

During the registration ceremony, Tokyo Tech President Kazuya Masu expressed his respect for the fourth cohort of ToTAL for having the courage to take on a new challenge at the academy. He mentioned that, in a survey of the Institute’s graduates, many raised the point that not only were they able to carry out cutting-edge research, but they were also able to improve their English and communication skills at Tokyo Tech. He told the new students that he hopes that they can acquire those skills and broaden their perspectives at ToTAL on top of their expertise to be developed in their major courses. Finally, he explained that Tokyo Tech promotes education and research while putting emphasis on nurturing students with leadership skills along with expertise, and encouraged the new students to take on various challenges with confidence as the fourth cohort of ToTAL to achieve this goal.

Following the president’s remarks, Executive Vice President for Education Tetsuya Mizumoto gave a welcoming speech, and Vice President for Teaching and Learning Jun-ichi Imura, the director of ToTAL, introduced each ToTAL faculty member. After that, each student gave a self-introductory speech about their research and goals while at ToTAL. To conclude the ceremony, Executive Vice President for Institute Strategy Isao Satoh gave a speech to encourage the students in their future endeavors at ToTAL.

At the orientation session held before the registration ceremony, faculty members explained the offerings of the ToTAL program, including the curriculum — recognition of social issues, global communication, leadership, followership and consensus building, off-campus project, and cultural skills — to the students.