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With a view to preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19), Niigata University has regrettably decided to cancel the AY 2021 Fall Entrance Ceremony. Instead of the ceremony, Prof. USHIKI Tatsuo, the President of Niigata University has sent a message in English and Chinese to the newly enrolled students this fall.
Dear new students, I would like to welcome each one of you and extend my warmest congratulations on your admission to Niigata University.
Every year, Niigata University Fall Entrance Ceremony takes place with all gathering at the Central Library Hall on Ikarashi Campus. The ceremony, however, has been canceled as the spread of the novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) is not yet contained this year. It is truly regrettable that I cannot see you and congratulate you in person. Instead of the ceremony, I am sending you my message on this website.
As you become a student of Niigata University, I would like you to learn our philosophy: "Autonomy and Creativity." "Autonomy" means to behave in accordance with your own norms, and "Creativity" means to produce something new.
In line with this philosophy, we hope that you will all acquire the habit of establishing your own discipline and thinking on your own. In other words, we would like you to develop the ability to see and hear things on your own, see the facts with your own eyes, and make judgment.
The COVID-19, a new highly contagious infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus, first recognized in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, and rapidly spread to become a global pandemic. Many people might feel that this has been a major unprecedented incident.
However, pandemics have reoccurred throughout human history. For example, the plague—known as the Black Death—that ravaged medieval Europe, wiped out one-third of the population in Europe. There was also a severe pandemic just 100 years ago known as “Spanish flu,” caused by the novel influenza H1N1. The Spanish flu infected 600 million people, one-third of the world’s population of about 1.8 billion, claiming the lives of tens of millions of people. Such major pandemics are bound to occur, like earthquakes and other natural disasters. They also represent one of the big challenges that human beings must overcome.
Now, we are facing another tremendous challenge. What can we learn from the challenge of COVID-19 and what should we do? This might be a question that does not have only one single correct answer, like in school exams, or does not even have an answer. However, it is very important to think.
If you look back on history, some say that the plague pandemic in the 14th century accelerated the structural changes of feudal society in Europe, consequently leading to the new era of the Renaissance. It is also said that the Spanish flu pandemic, which broke out amid World War I, helped the war end sooner and subsequently brought about drastic changes in the world economy. One way to look at these is that major pandemics in the past caused dramatic changes in the social and economic paradigms.
I suppose that you feel that something is about to change dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I would like you to give it some thought. I believe that there are many things you have noticed and learned from the COVID-19 crisis.
With many waves of COVID-19, each bigger than the last, it still remains difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel. What will the world look like after the COVID-19 pandemic?
Japan has proposed "Society 5.0" as the concept of a future society. The term Society 5.0 denotes the fifth stage of society, following the hunting & gathering society (Society 1.0), the agricultural society (Society 2.0), the industrial society (Society 3.0), and the information society (Society 4.0). Society 5.0 is also described as a society in which cyberspace (virtual space) and physical space (real space) are highly integrated.
I suppose that COVID-19 has fueled social changes, with a sense of speed as if it were a tiny pebble tumbling down a slope. These days we often hear the term "digital transformation (DX)," which means to make people’s lives better by spreading digital technologies throughout society. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many people, including myself, may feel that digital technologies are becoming more popular in our daily lives.
In the future, you will experience many drastic changes like this. You will encounter many complex and unpredictable events. I believe that it is the responsibility of universities today to equip students with the intellectual abilities to survive in such difficult times. Each of you is expected to develop those abilities through studying at Niigata University.
We announced the Niigata University Vision 2030 in February 2021, which is accessible from the university website. You are strongly encouraged to read this future vision.
The Vision 2030 asks Niigata University itself a question about what it should do to remain essential to society, and sets "Becoming a front-runner of future life innovation" as the mission that Niigata University is to accomplish toward the society of the future.
Our definition of "life innovation" is not confined to the fields of medical care, health and welfare, but is also innovation that creates new value and meaning of our "existence", "whole life", "way of living", "the ideal society", "involvement with the environment" as well as "the earth" and "nature," both of which serve as the basis of these, as we live through the 21st century. With this mission in mind, we are determined to make progress toward the visions of what Niigata University should be in the future of 2030.
Niigata University aims to become a future-oriented university that gathers its knowledge as a comprehensive university and moves ahead with "life innovation" in order to enrich human activities on the earth. I would like to share this vision and mission with you all.
A university is a "repository of knowledge," where students and faculty members passionately pursue their academic goals, think, learn from each other, and nurture the wisdom to build the future. Niigata University is a future-oriented large-scale comprehensive university with the vision and mission mentioned earlier. We bring together experts from various academic fields.
I hope the new students will not forget the dreams and ambitions you hold when you enter the university and will take full advantage of this university as a "free space of wisdom" to learn as much as possible while you are here. With our philosophy "Autonomy and Creativity" firmly in mind, develop resilience with flexible mind, just like the branches of willow trees, by actively engaging in various initiatives that the university implements. I believe that what you will have acquired will be your strength when you go out into the world after graduation.
Lectures and practical trainings are currently restricted in various ways due to the impact of COVID-19, and the reality of a campus life quite different from what you have expected may continue a little longer. If you have a problem or feel stress or anxiety, please do not hesitate to talk to someone you trust. They may be your family, friends, your academic advisors, or the Student Affairs Office staff. Remember that you are not alone. Even in these difficult times, I would like you to arouse your intellectual curiosity to learn a lot and enrich your campus life.
As rainy days never stay, this COVID-19 crisis will eventually settle down. I sincerely look forward to seeing you at your graduation, when all of you will have grown immensely as a full-fledged member of society.
October 2021
USHIKI Tatsuo, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Niigata University
秋季入学的新生们，欢迎你们来到新潟大学。我由衷祝贺你们入学。
若在往年，我们会在五十岚校区中央图书馆的图书馆礼堂里举办秋季入学典礼，但因为今年新冠病毒传染病（COVID-19）大流行仍在持续，所以非常遗憾，齐聚一堂的典礼取消了。因为不能面对面向同学们送上祝贺，所以我要将这份致辞送给大家。
首先，我希望同学们在入学时了解一下新潟大学的理念。新潟大学的理念是“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实践，“创生”就是创新。
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”。也就是要用自己的眼睛和耳朵仔细观察或倾听事物、自己分辨事实并做出判断的习惯。
因新冠病毒（SARS-CoV2）的出现而引起的新传染病COVID-19于前年年底发生于中国武汉，眨眼之间就蔓延至全世界，演变成了大流行（全球大流行）。很多人都觉得发生意想不到的大事件了吧。
但是，传染病大流行原本就是人类历史上曾多次反复发生的事件。例如，袭击了中世纪欧洲的瘟疫（黑死病）就曾夺走了欧洲三分之一人口的生命。此外，就在100年前还发生过称作“西班牙流感”的新型流感的全球大流行。据说在这次大流行中，当时全球约18亿人口中的三分之一（6亿人左右）感染了流感，并有数千万人死亡。像这样，传染病大流行与大地震等天灾一样，是必定会发生的事件之一，也是人类必须通过的重大考验之一。
现如今，我们正处于这种重大考验之中。在这场新冠疫情的考验中，我们应该学些什么、做些什么呢？这个问题不像学校的试题一样一定有一个正确答案，或许可以说是一个连答案都没有的问题。但是，思考很重要。
例如，回顾历史的话，有人认为14世纪的瘟疫大流行加快了欧洲封建社会的结构变化，使其走向“文艺复兴”的新时代。“西班牙流感”是正好发生于第一次世界大战期间的大流行，据说它在使战争提前结束的同时，还为战后全球经济带来了重大变化。像这样，过去的传染病大流行渐渐成为使社会和经济框架发生重大变化的契机，也可以从这个视角来看问题。
同学们身处新冠疫情当中，是否已感觉到世界上某些事情即将发生重大变化？请大家务必试着动脑思考一下这件事情。一定有许多东西是通过新冠疫情才发现的、以及通过新冠疫情学到的。
COVID-19的浪潮一波又一波地涌来，且其波涛越来越汹涌，目前尚未看到尽头，但在新冠疫情之后会出现一个怎样的世界呢？
在日本提出的未来社会的概念中，有个词语叫作“Society 5.0”。人类构建的社会最早起源于狩猎社会（1.0），然后在向农耕社会(2.0)、工业社会(3.0)、信息社会(4.0)发展而来的过程中，对于在那之后出现的第5个阶段的社会进行定义的就是“Society 5.0”这个词语。也有人将其解释为是通过赛博空间和物理空间（现实空间）的高度融合构建起来的社会。
新冠疫情应该加快了这种社会变化吧。那是一种恰如小石子一旦开始滚下斜坡后就停不下来般的速度感。最近，听到数字化转型（DX）这个词的频率越来越高了。DX的定义就是“通过使数字技术渗透到社会中，使人们的生活变得越来越好”。我肯定不是唯一一个切身感受到此次新冠疫情期间数字技术已在我们的生活中变得越来越普及的人吧。
从现在开始，同学们就将生活在如此大的转型期里了。其间想必会发生许许多多复杂而又难以预测的事情。培养在这种时代里生存下去的智慧应该就是当代大学的使命。希望在新潟大学学习的同学们都一定要培养出这种能力。
新潟大学在今年2月公布了“新潟大学未来愿景2030”。同学们也可以在大学的网页上看到该内容，请大家务必要看一遍。
在未来愿景中，我们自问应该做些什么来使新潟大学在新冠疫情之后继续成为社会所需要的大学，并将新潟大学应该为未来社会履行的使命定为“成为未来的生活·创新领跑者”。这里所说的“生活·创新”不仅限于医疗、健康、福利领域，而是指旨在创造与生活在21世纪的我们的“生命”、“人生”、“生活方式”、“社会的理想状态”、“与环境的关系”、以及构成这些之根基的“地球”和“自然”相关的新价值和新意义的创新。这正是我们要胸怀这种使命在描绘新潟大学2030年这个不久的将来时候应有姿态蓝图的同时奋勇前进的决心。新潟大学的目标是成为一所为了使生活在地球上的我们人类的生活丰富多彩而汇聚综合性大学的智慧来推进“生活·创新”的面向未来的大学。我也希望大家一起来共享这个愿景和使命。
大学就是“知识基地”。因为那是一个在师生们热爱并思索学问、相互学习后创造出建设未来的智慧的地方。新潟大学是一所拥有如刚刚所说的愿景和使命的面向未来的大型综合性大学。这里聚集了各个学术领域的专家。
我希望所有的新同学都不要忘记在入学这一里程碑上怀抱的梦想和志向，充分利用新潟大学这个“知识的空间”，在上学期间学到很多东西。而且，请大家牢记新潟大学的理念——“自律与创生”，积极参加新潟大学开展的各种活动，掌握如柳枝般轻柔不屈的“真正力量”。我相信，在同学们踏上社会之时，那一定会变成一种强大的力量。
在新冠疫情之下，实际的授课和实习仍存在着各种各样的制约。与大家所期待的大学生活不同的现实或许还将持续一段期间。如果遇到困难或感觉到压力和担心，请随时与可以信赖的人商量。对象可以是家人或朋友，当然也可以是学校的指导老师或大学的教务人员。你们不是孤身一人。即使在新冠疫情下，也请同学们重视大学生活的时间，在开动脑筋的同时发挥出最大的求知欲，多多学习，度过收获丰富的每一天。
就像没有停不了的雨一样，新冠疫情终有结束的一天。我由衷祈愿，在同学们毕业之时，将见到已经取得长足发展的大家。
2021年10月
新潟大学校长 牛木辰男
