Shizuoka University

Shizuoka University (静岡大学, Shizuoka Daigaku, abbreviated to Shizudai (静大)) is a national university in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Shizuoka University is well known in the field of engineering, in creative innovation, and in the invention of next generation technology, with the prestigious international exchange of laboratories in these fields. One of the notable persons is the father of Japanese television, Kenjiro Takayanagi. Soichiro Honda, the founding president of the global corporation Honda Motor Co. Ltd., studied in Hamamatsu College of Technology (now Shizuoka University School of Engineering). Heihachiro Horiuchi, founder of Hamamatsu Photonics, is an alumnus of the Hamamatsu Kōtō Kōgyō Gakkō (today’s Electronics Institute of Shizuoka University) and a disciple of Prof. Kenjiro Takayanagi. Shizuoka University also enters into partnership agreement with various corporations, such as Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Various performances and inventions of students and graduates are cited in TV mass media.
Graduates and fellows of Shizuoka University have become successful leaders in different areas. Nakasone Yasuhiro, who was a Prime Minister of Japan and a world leader, studied in the prestigious Shizuoka High School (now part of Shizuoka University). Gayu Uesugi, Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors North America, has a master's degree in Engineering from Shizuoka University. Moreover, Osamu Suzuki, the Chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, was conferred with an honorary doctorate. Dr. Yuan-Tseh Lee, Nobel Prize awardee in Chemistry, was awarded with Doctor (Honoris Causa) degree.
The Environmental Leaders Program (ELSU) was launched to foster "Environmental Leader Meisters" for advancing the protection of the ecosystem and coexistence of human society. ELSU focuses on resolving issues to rejuvenate the environment in Asian and African regions. Moreover, Asia Bridge Program is established to educate future global leaders in science, business and society.
Shizuoka University has very high (VH) research intensity and belongs to the top universities in Japan, Asia and the world according to various university ranking schemes, such as Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) and University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP). In Thomson Reuters Science Watch Report (2005–2009), Shizuoka University is a high-impact institution in materials science. Furthermore, the Research and Education Center of Nanovision Science is part of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE) Program. The Faculty of Informatics is recognized as a distinctive university educational program by the Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
The university consists of six faculties: Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, Informatics, Science, Engineering, and Agriculture. It consists of two main campuses, in the cities of Shizuoka and Hamamatsu (Engineering and Informatics faculties). National universities in Japan tend to be held in higher regard in higher education than private or public universities. National universities are highly selective in student admissions. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of the Japanese Government assures quality of higher education in national universities.
The university was founded on May 31, 1949, as an incorporation of several local educational institutions: Shizuoka High School, Shizuoka Teacher Training Institutes I & II, a Young Teacher Training Institute, and Hamamatsu College of Technology. At this initial stage, only the Education and Engineering faculties existed.
In 1951, the Shizuoka Prefectural Agricultural College was amalgamated into the fold, resulting in the creation of a new Agriculture faculty. 1965 brought on a structural rearrangement, combining several smaller schools within other faculties to initiate separate Science and Humanities faculties. With the coming of the digital age in 1995, an Informatics Faculty was added.
In 2006, the university conducted research once more on its internal structure and looked at making large changes including reorganisation of the humanities and education faculties and an increase of student places in the legal graduate school.
The campus mascot first appeared on the university's home page in the fall of 2003. To facilitate more active use of this mascot, suggestions for a name were taken, and "Shizuppi" was chosen.
Emblem design and concept:
The emblem design depicts the vast natural stage upon which the university is situated. In the background rises the massive Mt. Fuji and the smaller Mt. Hoei as visible from the university campus, while in the foreground are the billowing waves of the Sea of Enshū and Suruga Bay.
Shizuoka University also has a Psychological Service Center which provides mental health-related consultations to the community, and Campus Museum which is utilized to curate and preserve Shizuoka University's research-related materials and to promote their use.
Address: 836 Ōya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Shizuoka campus overlooks Shizuoka City and Suruga Bay.
Address: 3-5-1 Johoku, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Shizuoka University's Hamamatsu Campus is situated amid the urban environment of Hamamatsu City, a major center of manufacturing technology.
There are approximately 9,000 students in 6 faculties and 1,600 students in 8 graduate schools in Shizuoka Daigaku (as of May 1, 2010). Various student organizations, circles and clubs are active in the university, such as the Shizuoka University Motors. Shizuoka University also has international residence and dormitories for students.
Shizuoka University has exchange agreements with various universities in Asia, North America and Europe (37 universities from 18 countries as of April 15, 2013).
34°57′51″N 138°25′55″E﻿ / ﻿34.96417°N 138.43194°E﻿ / 34.96417; 138.43194