In addition to this, Nagoya University is proud of faculty members such as Professor Isamu Akasaki who was recently awarded for his research on GaN Blue Light Emitting Diode, as well as various other professors and graduates who have been recognized for their high level research and contributions to society. We are currently in the process of creating an academic plan, to be realized under the Academic Charter of Nagoya University which was established in February, 2000, in order to continue fulfilling our historical role as one of Japan's key leading universities.

In June of 2002, in an effort to materialize our 21st century reform plans, Nagoya University held the first International Forum with the purpose of, upon clearly defining the mission and role of universities within the society of the new century, establishing a plan of action in which these goals could be readily transferred to society. Nagoya University invited representatives of the universities and institutions among those which it currently holds education and research exchange agreements with (129 at department level, and 40 university-wide), and hosted 25 of them at the forum. The outcome of this meeting was the agreement of all participating universities, to establish a cooperative organization entitled, "Academic Consortium 21," (AC21). Member universities have made the commitment of meeting every two to three years for an initial period of 30 years, in order to carry out international cooperative learning via exchange and research.

In the arena of education, Nagoya University, as the first in Japan to take on such a project, established the Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences to assume the responsibility of coordinating undergraduate university-wide liberal arts education, in which all faculty members are registered to teach classes. Also, we are currently considering plans to establish such programs as the creation of a law school, business school, and technical skill license acquisition program. In addition to this, our innovative plans include, the appointment of recent Nobel Prize winner Doctor Noyori as director of our newly established research center entitled the "Institute for Advanced Study."

These are only part of the many ambitious reforms which Nagoya University is dedicated to carrying out, as it aims to respond to the rapidly changing demands of the global society. Based upon Nagoya University's Academic Charter, we intend to continue fulfilling our role in establishing and carrying out suitable reforms for higher education in the 21st century.

Nagoya University
Nagoya, Aichi 4648602, Japan