Human resource development and other education and research objectives
Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences
The philosophy shared by all programs in the Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences is summarized in the words “creating, developing, and spreading mathematical sciences that contribute to society.” In keeping with this philosophy, the School aspires to the development of human resources who squarely face up to the complex problems arising in society, are equipped with the insight to identify their essence and practical problem-solving capabilities, and have the creativity to open up new fields on their own initiative.
Mathematical Sciences Program
The Mathematical Sciences Program offers education and research that merge humanities and the sciences and are of an interdisciplinary nature, toward its ideal of mathematical sciences that send messages to society and contribute to it. It is dedicated to the elucidation of complex systems appearing in nature, society, living organisms, etc., using advanced mathematical sciences. The ultimate objective is to achieve social innovation by returning its findings to society, and thereby help to better human welfare. In line with this ideology, we strive to develop human resources who have acquired a sophisticated and broadly-based grounding in mathematical sciences, possess the power to act as interfaces with various phenomena and to bridge mathematics and other sciences, and are capable of extensive activity on an international scale.
The Master’s Program produces researchers or high-level specialized professionals who have mastered thinking from the perspective of mathematical sciences and the related technology, and aspire to the fusion of mathematics and other sciences. While based on the objectives of human resource development in the Master’s Program, the Doctoral Program further develops human resources who are capable of autonomous research activities as researchers.
Frontier Media Science Program
The Frontier Media Science Program aims to be a world-class hub of research and development work in new information science that generates frontier media technology using approaches from the field of mathematical sciences, enriches life in the spiritual aspect by giving people a sense of satisfaction and interesting them, contributes to social and cultural advancement, and moves and inspires people.
In the Master’s Program, students acquire a grounding in mathematical sciences and basic theory in information science, as well as the technology enabling free programming of diverse information systems. The objective is to develop IT engineers for research and development, planning, and construction of information media systems that take account of human sensibility and psychology, and the human resources needed to design the related human interfaces. The Doctoral Program produces researchers and high-level specialized professionals equipped with a high degree of creativity, who will be leaders in the vanguard of information media.
Network Design Program
The Network Design Program turns out human resources capable of operating, planning, and analyzing networks, which apply various models and change with the times, from engineering perspectives. In contemporary society, networks create new additional value by interlinking various elements. In light of this characteristic, the Program develops personnel with the ability to analyze patterns of user behavior and degree of satisfaction as well as business models in the context of networks.
The Master’s Program nurtures the growth of engineers who have a broad outlook and the sophisticated expertise needed to operate and plan network systems to support the infrastructure of a sustainable society. The Doctoral Program produces global human resources capable of extensive international activity, who have the creativity to open up new fields on their own initiative.
Curriculum features
Mathematical Sciences Program
The Program is devoted to education and research in mathematical sciences centered around the construction of extraction models for discerning and understanding the essence of phenomena. It is aimed at acquisition of modeling-related basic technology and mathematical analysis technology, toward the mathematical elucidation of complex phenomena appearing in nature, society, living organisms, etc.
The following may be cited as specific examples of the types of phenomena treated.
* Social phenomena such as economic activities, financial engineering, congestion, earthquakes, and global warming
* Medical phenomena in areas such as the immunity system, genetic structure, cancer cells, and ventricular fibrillation
* Biological phenomena such as evolution and ecosystems
* Non-equilibrium phenomena appearing in chemical reactions and protein synthesis related to life structures
* Perceptual and cognitive phenomena appearing in illusion and thought
Students conduct modeling, mathematical analyses, and computer simulations on themes that are heavily and directly intertwined with our lives, and use the findings to acquire a mathematical understanding of complex phenomena and probe for causal factors that are common to different problems. Through this learning sequence, the Program nurtures the capacity for solution of problems. In this way, the Program is prepared with an environment enabling students to gain an understanding of the techniques of mathematical sciences while taking up the challenge of key issues in contemporary life.
Frontier Media Science Program
The main subject of education and research in the Frontier Media Science Program is the achievement of computer systems that are engaged with human beings. The students pursue studies in a wide range of areas, i.e., mathematical sciences, information systems, media information, human information processing, and human interface theory.
The domains of education and research in the Program are therefore divided into three categories, as follows:
* Human domain
* Computer domain
* Interaction domain, as that concerning interfaces between the first two.
The human domain encompasses subjects such as cognitive psychology, interpersonal communication, and human-friendly design.
The computer domain covers constituent technologies including computer graphics, image processing, voice signal processing, Internet engineering, pattern recognition, and topology.
The interaction domain is concerned with user interfaces and interaction technology for fusing the subjects of the first two domains.
Furthermore, the Program holds the Frontier Media Colloquium to give students an overview of the latest trends spanning diverse fields of expertise in other areas, in the interest of active fusion of scientific technologies. The Colloquium invites experts to serve as external lecturers, and graduate students are asked to describe the progress and features of their own research in order to receive advice from them. The students make use of this opportunity to cultivate their basic grounding in the related fields.
Network Design Program
The Network Design Program is aimed at the practical use of network technology using computers, by constructing both sophisticated and flexible network systems to support a sustainable social infrastructure, toward the emergence of the network society. In addition, the students learn how network application technology, which changes with the times, is being utilized in various businesses.
The specific education and research domains consist of the following three network application fields:
* Environmental energy domain
(Network application concerning smart grids, smart cities, and green computing)
* Life support domain
(Network application concerning the ambient society, network robots, and human beings)
* Business engineering domain
(Network application concerning business-related data analysis)
In each of these three domains, we offer lecture courses aimed at acquisition of more sophisticated technology in addition to the knowledge acquired in undergraduate courses.
In the makeup of lecture courses of the Master’s Program, recognition is accorded to not only electives in the Network Design Program but also certain courses in other programs in the Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences, courses shared with other graduate schools, and even courses unique to other graduate schools, for up to 10 units. This makes for an educational program that produces autonomous researchers and engineers who have a broad perspective.
Similarly, the Doctoral Program offers electives shared with other graduate schools as lecture courses, and this enables students to acquire a more wide-ranging knowledge. In research guidance, the School aspires to the development of human resources equipped for extensive action on the international stage. To this end, it encourages the proactive presentation of research results at international conferences.
Mastery of mathematical sciences requires the linkage of modeling, which is a mathematical description of phenomena, simulation for examination of the model, and mathematical analysis, all in accordance with the research theme. For effective execution of this process, new techniques of instruction have been added in the Master’s Program, to join those based on the conventional lecture format. In the Doctoral Program, three faculty members, one from each of the fields of modeling, simulation, and mathematical analysis, are appointed to act as “team fellows” and provide guidance in line with the research theme of the particular student. In this capacity, they furnish multifaceted guidance for the student’s research activities.
More specifically, a selection is made of a main field from among the three fields constituting the methodology of mathematical sciences (i.e., modeling, simulation, and mathematical analysis). The student receives guidance from a main supervisor from this field. In each of the remaining two fields, one auxiliary supervisor is appointed from the Meiji Institute for the Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences. This system of research guidance from a plural number of faculty members enables supervision of the education and research with a multifaceted perspective.
* Master’s Program – System for multiple research guidance
The Program applies a system of multiple guidance by one main supervisor and two auxiliary supervisors. This system provides research guidance with a sufficient breadth.
* Doctoral Program – Multiple guidance by “team fellows”
A team of three main supervisory faculty members, one from each of the aforementioned three fields, is organized in accordance with the student’s research theme. This “team fellow” arrangement provides the student with multifaceted guidance for his or her research.