To help make Society 5.0 a reality, engineers need to play a leadership role, and engineering on an international scale is becoming more important than ever. For these reasons, engineers must strengthen the foundations of each specialized field, acquire a broad perspective and judgment power, and develop the ability to create innovation themselves.

     Since April 2010, our Graduate School of Engineering has been organized into 9 departments: Mechanical Systems Engineering, Mechanical Science and Engineering, System Cybernetics, Information Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Transportation and Environment Systems, and Architecture. In 2013, Hiroshima University was selected as one of the institutions designated under "The Program for Promoting the Enhancement of Research Universities" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and in 2014 it was also selected as one of the 13 Type A (top type) universities under MEXT to support the creation of super global universities. We have been striving to strengthen and globalize our educational and research activities to become one of the world's top research universities. Students in the Graduate School of Engineering are capable of conducting research in English and can receive financial support for participating in international conferences, studying abroad, and engaging in overseas collaborative research. It has been our claim to fame that we have fostered many excellent master's and doctor's degree holders.

     In order to respond to recent societal changes, the new School of Engineering was just started in April, 2018. It will train high-quality engineers and researchers who can contribute to the realization of the SDGs that the industry and academia are seeking. Although the cluster system at the time of entrance has been unchanged, we have rearranged the study fields in each cluster in order to easily understand the relationship with society, and to clarify the industries and academia which have high demands for talented engineers and researchers who can contribute to sustainable development. We are also preparing for the establishment of a new department that integrates science and engineering, and includes an engineering graduate school with the aim of training engineers and researchers with broader perspectives.

     We strongly encourage every student enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering not only to learn the knowledge and skills of specialized fields that can be acquired in classes and research departments, but also to develop a wide range of knowledge that can respond to future science and technology innovations.

     Finally and importantly, we would like each of you to try to improve your abilities, judgment, and international communication skills on a daily basis. Here in Higashi Hiroshima, engineering students are blessed with a first-class research and educational environment. By making daily efforts, each of you can become world-renown engineers and researchers.

Atsushi Sugeta, Dr.
Dean of Graduate School of Engineering,
Hiroshima University