日本語
 

On June 2, 2025, Hiroshima University (HU) and the University of Idaho, USA, concluded an agreement on the establishment of the Microchips Engineering & Security Alliance (MESA), a bachelor’s program for developing global human resources in the field of semiconductor engineering.

This agreement marks the first time that a U.S. university has been invited to open a Location in Japan of a Foreign University in the field of engineering, as well as the first time a bachelor’s program has been established in collaboration between Japan and the US for human resource development specifically in the field of semiconductor engineering.

Mr. Daniel Ernst, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, also attended the ceremony and expressed his expectations for this program to foster highly skilled human resources in the field of semiconductors through international collaboration.

After the signing ceremony, HU President Mitsuo Ochi, University of Idaho President C. Scott Green, and Minister Counselor Ernst paid a visit to Akio Fujiwara, Administrative Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Administrative Vice Minister Fujiwara showed his strong support for the program, saying, “I have high hopes that this new endeavor will contribute to the cooperation between both countries and the development of international exchange at Japanese universities. We at MEXT will do our utmost to support this program.”

The University of Idaho is a comprehensive research university, one of a few institutions in the US that has earned a designation as an R1 institution, the highest rank in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The relationship between HU and the University of Idaho dates back to 1951, when Tatsuo Morito, the first president of Hiroshima University, asked universities around the world to make donations to support international greening initiatives and the rebuilding of the campus.

The University of Idaho responded with several custom gifts. In September 2022, the University of Idaho also held an event in remembrance of the atomic bombing called “Remembering Hiroshima,” which became the catalyst for a close relationship to be built between HU and the University of Idaho through several campus visits and the signing of an academic exchange agreement.

The University of Idaho Hiroshima Campus will host the Microchips Engineering＆ Security Alliance (MESA), and graduates of this program will receive a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho. In this program, the first two years of education will be conducted at Hiroshima University, and the third and fourth years will be conducted at the University of Idaho in the US, with all four years of classes held in English.

Furthermore,  the program fee is set for all students regardless of nationality.
The program aims to recruit students widely from the United States, Japan and abroad, with plans to officially accept students from August 2026 onward.

Through joint operation of the Hiroshima Campus, both universities will contribute to the development of global talent in the semiconductor field, which is experiencing an urgent shortage of human resources. This program is also expected to further develop the internationalization of national universities and promote collaboration and cooperation in the field of higher education between Japan and the US.