General News

Institute of Science Tokyo Launches though Merger Between 2 Japanese Universities; Institute Aims to Integrate Medicine, Engineering

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:15 JST, October 1, 2024

The Institute of Science Tokyo, a new state-run university, launched on Tuesday, the result of a merger between Tokyo Medical and Dental University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

The establishment of the institute marks the first time two national university corporations that lead Japan in terms of their standard of research and international excellence have merged.

The institute has the goal of tapping into new research fields through collaboration between engineering and medicine.

A Tokyo Institute of Technology display at the Ookayama Campus in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, was taken down ceremonially on Tuesday morning to reveal the new institute’s new nameplate, which had been concealed behind the display.

A 19-year-old first-year student at the School of Computing, who took commemorative photos in front the nameplate with friends, said: “It’s a little sad to see the name of the Tokyo Institute of Technology go, but having a broader range of fields to study is a big benefit. I want to give things like combining medical studies and artificial intelligence a go.”

In its Yushima Campus in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, a former campus of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, a 20-year-old second-year student in the medical faculty said, “I’m glad to be able to witness such a historical moment, the launch of the Institute of Science Tokyo, as a student. I expect that the combination of medical and engineering studies will lead to even more lives being saved than before.”

The Institute of Science Tokyo has about 13,000 students who study in six schools and graduate schools from the former Tokyo Institute of Technology and in medical and dental faculties from the former Tokyo Medical and Dental University.