President’s Message

The philosophy of Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT) is to produce leaders in engineering who have practical and innovative capacities to develop new technology for human prosperity while considering what should be the role of science technology in society.

Based on this philosophy, “the Basic Plan for Promoting Gender Equality at NUT” was established on March 6, 2019.

This basic plan says that it is the responsibility of the university to realize an environment and society in which female faculty, staff, and female students can truly play an active role in the present and the future.

There is no sustainability within an organization or society without the engagement of diverse human resources
The 5th Basic Plan for Gender Equality says that now is the critical time to foster every person’s happiness and to achieve sustainable socio-economic development.
Therefore, we need to promote gender equality with a sense of urgency.
In recent years, as globalization has progressed, competition for human resources in fields such as information communication technology (ICT), electronics, and mechanical engineering has intensified worldwide.
In many OECD countries, female students are encouraged to engage in science and engineering courses and careers.
The percentage of women in NUT is 9.5% for undergraduates, 8.9% for master’s, 24.7% for doctoral programs, and 11.4% for faculty members (March 31, 2021).
The ratio of female faculty members increased from 8.8% in 2018 to 11.4% in 2021. But the ratio of female students remains largely unchanged for many years. This issue has become a major challenge for gender equality.

Breaking away from male-centric practices in engineering and industry
In order to overcome the current situation where women do not advance in the engineering and industrial fields, we have been making efforts to remove various barriers.
One of them is to reform the awareness of faculty and staff who recruit and engage with,female students.
The school has held many seminars to highlight the existence of unconscious gender bias and fixed thinking about gender roles, and to introduce improvements.
Besides, we have established a support system that facilitates work-life balance in which all genders can be responsible for housework, childrearing, and family care.

Cooperation with local communities
Rural areas are facing a severe decline in birthrates and aging populations, and it is recognized that where gender equality initiatives are insufficient, there is a possibility that the outflow of human resources will continue, especially for women.

We are working in collaboration with industry, academia, local government, and other organizations to establish a diversity consortium so that everyone can have a chance to work and demonstrate their abilities.
We look forward to your continued understanding and support.

KAMADO　Shigeharu
President, Nagaoka University of Technology