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President's greeting

Noriyoshi Tsuchiya

National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College was established as a national higher education institution in Aomori Prefecture in 1963 in Hachinohe City, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013. Through our unique 5-year education style, we aim to foster practical engineers through integrated education, and have nurtured many excellent engineers, researchers and graduates who have gone on to work in industry, national and local government, educational institutions, in Japan and overseas. We are proud to be held in high esteem by the local community, and by industry and academia.

The Advanced Course was established in 2002, along with its own dormitory, so it is possible to obtain a bachelor's degree at a very reasonable cost.

Graduates of our college have been recruited not only by many excellent and large companies in the area, but also by companies in the Kanto and the Kansai area, and we have maintained an employment rate of almost 100% since our foundation. In recent years, many students have decided to continue their studies by transferring to universities after graduating from the 5-year program. The advancement rate of our students is usually around 42%. Most of these are transfer studies to national universities, and some students have advanced to prestigious schools including Tokyo University. The number of students entering the graduate schools of prominent national universities such as Tohoku University has also increased, and in the past three years the students' advancement rate has increased from 48 to 56%.

In 2015, our college reorganized its departments implementing a four-course system within a single department in order to foster talented individuals well suited to the needs of local industry. At the same time we adopted a four-semester system in response to the major educational reforms that are currently being carried out in Japan. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology seeks to broaden the focus beyond the entrance examination to include "subjectivity, diversity, and cooperativeness" as well as "thinking ability, judgment, and expressive power". Until recently, the entrance examination emphasized mainly "knowledge" and "skill", but in the near future the aforementioned abilities will also be taken into consideration when evaluating students. In order to further nurture such qualities in our students, we strengthened our educational program by becoming the first out of 51 colleges nationwide to introduce a four-semester system. At the same time, we started to incorporate active learning in our education program by utilizing such tools as independent exploration learning.

Aside from studies we have achieved excellent results in extracurricular activities winning numerous prizes in a range of fields, such as robot contests, programming contests, design competitions, eco-mileage challenges, and English presentation contests. We have also made great achievements in the activities of many sports clubs, cultural clubs and so on. Blessed with an abundance of natural beauty nearby, and a with a wonderful campus environment, we are able to offer the best education and professional knowledge to help our students achieve their dreams of becoming world-class engineers.

In preparation for the global age, study abroad programs are also enriching the lives of many of our students, from the first grade, through to our Advanced Course students. Opportunities for international exchange include exchanges with Edgren High School in the neighboring city of Misawa, short-term study abroad trips to Singapore, and 3 months' study abroad programs in France for our Advanced Course students. Many students from our college have now experienced international exchange and are currently honing their skills as engineers on the global stage. During academic year 2016-7, we dispatched 65 students abroad and hosted 43 students from overseas. Partly as a result of these international exchange programs, in recent years about half of our students have presented their graduation theses in English.

Hachinohe Kosen Characteristics

National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College (abbreviated to Hachinohe Kosen in Japanese) is an educational institution that trains engineers and technicians to be of use to their employers as soon as they enter the workplace. Following our guiding precepts of honesty, advancement, and collaboration, after five years in their departments, graduates receive the title of Associate Degree, just as in junior colleges.

The Advanced Course, was established in 2002, and around 20 students annually continue their education at our college and are subsequently awarded a Bachelor Degree upon graduation. In addition, many of our graduates proceed to even higher levels of education by joining master's programs and doctorate programs at prestigious schools such as Tokyo University, Tohoku University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Although it is sometimes misconstrued that our college is similar to a high school, National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College is actually an institute of higher education more akin to a college or university. Indeed, many of our graduates who proceeded to the Advanced Course and subsequently transferred to other institutions of higher learning have now assumed positions as professors and teachers at colleges and universities throughout Japan.

Unlike at senior high schools and vocational schools most of the faculty at National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College have doctoral degrees and carry out important research, some of which gains media attention. Much of this research is conducted on an ongoing basis in collaboration with various companies and with the aid of national research funds. The results of such collaborative efforts have benefited local companies in the form of patents and new product development.

Employment and further studies

After graduating from our college, students are able to gain employment in prestigious companies in Japan and overseas, or pursue further studies in world-renowned national universities and graduate schools.

Despite inevitable fluctuations in economic conditions, our college takes pride in maintaining a 100% employment rate among our students. Every year, the recruitment ratio is 10 times higher than the number of job applicants, which is already high, and depending of the course, can reach more than 30 times.

Furthermore, in 2016, 18 Advanced Course students graduating with an Associate Degree obtained positions in good standing companies, or were accepted by prestigious schools.

Although there are various paths those wishing to study sciences may follow, there are a number of reasons why I believe studying at Hachinohe Kosen is the best option for many students. One of the biggest advantages is that students can receive the same level of education as at a university at a far more affordable cost, while staying in or near their hometown.

While Kosen is sometimes referred to as a 'hidden' high level school, I would urge you to seriously think about entering our college when considering your options for further studies.

The 4 quarter-system

Our college introduced the 4 quarter-system in April 2015. Behind this change is the planned major restructuring of Japan's education system.

The Ministry of Education is looking into changing the university entrance exam that used to rely heavily on "knowledge" and "skills" to a new overall evaluation taking into account "Individuality, Diversity, Cooperativeness" and "Thinking, Judgement and Expression abilities".

In order to nurture such abilities, our college took the initiative in being the first out of 51 Kosen nationwide to introduce the 4 quarter-system and to strengthen its educational program by implementing active learning through various activities, including the Self-Directed Research program.

Campus Life

Many of our college buildings have recently been renovated or rebuilt in order that we may provide the best conditions for our students to study the newest technologies and develop new products using the most advanced equipment in a bright environment.

We recently had the honor of receiving the Hachinohe City "City Landscape Award" for our college buildings, as well as a Ministry of Education 'Acknowledgment' in the Architectural Design category. In our bright and rich in nature campus in Hachinohe, you can study "monozukuri" (the making of things), create robots and eco-cars, and enjoy the challenge of developing software by learning programming.

In preparation for the global age, short-term study abroad programs are also enriching the lives of many of our students, from the first grade, through to our advanced studies students. There are exchanges with Edgren High School in Misawa, short-term study abroad to Singapore, and study abroad for 3 months to France for our Advanced Course students.

In addition, students can enjoy college life to the full thanks to the wide range of extracurricular activities, both physical and cultural, that are offered. Extracurricular activities enable many students to take part in robot contests, programming contests, design competitions, English presentation contests, and so on.

We eagerly await those of you with an interest in science and technology, or who enjoy making things and crafting, as well as those who want to challenge themselves in various fields, to join us at at National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College. Hachinohe Kosen is the college for you; you who will represent Japan in the 21st century!

bukatsu

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