Nagoya University Global Environmental Leaders Program

"Nagoya University as a center for future environmental leaders."

Seiichi Matsuo,
The President of Nagoya University

We believe that our mission is to contribute to our society by developing people who have the ability to innovate and forge the future of the world through creative study and education in Nagoya University. To succeed in this mission, we engage in training people by formulation of noble ideas. Toward the achievement of a sustainable society, solving environmental problems is becoming an increasingly important challenge. In such situations of the world, the academe’s roles that the university should owe to society are not only sharing of scientific knowledge or providing technologies to solve problems but also fostering and improving of specialists who possess high knowledge and skills in the field of environmental studies in a long term perspective. For all the above issues and future prospects, Nagoya University has established the Nagoya University Global Environmental Leaders Program for fostering environmental leaders which the world demands. This program is an international education program to be promoted with full cooperation of various related organizations including prefectures and municipalities, private companies, non-government organizations and international organizations mainly in the Chubu region. We will work throughout our university to establish an excellent international environmental human resource development program from Nagoya.

"We will promote active leaders in the field of environmental problem solution around the world."

Miho Iryo,
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University

Air pollution, water pollution, waste management, biodiversity conservation, and global warming and climate change―developing countries including the Asian and African region have been facing serious environmental problems as a result of rapid economic growth and social changes. Finding solutions for environmental problems is not an easy task since there are various factors involved such as health education, development of infrastructure, energy resources security, integration of environmental and economic concerns and globalization. These difficulties need to be overcome in order to achieve sustainable development both at national and global scales. The key to solving these problems are environmental specialists who have the expertise and ability to implement relevant projects. There is therefore an urgent need to educate professionals possessing competitive skills and translating these skills into concrete action. In 2008, Nagoya University established "Nagoya University Global Environmental Leaders Program," a master's course, to foster people who are able to understand and analyze environmental problems in a global perspective, and able to propose concrete methods for solving problems. We commit ourselves to become a global center of learning where motivated students, from Asian and African countries etc., including Japan come to acquire their accomplishments by deploying various efforts such as providing distinctive curriculum design and student services for them.