On Friday, December 20 2019, a graduation ceremony was held in the Administration Bureau Conference Room.
President Yokoya presented degrees to each graduate and gave the congratulatory speech to the 6 graduates.

After the ceremony, the commemorative photograph was taken and the graduates enjoyed the graduation ceremony with the president, executive directors and their supervising professors.

*Number of Graduates in December
【Doctoral Graduates】
Information Science 3
Biological Sciences 1
Materials Science 1
Scinece and Technology 1

Total 6

【Congratulatory Remarks to Graduating Students】

I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the 6 students who have been awarded doctoral degrees today. Of the graduates today, 5 of you are international students who chose to leave your home country to study and complete your research here at NAIST.

All of you today will now set out on your careers as professional researchers and engineers.

Including the graduates today, NAIST has conferred 8,009 master's degrees and 1,665 doctoral degrees since its establishment, with international students comprising 343 master's and 328 doctoral degree recipients.

Currently, science and technology is facing an era of revolutionary changes. It is without exaggeration to say that recent developments in science and technology are based on ICT technology innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Data Science.

This science and technology revolution's influence has clearly reached areas of science and technology outside of information science. For example, in the field of biological science there is the research area of bio-informatics and in materials science the presence of materials informatics, a new research area, is increasing.

It can be said that, in pursuit of a 'Super Smart Society' in which a myriad of things are connected to the internet fusing the 'cyber world' and the 'real world' and which is based upon analysis of huge amounts of real time-collected data that may be accessed from around the world through networks, a new research paradigm is developing called 'data-driven science' or 'AI-driven science.

Revolutions in science and technology in various fields will of course bring about large changes throughout society. It is currently thought that the computer ability will surpass our human ability in the 2040's and technical singularity will be achieved, and, at that time, the majority of the jobs existing today will disappear and it is predicted that new jobs will appear. What will the 2040's be like? What is sure is that you will be the central part of society then.

Most of you have achieved specialized knowledge and experience focused in your specific field of either information, biological or materials science. However, from now I hope that you will widen your view to the surrounding fields of study to be active as researchers and engineers, responding flexibly to developments in science and technology to continually pursue the opening of new frontiers for exploration.

Through this, please actively undertake the creation and application of new science and technology to effectively overcome whatever singularity may bring.

Through your doctoral thesis research, you have the valuable experiences through which you developed the ability to identify problems, explore and implement solutions to these problems, evaluate the outcomes, and write academic papers on the outcomes through discussions with people having various viewpoints.

While this experience may have presented you with difficulties at times, I am confident that the networks you have created here will assure your future.

NAIST's role does not end with us sending you out into society. Rather, NAIST faculty and staff members consider our role as facilitating the building of strong relationships with alumni so that each and all of you will be able to continue your creative lives in an ever-changing community of science and technology.

This year we once again held our Homecoming Day along with the Fall Open Campus and this kind of event will be held again. We hope that you will come and visit at that time. I hope that you will return as role models for our students enrolled then.

Also, in addition to the alumni association activities that are central to our graduates' networking, NAIST is strengthening its international network of graduates who are active around the globe through international satellite offices established in Indonesia and Thailand. We hope that you participate in and assist our pursuits.

In concluding my message, I would like to congratulate you again on receiving your degrees today. We look forward to your future endeavors and achievements.

YOKOYA Naokazu, President, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
December 20, 2019