Let's know more! The Harris Science Research Institute
As introduced above, the Harris Science Research Institute is the only research institute attached to Doshisha University that is located on the Kyotanabe Campus (*1).
The Harris Science Research Institute aims to pursue advanced education and research related to various fields and points in the natural sciences through cultivating well-rounded character with a scientific perspective, in other words, cultivating people who excel in all areas. At the center of its activities are research fields in the natural sciences that represent the following three perspectives in accordance with the founding philosophy of Doshisha: a) international perspective (research based on internationalism, with keywords such as international society and globalization); b) creative perspective (research based on liberalism, with keywords such as freedom, creation and future); and c) human perspective (research based on Christian principles, with keywords such as human, body and mind). In accordance with the above purpose and research fields, the research institute also puts emphasis on research that develops through training, creation and stimulation rather than being caught up in the principles of investment, expansion and competition.
The six faculties and six graduate schools on the Kyotanabe Campus participate in a wide range of research activities at the research institute with the keywords “advanced technology, information, life, body, mind and communication.” Its activities include information and personnel exchange between faculties and graduate schools, joint research within the university and with outside institutions, and acquisition of external funds, contributing to the establishment of various research centers at the Kyotanabe Campus. True development of science requires rich creativity and originality rather than dependence, imitation and compliance. Emphasis on creativity and originality forms the foundation of science education and research at Doshisha, and the Harris Science Research Institute assumes the central role in pursuit of this philosophy at the Kyotanabe Campus.
From the perspective of creativity and originality, the Harris Science Research Institute has also made continuous efforts in stimulating students’ research activities. The research subsidy provided by the Kato-Yamazaki Memorial Donation is used for the purpose of encouraging students who are engaged in creative and original research (*2). The summer seminar “Creative Science & Education” (held in Karuizawa) started in 1957 and continues to the present, producing highly competent persons including Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki (who completed the Master’s program at the Doshisha University Graduate School of Engineering in 1967). These activities to support students have been open to international students since about 50 years ago, forming a basis for global education in the present.
- (*1) Doshisha University has three attached research institutes, the Institute for the Study of Humanities and Social Sciences, the International Institute of American Studies and the Harris Science Research Institute.
- (*2) Born in 1872, Dr. Yogoro Kato, an alumnus of the Harris Science School, worked for the establishment of the Engineering College in 1944, the predecessor of the current Faculty of Science and Engineering, and was awarded the title of Person of Cultural Merit in 1957. Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki (Doctor of Engineering), the president of the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory, works as a faithful successor of Dr. Kato’s creative science and education and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the individual who has obtained the largest number of patents in the world.