Tokyo Institute of Technology
2-12-1, O-okayama, Meguro-ku
Tokyo 152-0033
JAPAN
PHONE: 81-3-5734-2005
FAX: 81-3-5734-3446
www.titech.ac.jp

THE BOTTOM LINE

When Naito Yoshiyuki graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, an engineer's best friend was his slide rule. "Today students are handling supercomputers," says Naito, now the school' s president.

TIT has always had a hands-on approach. The institute started life as a vocational training school. While the science departments of other universities concentrate on academic studies, TIT still betrays its roots by valuing practical research.

It is a "think different" attitude embodied by Naito. He thinks the rigid pursuit of academic perfection is stifling Japan's creativity. One of the most urgent tasks for universities, he says, is to end the entrance "examination hell" that Japanes e students endure. He favors awarding students credits for achievements demonstrated throughout the year. "Once they have enrolled and started studying, a closer follow-up can be made on their performance," he says. Only those that make the grade move on to year two.

Naito's proposals are designed to reacquaint students with "the joy of learning" and ensure that creative thinkers aren't left out. "There are different kinds of creativity," he says, all of which must be tapped for Japan to add "genuine creation" to its copy-and-improve talents.

TIT is placing increasing emphasis on postgraduate studies. There are 4,150 grad students at the institute, and 70% of the 5,700 undergraduates are likely to study on. "The ratio would be higher if we could afford to take more," says Naito.

Unique to TIT is the four-year-old Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology, where researchers apply technological knowhow to the social sciences. A new Center for Research in Advanced Financial Technologies has followed to help make sen se of today's complex financial markets, where hedge fund flows and other financial transactions can shake world financial markets. In Crisis-torn Asia, research doesn't get much more practical than that.

- Reported by Murakami Mutsuko