NEWS

With the welcoming of new students to our new College of Sustainability and Tourism and the completion of the new academic building and AP House, we will finally start the New APU in April 2023. It is because of the efforts and cooperation of many people that this day has finally come. Allow me to express my appreciation once again.

Under the foundational ideals of “freedom, peace, humanity, international mutual understanding, and the future shape of the Asia Pacific region,” APU was founded in 2000 with the cooperation of Oita Prefecture, Beppu City, as well as a wide range of people both from Japan and abroad. Over the past 23 years, we have built an overwhelming multicultural campus that offers 90% of courses in both Japanese and English, implements spring and fall enrollment, welcomes enrollees from 163 countries and regions, participates in exchange agreements with about 500 schools, and has 37 alumni associations in 28 countries and regions. In fall of 2022, a total of 103 countries and regions, including Japan, were represented on campus, which was the first time since the university opened that students from more than 100 countries and regions were able to study on campus at the same time. Moreover, APU has earned international accreditation by both AACSB and AMBA for its management education as well as TedQual for its tourism education. Our university provides internationally recognized education and has grown as a university chosen not only by those in Japan but by those around the world.

In order to make the most of APU's multicultural environment, we encourage "mixing" both in and out of class and through this experience, students have gained first-hand understanding of different cultures, and have learned to be strong and resilient. In the “New APU,” in addition to "mixing," I would like students to pursue "finding solutions." When it comes to bigger issues, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine or climate change, you may find that the problems are intricately intertwined and that there is no solution that satisfies all parties.

I think that it is necessary to focus on "finding solutions" precisely because of such situations. Nothing will change if we stop in our tracks, saying there is no solution. I would like APU students to come up with solutions that they believe in the absence of a clear answer, and then take action to see if it is the correct answer. There will be failures sometimes. That's okay. In such a case, all you have to do is stand back up, face forward again, and work through trial and error. I believe that by accumulating these efforts, we will be able to realize the APU2030 Vision: “APU graduates possess the power to change our world."

Everyone, please look forward to APU's further development. And please come and visit us anytime at the New APU. We are waiting for you.