Osaka University World Tekijuku
“The original Tekijuku successfully nurtured scholars who led the modernization of Japan and the birth of the Meiji era. This was an epoch-making period in Japan’s history. We are confident that the concept of the World Tekijuku will play an important role in the resolution of diversity engendered conflicts by creating harmonious diversity through scholarship.”
— Toshio Hirano, President, Osaka University 2015
Description of the project
The school, called Tekijuku, was created by one of Japan’s great educators, Koan Ogata. It was a private school, or juku in Japanese, devoted to the study of European texts on medicine and the life sciences. The school’s name comes from Koan’s pseudonym, Tekijuku, which roughly translates as “be true to yourself when choosing your path while accepting things as they are.” Tekijuku grew to become a center of unparalleled scholarship in Osaka, which at that time was already a bustling hub of economic activity. Even in this period of relative isolation, the school focused on bringing European educational concepts into Japan. Its graduates played important roles in the changes in Japanese society in the late 19th century.
The World Tekijuku program (a Top Global project) builds on this theme of global educational collaboration, this time with special focus on enhancing research collaborations in drug development, cognitive neuroscience robotics, photon science and technology, and global history. Students enrolled in these subjects will have the opportunity to establish international collaborations to enhance their research and gain insight into the global socio-economic issues faced by their research partners in other countries.
To accomplish the goals of World Tekijuku, Osaka University is introducing a quarter-based academic schedule, consisting of three terms and a summer vacation, not widely used in Japan, but commonly used internationally. This new calendar will enable more Osaka students to study overseas and more international student to enroll in the university’s summer programs.
Also see:
- Osaka University’s Short-Term Non-degree Programs »
- Osaka University’s Short-Term Student Exchange Program » (OUSSEP)
- FrontierLab@OsakaU
- Japanese Short-Stay In-Session Program (J-ShIP)