Message from the Chair
The era in which we live is often described as the “VUCA era.” It is a time in which the future is difficult to foresee and society is characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. At the same time, we have entered what is known as the Anthropocene, an age in which human activity exerts a decisive influence on the Earth’s environment. Climate change, biodiversity loss, resource and energy challenges, and widening social inequality—these issues are no longer distant concerns of the future. They are realities that directly affect our everyday lives.
Society itself is a vast and complex system in which diverse elements—such as the natural environment, economy, technology, politics, and culture—interact with one another. When one part of this system changes, its effects ripple through the others.
Precisely because we live in such an unpredictable era, there is an urgent need for people who can guide society and the world, even if only step by step, toward a better direction. Social engineering is a discipline devoted to that purpose. It seeks to analyze complex social phenomena objectively, to understand problems structurally through data and theory, and to design better solutions. It also requires the ability to share those ideas with others and to put them into practice through dialogue and consensus building. For this reason, both logical thinking and sincere communication with others are essential.
These are exactly the qualities and abilities that the College of Policy and Planning Sciences emphasizes in its degree policy. During your time here until graduation, you will study a wide range of fields—including economics, management, urban studies, public policy, and data analysis—while cultivating logical reasoning, expressive ability, and a broad perspective that allows you to view society as a whole. Each of these learning experiences will become a firm foundation for your future.
In an uncertain world, perhaps the most reliable asset one can possess is the ability to think independently and to continue learning throughout life. Through your studies in this college, I hope that you will develop both your expertise and your aspirations, and that by the time you graduate you will have grown into individuals capable of making tangible contributions to improving our world.
I sincerely hope that your time at the College of Policy and Planning Sciences will be rich with challenge and discovery. Let us learn together, think together, and envision the future together.
