On Sunday, September 24, the Fall 2023 Doctoral Degree Conferral Ceremony was held in a large lecture hall at Suzaku Campus. In addition to Trust executives, faculty supervisors, and dissertation review committee members, family and friends attended the ceremony to celebrate the 40 doctoral degree recipients (36 coursework-based doctoral students and four dissertation-only doctoral students).

At the ceremony, President of Ritsumeikan University Yoshio Nakatani presented each of the students with their diplomas.

After that, he gave a speech in which he congratulated the degree recipients and the faculty supervisors and family members who supported them. Remarking on his expectations for their future, he said, “There is a growing movement to advance society as a whole with DX and to build a radically different society with technologies like virtual twins and the metaverse. The emergence of generative AI early this spring is also having a major impact on society already. In this context, it will be extremely important to possess not only science and engineering knowledge, but also knowledge of the humanities and social sciences, such as how people live, work, and collaborate, and how people and society should deal with technology. Expectations are high for all of you to play leading roles in the future.”

Next, Atsunori Sometani (Graduate School of Technology Management) and Masaki Ikawa (Graduate School of Law) delivered remarks on behalf of the doctoral degree recipients.

After describing both the difficulties he faced and progress he made in his research on innovations in bridge maintenance and repair technologies, Sometani said, "We, the graduating doctoral degree students, now have the responsibility as doctors of philosophy to contribute to society by applying the knowledge we have learned at Ritsumeikan. I believe this is a new starting line for all of us and the beginning of a new challenge. I am grateful and proud to have reached this milestone, and I look forward to taking the next step.”

In his speech, Ikawa discussed his motivation to continue pursuing research while also thanking the faculty members and others who supported him along the way: “I will continue to forge ahead with my research without forgetting what is necessary: thinking outside the box, the mind to question what is commonly accepted, an objective point of view, and a commitment to contributing to society. As members of society, we, the graduating class, all intend to make contributions to the best of our ability.”