History of HIT

On April 1, 1972, after the approval of its founding charter on January 29, 1972, Hachinohe Institute of Technology (HIT) opened its doors to students. The Institute is an independent, coeducational, privately-endowed university. HIT began with the Faculty of Engineering composed of three departments: Mechanical, Industrial and Electrical Engineering. On April 1, 1976, two new departments started: Civil and Architectural Engineering. On April 1, 1982, HIT opened the Department of Energy Engineering, and at the same time Industrial Engineering stopped admission. On April 1, 1994, we reformed our liberal arts education organization into Center for Liberal Arts and Technology. On April 1, 1999, the Department of System and Information Engineering was opened, and the Department of Electrical Engineering was reformed into the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Restructuring the Department of Energy Engineering and related engineering fields of other departments on April 1, 2002, we opened the Department of Chemical Engineering on Biological Environment. On April 1, 2003, two departments, Mechanical and Electrical and Electronic Engineering, were reorganized into Mechanical Systems on Information Technology and Electronic Intelligence and Systems. Now HIT Undergraduate School has six departments: Mechanical Systems on Information Technology, Electronic Intelligence and Systems, Environmental and Civil Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Chemical Engineering on Biological Environment and System and Information Engineering. In April 1995, HIT opened its Graduate School of three Doctor of Science Programs: Mechanical Engineering Systems, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Civil Engineering, followed by Architectural Engineering in 1999. The founding of the Graduate School is a great accomplishment for HIT as it expands its horizons to provide students with the opportunities to become 'new engineers of the 21st century'. More than 2000 students are currently studying at HIT. They come not only from most parts of Japan but also from abroad. Several researchers from foreign countries are studying the latest and most advanced sciences and technologies in Japan under the supervision of the faculties of HIT. In addition, Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science was founded in April 2002 to develop the study of wide range of research activities and resolve the local and global technological problems.

Educational Philosophy of HIT

Today the world is more technologically advanced than believed possible only a few years ago. However, we must always ensure that the advancement contributes to the further enrichment of our lives. Engineers, therefore, are responsible for making science and technology work for well-being of the world by bridging gaps between their specialties, society and the environment. Technological excellence results from the excellence of character of engineers. The educational philosophy of HIT is based on this and we have been producing engineers who have humanistic mind and good judgment as well as highly specific knowledge of science and technology. In order to realize our goals in education and research, we have implemented three educational policies stated below, which show the educational aims of our Institute more specifically. The curriculum of HIT has been developed according to these policies: (1) To provide systematic and appropriate technical subjects, as well as liberal arts including practical training in foreign languages to cope with globalization in Japan. (2) To provide the latest and sufficient information about issues in modern society and, using them as educational resources in seminars and practicums, nurture creative students. (3) To provide experiments, practical classes and graduation research projects to give students opportunities enough to learn by experience.

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