In light of the ongoing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, President Juichi Yamagiwa wishes to share the following message with students.
Message from the President
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread rapidly, posing a serious threat to the entire world. Kyoto is also facing a severe situation, with growing concern about a large-scale outbreak. In the current unpredictable and uncertain situation, I imagine that all of our students are also experiencing a great deal of anxiety.
As the president of Kyoto University, ensuring the safety of our students is my prime responsibility. To this end, I am serving as head of the university’s disaster response task force, and I have already made several difficult decisions to cancel large-scale events that could potentially pose a high risk of infection, such as our graduation and entrance ceremonies.
Furthermore, I have also decided to suspend on-campus classes during April in order to reduce the risk of infection at the beginning of the academic year—a time when the campus is usually very crowded.
I strongly request all of you to ensure that you fully understand the gravity of the current situation, take all possible measures to protect your health, and refrain from any activities that may cause the spread of infection, including extracurricular activities.
In this extremely difficult situation, all of the university’s faculty and staff members are doing their utmost to ensure that classes in the new academic year will proceed, and that the university will provide its students with the best possible education.
As part of those efforts, the university will fully utilize remote online classes and research assignments in order to avoid the risk of infection posed by classes conducted in person, while ensuring that students have sufficient and fruitful study time.
Many of you may have concerns or feel burdened by the use of online classes instead of face-to-face teaching, but in the current uncertain situation, in which we cannot predict how events will develop, it is necessary for us to focus our efforts on ways that we can secure the provision of our students’ education, and to develop and utilize those methods to their fullest potential.
Throughout April, while in-person classes are suspended, the university will provide students with all necessary information, extensive online learning materials, and online classes will also be held for applicable subjects. We ask for the cooperation of all students in preparing for the smooth implementation the online learning resources.
As we begin the new academic year facing these unprecedented challenges posed by the novel coronavirus crisis, I believe that the university’s primary role is to utilize our collective wisdom and every means at our disposal to continue to provide education steadily and safely, in order to foster the potential and capabilities of our students.
In these difficult times, I ask for your kind understanding and cooperation.
Juichi Yamagiwa
President, Kyoto University
3 April 2020
Related Links
The video version of the above message is available via the following links.
