The IDEC Institute was launched in 2020 through the upgrading of the former IDEC, which focuses on interdisciplinary research and practice. Additionally, a new graduate school called Innovation and Practice for Smart Society (SMASO) also began in April 2023. Despite the challenging circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hiroshima University has successfully established these two new organizations.
Currently, the IDEC Institute consists of four centers: the Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education (CICE), the Center for Peaceful and Sustainable Futures (CEPEAS), the Center for Planetary Health and Innovation Science (PHIS), and the Phenix Center for Global Leaders (PCGL), which was added in April of this year. The IDEC Institute is structured as an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research institute, and our primary mission is to enhance the international reputation of our university through research.
On another note, Hiroshima University released the Fourth Mid-term Objectives and Plan in 2022, intending to foster Society 5.0 on a global scale and promote local initiatives such as the Town & Gawn activity in collaboration with Higashi-Hiroshima City to achieve a smart society. The IDEC Institute is expected to contribute to this plan as a leading research institute of Hiroshima University.
Each center within the IDEC Institute boasts highly active researchers in their respective academic fields. “Be Academically Productive” serves as our slogan, and I firmly believe that every member of the institute can actively engage in research and fulfill our responsibilities toward sustainable development and international cooperation.