Nagoya Higher Technical School

The history of Nagoya Institute of Technology begins with the foundation of its predecessor, Nagoya Higher Technical School in 1905 . At that time, the momentum for industrial development was growing in Japan, and human resources with industrial education were needed. Accordingly, the first national higher education institution in Aichi Prefecture was established as the nation’s fourth higher technical school, following the existing schools in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Nobuaki Makino, then Minister of Education, said at the time of the opening of the school, "In order for this region to gain power as an economic center, educated people must be utilized in the business world. (omission) I hope that this area will not only remain Nagoya of Owari, but also be Nagoya of Japan, and take one step further to be Nagoya of the world”, indicating that there were solid expectations for Nagoya Higher Technical School and Chukyo area, where major industries at the time such as pottery, spinning, and textiles were beginning to develop.

In response to such social expectations, education research was initiated in five departments: civil engineering, mechanics, architecture, weaving, and dyeing, and expanded its area as the Chukyo region developed, including Nagoya.

Foundation monument
(side wall of the old boiler room that escaped the air raid)

First President Shimizu

In 1944 , Nagoya Higher Technical School was renamed Nagoya College of Technology to strengthen the wartime emergency system as the Pacific War began and the war situation deteriorated. The following year, a massive air raid unfortunately burned almost all the buildings to the ground, including the main building.

After the war ended, each higher education institution was required to restructure itself based on the philosophy of the new education system. The higher education institutions based on the old system were divided into various forms such as universities, university preparatory courses, high schools, vocational schools, and various Normal schools; all of them were reorganized into "Universities based on the new system."

Although Nagoya College of Technology aimed to be promoted independently to full university status, this was challenging due to the policy of one prefecture, one national university, and because the wartime damage was severe. However, even after becoming a university under the new educational system, we chose to be reborn as the new Nagoya Institute of Technology by joining hands with Aichi Prefectural College of Technology, instead of being incorporated into a university, so that we can "deepen our academic roots to capture and solve the lively problems demanded by industries."

In the first issue of the Nagoya Institute of Technology newsletter, the first president, Kinji Shimizu, wrote, "We are one of only four monotechnic institutes of technology among many universities, and our institution must naturally have characteristics that distinguish it from other comprehensive or allied universities. One of them is that in education and research, we should not be solitary like conventional universities, but should collaborate closely with industries and actual engineers, and if possible, integrate and unify them into active education and active research,” thereby indicating our significance of existence as a monotechnic institute of technology that continues until today.

Vision of NITech

Nagoya Institute of Technology established the Charter of Nagoya Institute of Technology in 2012 to clarify again our history and mission since its founding.

Furthermore, with the start of the Fourth Mid-term Goals Period (FY2022 - FY2027), we formulated a new vision for the Institute in FY2021 in light of the philosophy of the Charter.

Today’s social agenda has become global, diversified and complex. These issues can no longer be solved by a single university or research institution, nor can they be solved by the knowledge of a single academic field. Therefore, as stated in our Charter or Vision, we continue to challenge creating new values by believing in the infinite possibilities inherent in engineering together with our stakeholders, without being confined to the conventional framework of engineering.