The Institute of Science Tokyo, a university to be created this fall with the merger of the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), will reapply for a grant from a ¥10 trillion ($62.6 billion) government fund to become a world-class university, its president-elect said Monday.
Naoto Ohtake, selected last week to take on the role of the inaugural president, also said he would strengthen efforts to internationalize the new university, known by its abbreviated name Science Tokyo. It aims to have international students make up 30% of all undergraduate science and engineering majors by 2050. Currently, foreign undergraduates make up 0.8% at TMDU and 4.9% at Tokyo Tech.
Ohtake, a material science specialist, was one of three candidates for the role picked by a selection committee in April that consisted of experts from inside and outside the two universities. The other two candidates were Yujiro Tanaka, the current president of TMDU, and Kazuya Masu, the current president of Tokyo Tech.