Envision a future world!

The Cross-Boundary Innovation (CBI) Program is a place where doctoral students selected from the graduate schools of Osaka University come together and grow as leaders who will promote the integration of society and knowledge.

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Integration of Society and
Knowledge

Today, society is in the midst of change. The expectation is that the coming fourth industrial revolution where cyberspace and physical space merge in a highly sophisticated manner and the advances in artificial intelligence will significantly change social systems and the required types of human resources and jobs. Moreover, in an effort to resolve the issues of poverty and hunger, welfare and education, living and urban environments, sustainability of the global environment, and peace and fairness in a comprehensive manner, the United Nations set forth the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an agenda common to all humankind.
In the meantime, the division of labor, which developed rapidly in society after the Industrial Revolution, has further complicated the aforementioned issues, and specialization at universities has made it more difficult to address these issues. What is required now is the integration of society and knowledge where the complicated issues of modern society are addressed from comprehensive view across disciplines and specialized fields, where issues are identified by venturing into unknown fields and where new value is created through crosscutting intellectual activities.

New Human Resources That
Generate Innovation

In response to social demands and in an effort to help students develop into creative global leaders with comprehensive view who can actively participate in the industrial, government, academic, and private sectors, Osaka University has offered the CBI Program, an interdisciplinary doctoral degree program, since 2012.
The purpose of conventional doctoral programs was to develop specialists, that is, human resources with high expertise in specific fields. However, in order to achieve the integration of society and knowledge, society needs new types of PhD holders with high expertise in specific fields who at the same time can leverage their knowledge and skills in other fields.
The CBI Program aims to develop PhD holders with high expertise and versatility for a new era who can integrate different specialized fields and overcome challenges and issues via imagination, comprehensive view, and creativity that transcend the existing boundaries (specialized fields, national borders, stereotypes, and conventional wisdom).