The KCG Group, consisting of Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG), Kyoto College of Information Technology (KCGI), and Kyoto College of General Motors (KCGM), celebrated its 62nd anniversary on May 1, 2025, and held a commemorative ceremony on May 9 (Friday) at the 6th floor main hall of KCG Kyoto Ekimae Campus and KCGI Kyoto Ekimae Satellite.KCGI's corporate name will become The University of Informatics in 2025, and the KCG Group has taken a new step forward as "The University of Informatics.Students, faculty, and staff confirmed the results of their education and research to date. They also reaffirmed the pioneering spirit and educational philosophy of the university, its founding spirit, and its mission and resolve to play a central role in the rapidly evolving information society, and pledged to make further progress.At the commemorative ceremony, Dr. Norihiko Mino, Vice President and Professor of KCGI, delivered a commemorative lecture on "How the Information Society Works.
The cornerstone of the KCG group is the "FORTRAN Research Group" for university academics, which was established on May 1, 1963 by a group of graduates from the Department of Astrophysics, Kyoto University.It was the first computer education institution in Japan, founded by Shigeo Hasegawa, the first president, and Yasuko Hasegawa, the current president, who were quick to recognize the potential of computers and harbored the belief, passion, and pioneering spirit of training information processing engineers.
In 1969, Kyoto Computer Gakuin, Japan's first full-time school for the training of computer engineers, was established.In 2004, KCGI was established as the first and only IT professional graduate school in Japan and joined the group.The number of graduates and alumni has exceeded 50,000, each of whom has contributed to the development of the IT industry in Japan and around the world.In 2013, KCGM joined the ranks of the oldest auto mechanic training schools in Kyoto.Graduates are active as auto maintenance technicians with IT knowledge.
Professor Mino is a graduate of Kyoto University with a doctorate in engineering and professor emeritus of Kyoto University.He has served as Director of the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies, Kyoto University, and as Director of RIKEN, and was appointed Vice President and Professor of KCGI in 2024.He has continued his research in image processing, artificial intelligence, and intelligent communication related fields.In his lecture, Professor Mino pointed out that society is changing drastically due to the rapid progress of science and technology, and that "the current situation in which images are being spread around the world by smartphones indicates that the center of society has shifted from objects to information.He then looks back at how the concept of information emerged and examines the impact that information-handling technology has had on human society and the changes in society.Touching on the dangers of receiving only the information that each individual prefers due to the rapid increase in the amount of information in the cyber world, he emphasized the need to engage in dialogue and to cultivate the ability to think.For the healthy development of human society, it is important to think about what kind of society we want to live in, and it is important for each of you to have an image of the future society," he said. He expressed his hope that the lecture would serve as a clue for considering how society will change through science and information technology and how we want to actively change society.