Kyushu Institute of Technology (九州工業大学 Kyushu Kougyou Daigaku) is one of the 89 national universities in Japan. Located in Fukuoka prefecture on the island of Kyushu, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology. It is often abbreviated to KIT and sometimes to Kyutech.

The university was founded in Tobata ward in the city of Kitakyushu (though the city itself was only founded in 1963) with government permission as a private training school for engineers called Meiji Senmon Gakkou (Meiji Vocational School) in 1907, towards the end of the Meiji era. It became a Japanese national university on May 31, 1949, and has since April 1, 2004 been incorporated as a national university corporation under a new law which applies to all national universities.

Despite the incorporation which has led to increased financial independence and autonomy, KIT is still partly controlled by the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbukagakusho, or Monkasho).

Founding principles

The founder of KIT, Yamakawa Kenjiro , declared that the aim of the school was to produce "gentlemen well versed in technological skills" (gijutsu ni kanno naru shikunshi). Nowadays the university aims to produce both ladies and gentlemen with these skills.

Founder's day is May 28th. It coincides with the naval Battle of Tsushima of May 28, 1905 - the decisive battle in the Russo-Japanese war. Admiral Togo Heihachiro once visited KIT, and his visit is commemorated in the school's archives.

KIT's three campuses

KIT has three campuses. Two of these are in Kitakyushu and one is in Iizuka. All three are in Fukuoka prefecture, Kyushu.

Tobata campus (Kitakyushu)

Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering - the oldest campus

Iizuka campus

Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering

Wakamatsu campus (Kitakyushu)

Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering - the newest campus

See also

• Kagoshima University
  
• Kyushu Institute of Design
  
• Kyushu University
  
• Nagasaki University
  
• Nagoya Institute of Technology
  
• Tokyo Institute of Technology
  
• University of Kitakyushu
  

External links

• KIT official home page (English)
• Message from the President (in English)
• A chronology of KIT is provided in English here.

• KIT official page (Japanese)

• National Universities incorporation - the new law
• The Japan Association of National Universities