2023 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Basic science and technology courses
Frontiers of science and technology a
- Academic unit or major
- Basic science and technology courses
- Instructor(s)
- Tsuyoshi Michinobu / Takushi Saito / Tetsuya Yokoyama / Hiroki Nakanishi / Satoshi Ishii / Manabu Ihara / Naoto Miyoshi / Hiroshi Maruyama / Hiroshi Kimura / Yuki Yamaguchi / Fumitake Takahashi / Jun Fudano / Keisuke Yamada
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Wed (WL1-301(W531))
- Class
- a
- Course Code
- LAS.F101
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2023
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 8, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course for first year students introduces the newest in science and engineering. Instructors from all schools (School of Science, School of Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, School of Computing, School of Life Science and Technology, and School of Environment and Society) invite globally leading scientists and engineers from Japan and abroad to lecture students split into 4 groups. After the instructors first explain the course description and aims, students will take classes provided by each academic group, and will survey the literature and gain an understanding of the content. In addition, by experiencing how leaders in science and engineering approach problems and with what ideas, students chart a future vision of themselves, and by "Backcasting" from this future vision, students are made to think about how they will each proceed academically at university. In addition, learning time will be set aside for students to acquire basic ethics in science and technology, as well as time to learn about entrepreneurship.
Before students start the main specialized learning in each department, the goal of this course is for them to be made aware of the fun and difficulty of science and engineering by experiencing cutting edge initiatives in science and engineering, thus providing an opportunity to strongly motivate them academically. Furthermore, students will gain an understanding of how individual science and engineering results are related to and contribute to society.
Course description and aims
Students will acquire the following skills from taking this course on cutting edge science and engineering.
1) The skills to process cutting edge science and engineering, and gain an understanding in addition to one's own surveys
2) The skills to attempt to actively understand the links between science and engineering and society
3) The skills to engage with interest in science and engineering topics they are encountering for the first time, and to backcast that knowledge to their own learning
4) The understandings of the attitude to challenge risks and difficulties (entrepreneurship) when creating new things and sending them out into the world
Student learning outcomes
実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)
In this lecture, pioneers in each field will be invited from inside and outside the university on the latest science topics and the latest information on basic technologies that support modern society. High-impact lectures based on practical experience can increase students' motivation to draw their own future visions.
Keywords
Science and Technology, Cutting edge, Backcast, Entrepreneurship
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Students will be split into 4 groups, and students from each group will take all lectures provided by all schools in order.
Course materials are posted on OCW-i as necessary.
Attendance is taken in each class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Orientation Lecture offered by School of Science | Students will be able to explain the goals and description of the course. They will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the School of Science, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 2 | Lecture offered by School of Engineering | Students will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the School of Engineering, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 3 | Lecture offered by School of Materials and Chemical Technology | Students will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the School of Materials and Chemical Technology, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 4 | Lecture offered by School of Computing | Students will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the School of Computing, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 5 | Lecture offered by School of Life Science and Technology | Students will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the School of Life Science and Technology, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 6 | Lecture offered by School of Environment and Sciety | Students will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the School of Environment and Sciety, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 7 | Lecture of Ethics | Students will gain an understanding of the lecture content of the Ethics, and examine its meaning in society and the relationships between themselves and science and technology. |
| Class 8 | Special lectures | Lectures on entrepreneurship and introduction of cutting-edge science and technology by a Nobel laureate. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
None required.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Course materials are provided via T2SCHOLA as necessary.
Evaluation methods and criteria
This is a pass/fail course.
Quizzes in each class and short reports (100%)
Related courses
- LAS.M102 ： Linear Algebra I / Recitation
- LAS.M101 ： Calculus I / Recitation
- LAS.P101 ： Fundamentals of Mechanics 1
- LAS.C101 ： Basic Inorganic Chemistry
- LAS.P103 ： Fundamentals of Electromagnetism 1
- LAS.C103 ： Basic Organic Chemistry
- LAS.B101 ： Fundamental Life Science 1-1
- LAS.B102 ： Fundamental Life Science 1-2
- LAH.C101 ： Tokyo Tech Visionary Project
Prerequisites
This course is intended only for first year students.
Other
All the students are encouraged to take this class, because this is an unique class to introduce cutting-edge of science and technology in the field of all schools in Tokyo Tech.