Osaka, Japan, October 20-23, 2008
Japanese
VENUE
Sugimoto Campus, Osaka City University
3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka-shi, 558-8585, Japan
⇒Access
⇒Campus Map
⇒Conference rooms and registration desk
Osaka City University (OCU) is the largest of Japan's municipal and prefectural universities. It is composed of eight faculties and nine graduate schools, three research institutes, and one junior college. OCU traces its beginnings to the 1880 founding of Osaka Commercial Training Institute, the center of commercial and industrial study in Osaka. The Institute was renamed as it developed and grew, becoming Osaka City Commercial School (in 1889), Osaka City Commercial College (1901), Osaka University of Commerce (1928), and finally Osaka City University in 1949.
In establishing OCU as Japan's first municipal university, Dr. Hajime Seki, mayor of Osaka, set forth a distinctive vision. The new university should not be an imitation of the national universities; it should serve the needs of the citizens; it should conduct original research on the culture, economy, and society of the city of Osaka and communicate the results to the people of the city. Throughout its 70-year history, Osaka City University has faithfully adhered to this founding vision by making urban concerns one of its central concerns.
The main campus lies along the Yamato River on the south edge of Osaka, a 5-minute walk from Sugimoto-cho Station on the JR Hanwa Line. Along with the new Media Center and Library, the campus has ample facilities for sports and recreation.