Intelligence Science

When asked, “What do you think intelligence is?” many students will say it is the ability to solve problems, or the ability to create new things. And most people would classify a computer with this ability as artificial intelligence. However, this constitutes only a very limited aspect of intelligence. The human brain, the core of human intelligence, is little more than a mass of glial cells and neurons, and we still do not know where consciousness and the sense of self comes from. In other words, though we have an overall concept of what intelligence is, we still do not fully understand the structure and mechanism of intelligence.

Intelligence Science lectures are presented by four or five faculty members from the Department of Computer Science and Technology with expertise in fields such as cognitive science, brain science, pattern recognition, and machine learning. Over the course of half a semester, students are prompted to consider the fundamental nature of intelligence, and explore the meaning of intelligence from multiple perspectives based on their own interests and ideas. Through group work, students develop the ability to design and discuss with others the question of what intelligence is. In addition, students hone their understanding of the possibilities as well as limitations of current artificial intelligence research.

Computer Science Experiments A

Computer Science Experiments A is typical of the specialized courses available at the Department of Computer Science, and is offered in the first semester of the third year. (https://ohkilab.github.io/SU-CSexpA/). The course develops the ability to identify and address bottleneck factors from the aspect of system development through performance measurement and evaluation, as well as actually building web systems that we all use on an everyday basis. This is a practical course based on learning through experimentation, designed to consolidate the knowledge and skills that students will have acquired in first to third year studies in areas such as computer networks, network programming, operating systems, database systems, and algorithms and data structures.

Computer Science Experiments C

Computer Science Experiments C is a required experimental course in the second semester of third year at the Department of Computer Science. Students start by designing logic circuits on FPGA boards, which can be used to program electronic circuits, and eventually move on to the design, implementation and operation of their own CPU, the core of a computer, by drawing on all of the computer theories and techniques they have learned. This represents a key objective of this course: mastering the principles of computer hardware operation. The course also equips students with general experimentation skills in preparation for their graduation research project, as well as problem-solving and communication skills acquired through teamwork in design and development exercises. The experiments involve a large amount of work and occasional setbacks, where the expected outcomes are not achieved despite carefully following the textbook. Nevertheless, in most years the student teams are able to produce completed CPUs that meet the requirements, in the process gaining experience in the fundamental question of why computers function as programmed, and preparing for careers as IT professionals.

Core subjects

All Informatics students are required to take courses in Information Morals, Fundamentals of Informatics, and Information Processing. They also receive practical English instruction from native speakers and develop skills for writing reports and academic papers in Japanese.

Watch video of lectures in progress.