Course of Computer Science and Information Technology | Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University

What are the goals of the Course of Computer Science and Information Technology?

The term computer no longer refers exclusively to PCs. Computer technology is now ubiquitous, with usage for smartphones and websites as well as applications in intelligent mechanisms for automobiles and consumer electronics, human support systems in medical and health fields, robots to help enhance societal safety and wellbeing, and sensors for energy and environmental monitoring. These applications will lead to the development of new social and economic systems, making full use of the retrieval, integration, recognition, learning and discovery of diverse information and useful knowledge.

The course of Computer Science and Information Technology focuses on education, research and development, combining scientific and engineering methods in software technology and artificial intelligence with their foundations in mathematical science and advanced information infrastructure. The Division encourages comprehensive, systematic learning in the fields of synergetic information engineering, knowledge software science, mathematical science and large-scale information systems in order to develop internationally-minded professionals capable of applying their scientific understanding and engineering methods to every human endeavor to find solutions to various information system challenges in the society.

What education is provided?

With the largest number of faculty members in the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the Course of Computer Science and Information Technology offers a wide variety of courses spanning the spectrum from computer science (CS) to information technology (IT), thereby allowing students to freely select courses based on their own interests and aspirations. For example, students are provided with chances to develop their understanding of cutting-edge technological principles in hardware, software, networks and information media (which form the foundations of all information systems) based on mathematical science and its academic universality. Opportunities are also provided to develop their technological skills to design the retrieval, integration, recognition, learning and discovery of information and knowledge as well as artificial intelligence such as robots that autonomously behave in harmony with people.

Major curriculum

Large-scale Knowledge Processing, Knowledge Base, Information Knowledge Network, Theory and Practice of Algorithms, Complexity and Cryptography, Mathematical Science for Computing, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning, Intelligent Information Systems, Information and Data Analysis, Intelligent Software, Autonomous Systems Engineering, Harmonious Systems Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, High Performance Computing, Information Systems Design, Advanced Information Network Systems, Advanced Date Science, Applied Algebra, Applied Geometry

What research activities are under way?

The Course of Computer Science and Information Technology seeks to establish models and theories based on novel ideas and to develop technologies for the resolution of real-world problems in collaboration with the business community and administrative organizations. Specific research fields include 1) synergetic information engineering, in which next-generation information technology characterized by complex, multiple and intelligent behaviors is handled, 2) knowledge software science, in which software to support information retrieval and knowledge creation is handled, 3) mathematical science, in which fundamentals and applications are handled to mathematically analyze and interpret data in the real world, and 4) large-scale information systems, including the development of information infrastructures for large-scale data processing.

Research Filed

Knowledge-based software, artificial life systems, multi-agent systems, human-robotics systems, large-scale computer simulation, information system architecture, data mining, large-scale information networks, information knowledge networks, software engineering, knowledge discovery, computational mathematics, pattern information processing, basics of mathematical science for computing, computer architecture engineering, knowledge bases, algorithms, program theory, computational basics, probability and statistical analysis

What characteristics do the research groups have?

The Course of Computer Science and Information Technology consists of five research groups: the Research Group of Synergetic Information Engineering, the Research Group of Knowledge Software Science, the Research Group of Mathematical Science, the Research Group of Large-scale Information Systems and the Research Group of Large-scale Discrete Computation.

The Research Group of Synergetic Information Engineering pursues this field of engineering as a means of developing new information science technology by analyzing, from the viewpoint of information, complex systems in the real world, such as natural phenomena, socioeconomic trends and robots.

The Research Group of Knowledge Software Science develops technology designed to support the distribution and reuse of knowledge via networks, manages network data in a user-friendly manner and develops theories and technology necessary to extract useful information.

The Research Group of Mathematical Science seeks to elucidate phenomena in various fields in addition to that of computer science, such as those of natural science, social science and humanities, in order to provide theoretical foundations for study. Research making full use of these methodologies is also under way in a wide range of fields, including analysis of human sensitivity and emotions, the establishment of intelligent interfaces, and data mining (discovery of specific information from vast amounts of data).

The Research Group of Large-scale Information Systems engages in practical research and education concerning next-generation synergetic information systems. It also conducts research on the design, development, construction and operation of large-scale computation systems, advanced information network systems and other systems.

Research Group of Synergetic Information Engineering

Research content

Software engineering, artificial intelligence, anibot physical modeling, complex networks, information system design, tourism information, human-robot information engineering, statistical mechanics of information processing

Research Group of Knowledge Software Science

Research content

Knowledge processing, knowledge bases, machine learning, knowledge discovery, data mining, information acquisition from large networks, web security, design and analysis of algorithms, computational complexities of algorithms, highly distributed autonomic computation models

Research Group of Mathematical Science

Research content

Mathematical analysis, soft computing, signal processing, pattern recognition, learning theory, artificial intelligence, human interfaces, sensing, ubiquitous wearable computing, data mining, statistical informatics

Research Group of Large-scale Information Systems

Research content

Cloud computing, high performance computing, system software, evolutionary system design, computer network, mixed reality, exploratory data analysis, information security

Faculty of Science

Department of Mathematics:Laboratory of Applied Singularity Theory

Research content

Computaional algebras, Groebner basis, bijective combinatorics, combinatorial representation theory, topological data analysis, hyperplane arrangements, logarithmic vector fields, algebraic statistics, algebraic combinatorics

Collaborative Center for Big data and IoT(CCB)

Collaborative Center for Big data and IoT(CCB)： University of Massachusetts Amherst

Research content

Artificial intelligence, multi-agent systems, planning, information retrieval, information organization, information visualization