A heartfelt congratulations to the OIST graduates of 2025!

The seventh graduation ceremony at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) took place on Saturday, May 24, 2025, marking the official conclusion to the studies of graduates of the past academic year.

Featuring congratulatory speeches by OIST leadership, representatives from the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, and the Okinawa Prefectural government, along with a commencement address by Professor Jens Nielsen of Chalmers University of Technology and CEO of the BioInnovation Institute in Denmark, the ceremony celebrated the end of a journey filled with struggles and successes, academic and personal, and the beginning of new lives as fully fledged Doctors of Philosophy.

This day is steeped in Okinawan tradition and infused with the scientific and community spirit of OIST. The ceremony was introduced with traditional music and “Kajadifu,” the most famous of the congratulatory Okinawan dances, all performed by members of the OIST community. The academic dress is designed entirely by OIST students, and the hood – worn only by OIST PhD graduates – is made of a local textile called “yuntanza minza,” woven with the “guushi-bana” method of forming the pattern with a pointed bamboo stick. This pattern features Okinawan stitches signifying good fortune merged with stylized sine waves to represent science.

The Okinawan dance “Kajadifu” being performed during the ceremony by members of the OIST community. This is the most famous of the Okinawan congratulatory dances traditionally performed at distinguished events.

Jeff Prine (OIST)

During the ceremony, the Peter Gruss Doctoral Dissertation Excellence Award was presented to Dr. Yuta Yamazaki for his work on cell plasma membrane repair proteins, with a special mention awarded to Dr. Alessandro Bevilacqua for his work on intracellular environments. The award recognizes originality, impact, and the overall quality of writing of the graduate’s dissertation.

The 2025 Graduation Ceremony was a celebration of the challenges overcome and successes achieved, and a salute to the forty new Doctors of Philosophy as they go forth to inspire, educate, and learn more about the world around us. As Professor Thomas Busch, OIST Dean of Graduate School, sends them off: “Go forward boldly. Make discoveries. Make a difference. Keep questioning, keep your light shining bright, and stay connected.”

Please visit oist.jp/graduation for a video of the ceremony, as well as additional facts about the program, the traditions, and to get to know the graduates and their specialties better. 

You can find more photographs from the graduation ceremony on the OIST Flickr here.