Yamagata University has announced plans to establish a new 2025-person "Social Co-Creation Digital Academic Circle (tentative name)" in April 4 as a new interdisciplinary degree program that utilizes digital technology.If established, it will be the first new organization since the School of Medicine was established in 30.
Gakukan (faculty-linked courses) is an organization that corresponds to the "faculty" which is the basic organization for education and research at a university. In August 2019, the University Establishment Standards were revised and institutionalized as "Special Provisions Regarding Basic Implementing Organizations" (Chapter 8-XNUMX).This is a degree program that responds flexibly and nimbly to changes in society, and utilizes on-campus resources to provide cross-faculty education.For this reason, there are cooperating faculties that are linked to the Gakuin University.
The newly planned collaborative faculties of Yamagata University Social Co-Creation Digital Academic Circle are three faculties (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Regional Education and Culture, and Faculty of Science) located on the Koshirakawa Campus in Yamagata City.Through learning across the arts and sciences, students not only acquire knowledge in a wide range of specialized fields, but also develop human resources who can take on the challenge of solving regional issues, and who have an entrepreneurial and business perspective, and who utilize data to solve issues in local communities. The ideal human resources to be cultivated are those who can make discoveries and analyzes.
Information-related academic circles at national universities include Wakayama University's Social Informatics Circle, which will be established in 2023, and Kumamoto University's Information Integration Circle, which is scheduled to be established in 2024.The Wakayama University Social Informatics Initiative has three faculties (Faculty of Economics, Systems Engineering, and Tourism), and the Kumamoto University Information Integration Initiative has three faculties (Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Law). , Even within the same academic circle, the linked faculties are different.
Amid the extreme shortage of highly skilled information specialists, the government continues to provide support for strengthening the systems of universities with information science faculties and graduate schools, in order to strengthen their capabilities in order to secure human resources.Yamagata University also announced a plan to establish the Graduate School of Science and Engineering's Department of Mathematics and Information Systems Science (tentative name) in April 2025 with 4 students.We will integrate and expand the existing Department of Science, Mathematical Science Field, Data Science Department and Department of Information and Electronics (88 new students will be added to the existing 68 students).
Even after 2025, it is certain that new establishments and reorganizations in the information field will continue, and the capacity for undergraduate and graduate schools will continue to expand, making it difficult to recruit students.It is thought that how to characterize newly established or reorganized faculties (academic circles) will be important.
