President Osamu Murata decided to enroll after climbing a small hill, looking up at the clock tower standing behind the lush grass and Mt. Kabuto towering behind him.It's been over 40 years since then. Leading Kwansei Gakuin University to accelerate further reforms centered on "Kwansei Grand Challenge 2039" (KGC2039) * 5.0. "The campus composition * XNUMX in which the practical faculty centered on the clock tower is on the left and the faculty that explores spiritual activities is on the right, and both sides are acquired, has fostered a" honest "spirit. We asked President Murata, who said, "Isn't it?" "The challenge is to incorporate strength in addition to dignity in the future." We asked President Murata about human resource development for Society XNUMX * XNUMX and reforms for that purpose.
* 150: Consists of an "ultra-long-term vision" with an eye on 2039, the 2018th anniversary of its founding, and a "long-term strategy" that indicates the direction of 2027-XNUMX.Implementation plans are included to ensure the quality of education, acquire student learning outcomes, improve the ST ratio for the realization of "quality employment," revitalize the Kobe Sanda Campus, and enhance science.
* 1880: Designed by William Merrel Vories (1964-1905).Born in the United States, Vories came to Japan in 2017 and worked on numerous Western architectures, including school architecture, alongside missionary work.In the design of the Nishinomiya Kamigahara Campus, the individuality and uniqueness of Kwansei Gakuin was expressed in a Spanish mission style featuring a red tiled roof and cream-colored outer walls. In 1929, since the relocation of the Uegahara Campus in XNUMX, it has been awarded the Architectural Institute of Japan (Achievement) Award for its efforts to improve the functions of the facility while inheriting its design concept.
* 3: An ultra-smart society that has arrived due to advances in AI, IoT, robotics, etc.

 

What is required of universities now for Society 5.0

As economic globalization progresses, Japan is facing a declining birthrate and an aging society, and the working population is rapidly declining. It is thought that innovation in various fields is indispensable for maintaining the affluence of Japan.Venture companies, especially entrepreneurs who lead them, are expected to be the leaders, and their training is a common issue for many universities.

In recent years, Japan is said to have weakened its ability to generate innovations that have supported economic growth so far, and it is said that some kind of technological innovation or R & D ability to promote it is indispensable for many innovations. increase.The rate of increase in excellent papers, which can be said to be a barometer, is inferior to that of other developed countries, the global market share is declining, and the number of patent applications, which was once the largest in the world, has fallen to third place.The amount of investment in R & D is comparable to that in Europe, but no results have been obtained.I have to say that this is because the methods and organizations for human resource development are not functioning well.

One of the causes is the weakening of science and mathematics education.This spring, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry summarized the "era of mathematical capitalism" and warned that there is an urgent need to develop mathematical skills toward Society 5.0 * 2017.In addition, in XNUMX, a group of economists reported that the decline in R & D capabilities in Japan may have been caused by the drastic decrease in the number of hours of mathematics and science classes in Yutori education * XNUMX. ..This is the math and science grades of international academic achievement tests such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) by Dr. Eric.A.Hanushek of Stanford University. It is also consistent with the indication that it correlates with productivity and economic growth.

In Society 5.0, which is surrounded by AI, IoT (Internet of Things), and robots on a daily basis, even human beings in the humanities should understand these basic structures, and basic backgrounds in science and mathematics, especially. At a minimum, understanding of calculus, algebra, and statistics will be required.However, until now, in Japan, science and humanities have been separated for university entrance exams, and most of the career development has been in line with that division, both after entering university and after graduating.As a result, even extreme myths (myths) have been born, such as human resources in the sciences having lower communication skills than those from the humanities, and conversely, human resources in the humanities having weak logical thinking abilities.

At this point, the Central Council for Education is about to begin discussions involving the university subcommittee and the elementary and secondary education subcommittee, such as eliminating the liberal arts division at the high school stage and letting everyone learn up to number III in mathematics, for example. XNUMX.

Another weakness of human resources development and organizations in Japan is that after the war, efforts are focused on developing human resources suitable for mass production with the aim of achieving high growth through industrialization, and focusing on developing the individuality and strengths required of entrepreneurs. It wasn't.

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Kwansei Gakuin University

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Kwansei Gakuin is a multicultural coexistence in the history of more than 130 years.We aim to foster creative and talented world citizens who embody the school motto "Mastery for Service".Establishing a cross-disciplinary education system that cultivates a compound-eye perspective and cross-border learning […]

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