“ Reflecting on the Achievements of Top Global University Project Initiatives and Exploring the Future of Global Learning with Alumni”
On January 17, a symposium titled “Reflecting on the Achievements of Top Global University Project Initiatives and Exploring the Future of Global Learning with Alumni ” was held jointly by Sophia University and Kwansei Gakuin University at the International Conference Hall in Building 2.
Both schools, which were selected for Type B (Globalization Driven) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Super Global University (SGU) project in 2014, have been working for 10 years to promote university reform and the internationalization of education. This symposium was held as a summary of the SGU project in its final year, introducing good practices from the two universities’ various efforts for the internationalization of education, as well as lively discussions on the direction of global learning for the future with alumni and experts who have actually participated in global education programs during this project. Approximately 200 people participated in person and online.
The symposium began with a video greeting by President Yoshiaki Terumichi and opening remarks by Mr. Yosuke Kobayashi, Director International Affairs Division, Higher Education Bureau, MEXT, followed by an introduction of SGU project good practices of both universities by Professor Miki Sugimura, Faculty of Human Sciences, and Dr. Shizuka Narita, Vice President (International Relations), Kwansei Gakuin University.
Reika Mihara and Vanadia I. Yussalla, Sophia graduates who utilized the program during their school days, and Ryunosuke Iriyama and Carolin Jonczyk, Kwansei Gakuin University graduates, then took the podium to present “My Personal Growth Through Student Endeavors”, which was followed by a panel discussion.
Panelists were alumni of both universities, commentators were Jane Knight, Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Kuniaki Sato, Vice President (Reform and Planning), Tohoku University, and facilitator was Matthias Hennings, Associate Professor, Center for International Education and Cooperation, Kwansei Gakuin University. A lively discussion on global education took place, with participants sharing diverse perspectives and offering advice for younger students as well as suggestions for universities.
At the end of the program, Mr. Yasutoshi Mori, President of Kwansei Gakuin University, and Professor Tetsuo Morishita, Vice President for Global Academic Affairs of Sophia University, both expressed their outlook on the direction of global learning that both universities share, such as promoting global education at a higher level and making the development of world citizens as their mission.
In his closing remarks, President Mori concluded the symposium by saying that both universities, which have played an important role in higher education from the Meiji era through the Reiwa era and would continue to support their alumni who are active in Japan and abroad.
