Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for attending our 20th anniversary ceremony today despite your poor feet and your busy schedules both professionally and privately.
Today, we have Mr. Murata, Dean of the Higher Education Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Mr. Kanazawa, Vice Governor of Hyogo Prefecture, Mr. Morita, Vice President and Kansai Branch Manager of the Association of Private Universities of Japan, and Mr. Morita, President of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. Mr. Seiko Hashimoto, a member of the House of Councilors, who is also a visiting professor of our university, Mr. Hisayuki Fujii, Mr. Hiromasa Nakano, a member of the House of Representatives; Many people from the political world, including Amagasaki's Deputy Mayor Iwata, also attended.In addition, on behalf of 12 partner universities in 56 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region, President of Utara Malaysia University Bashawil, President of Lampung University of Indonesia Akin, Vice President of Huaihai University of Technology, China, Yanbian University, and Shihsin University of Taiwan. On behalf of the university, I would like to express my gratitude for being able to welcome all of our overseas affiliated universities such as Kansai University of International Studies and hold the 20th anniversary ceremony of Kansai International University.
On behalf of KUIS , we deeply appreciate for your attending our 20th anniversary ceremony.
In holding this ceremony, I would like to offer my condolences and gratitude to the deceased, including the first president Atsushi Murakami, vice president Reijiro Tanaka, and former president Hiroko Hamana, who passed away this year. I would like to express my gratitude to the past faculty and staff members for their tremendous contributions to the university and its students.
Kansai International University was founded in 1987 as a public-private partnership with Miki City. With Kansai Jogakuin Junior College as its mother body, the educational foundation Hamana Gakuin's founding spirit, "Iai Ien," was developed into university education. We opened in Miki City in April 1998, and this year marks our 4th anniversary.
If you compare it to a human being, it would be an adult, but the founding spirit of "Iai Ien" is the idea of "up to XNUMX souls of triplets" and the catchphrase of our education, "I can do it, I can do more". I believe that our university has grown with both.
Today, we are preparing to show you a video of the speech of the first president of the university, Atsushi Murakami, at the opening ceremony 20 years ago.In the midst of preparations for the opening of the university, the executive committee at the time held discussions on how to get the students of the four-year university to understand the founding spirit of "Iaii-en." It was concluded that the educational goal is to "cultivate people who can play an active role in the Asia-Pacific region" who have acquired the ability to contribute to society and "understand diversity."
At our university, which started as a single-department university of the Faculty of Business Administration, we are becoming increasingly important in 21st-century Japan, as “persons who are considerate of others, have a mindset of coexisting with a variety of people, and are able to move forward proactively.” It was yesterday that President Murakami made a very heavy statement, saying that it is important for an international university to develop human resources who can play an active role in the Asia-Pacific region, and to take responsibility for education. I remember like
Since April 2005, when I was appointed as the fourth president of the university, the phrase "responsible for education" has repeatedly crossed my mind.
Since the opening of the school, there have been voices saying that educational achievements cannot be evaluated until 10, 20, or even more years after graduation.Does that mean that all enrolled students will graduate in four years?Is it to grow students to the level set in the educational goal and send them out into society?With the diversification of students already becoming a problem, balancing diversity with educational standards and learning outcomes has become an issue not only for our university, but for many other universities as well.
To achieve this goal at the time of its opening, the university has continued to implement various educational reforms.At the same time as the opening of the university, it was the first university in Japan to establish a learning support center. development and utilization of IR, student support type IR, students not only returned grades but also returned reports and answers as materials for retrospective.In addition, there is a reflection day where the president himself gives a lecture and encourages reflection, and "evaluation and practice" where students themselves learn about evaluation and build self-evaluation abilities and learning plans.
The educational reforms at our university have been carried out through trial and error by our faculty and staff, who have always faced students, and have referred to practical examples of higher education around the world so that the problems in front of us are not merely symptomatic treatments. There is a mechanism for learning and teaching, in other words, it can be said that it is a history that has created "educational management".
These reforms have not necessarily been smooth sailing.When one reform is made, the next problem becomes visible.It was a repetition of that.
At such times, we are often reminded of the words “Iai Weiyuan” and “responsible for education”.How can we draw out and develop the potential of the students who choose to enroll at our university?Developing an educational program that engages students with passion without giving up and draws out their awareness. Not only are they evaluated by others, but they themselves evaluate themselves through "review" and explain their own growth. We have worked hard to make it happen.
The spirit was "perfection of the original intention" and "up to XNUMX souls of triplets", and the practice may have been a series of "innovation for education".
One of the achievements is the KUIS Academic Benchmark, which was established in 2006 prior to the Bachelor's Aptitude Report of the Central Council for Education.In addition to the three educational goals set when the school opened, this system continuously inspects and evaluates six attainable goals, including communication skills, problem finding and solving skills, and the ability to utilize specialized knowledge, in a Can-Do style. Among them, it is attracting attention, and the foundation of academic management centered on four policies, DP, CP, AP and assessment policy, is being solidified.
The book "Autonomous Construction of University Academic Management" published by Toshindo, which I will give you when you leave today, is the history and achievements of the university's faculty development, which has been accumulated three times a year for five days. is.I would appreciate it if you could take a look.
In April 2009, our university established a new campus in Amagasaki, the birthplace of the academy, and currently has 4 faculties and 3 departments, and a graduate school with up to the master's course.This is our present university.
So, what kind of future is our university trying to envision?
"I have a dream." This is a speech by Nobel Peace Prize-winning American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., to 1963 people in Washington, D.C., on August 8, 28. It is a famous story that called out to the audience in.He told the audience that, 10 years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the problem remains unsolved. He called for the realization of the dream of realizing the creed of the Declaration of Independence in the true sense of the word.Even if it takes time, the dream should come true.
At our university as well, our dream is to embody the founding spirit of Iai Ien in a modern context, and this is nothing less than the goal we must achieve.
In order to realize the dream of our university, there are three keywords in modern times.The first is “globalization,” the second is “safety,” or “safety and security,” and the third is “management.”
As globalization progresses, nationalism and egoism are becoming more visible, and it is extremely important to understand diversity.In addition, in an era where natural disasters are increasing rapidly and safety is neither natural nor free, it is important to understand the value of safety and be able to put it into practice.And you can practice management so that you can maximize the potential of yourself and the organization or group to which you belong.I believe that it is our university's mission for the future to further refine our educational capabilities as a university to nurture such human beings.
To this end, we will implement four measures.
The first is the reorganization into a “five faculties and five departments system” starting next year.
In the major system where one department is divided into one department from the second year onwards depending on the student's choice, we will clarify the core subject group that forms the basis of the major and the exit, and aim to realize an education that makes it easy for students to improve their management skills themselves. .In addition, we will demand more than ever from faculty members to take responsibility for their own faculties and departments.
The second is “Enhancement of international development business”.
Our university has been steadily developing its business as an international university, centering on collaborative projects with ACP member universities consisting of 6 universities in 13 countries with safety management as a key concept.This includes the promotion of jointly developed certificate programs, double degree programs, and joint degree programs, the enhancement of joint research, and the realization of overseas campuses.Another issue is the qualitative enhancement of global studies, which are becoming established as a feature of our university.
The third is the enhancement of domestic university collaboration projects.
In the region, we will promote community-based inter-university collaboration using the University Consortium Hyogo-Kobe as a platform.In addition, the Council for Learning Outcomes and Educational Development, which was proposed and established by our university to collaborate with universities across regions, is expected to further strengthen activities aimed at improving learning outcomes with participating universities. We believe that it will enable the enrichment of education and research that cannot be achieved by individual universities alone.
Fourthly, we need to “improve and expand the campus environment with a wide range of learners in mind.”
Starting with the extension of the student dormitory on the Miki Campus, we are working to enhance the learning environment, and we are working to improve and expand the campus environment in consideration of the convenience of working adult learners and international students, who will be strengthened in the future.
In order to make the 20th anniversary of our founding the first year to make a leap forward, we are determined to actively consider all possibilities and make them concrete.
The name of the university's mascot character is called MAPS.Think of your own mission, take action, and don't forget your passion and smile.I believe that this is an encouragement to the students and a warning for the faculty and staff themselves.
I would like to conclude my remarks by declaring that our university will continue to work together as one, coexist with the global world and local communities, fulfill our responsibilities as an institution where students continue to grow, and aim for further development. .Thank you very much for your time today.
2018 January 9
President Atsushi Hamana
