May 31st, 2024

“Try Do Week,” a work experience program for junior high school students, was held on the university's main campus from May 20th to 24th, and second-year junior high school students from Nishinomiya City experienced the university workplace in three departments: the main library, the Business Department (on-campus store and cafeteria), and the Community Liaison Center.

At the library, three students from Kamikoshien Junior High School experienced library work by checking out books to university students at the counter and returning turned-in books to the shelves. They also equipped and repaired books and created notebooks with Japanese paper covers on paper to learn “Japanese binding."

They also worked on a book exhibition project. Students selected books on topics of their choice, such as “books on Japanese musical instruments and Japanese sweets” or “books useful for cooking with unfamiliar ingredients,” and displayed them in an easy-to-see manner. They presented their book selections and reasons for choosing them in front of the library staff. The students' exhibit can be viewed on the first floor of the Central Library until June 14th.

　Two students from Hamakoshien Junior High School gained work experience at the Community Liaison Center. They learned about the work of social partnerships that connect communities, industry, and other sectors of society. Based on practical examples of the university's social contribution and partnership activities, they did work to think about what applies to the 17 goals set forth in the SDGs. They also had a chance to experience work related to disaster prevention activities and raising awareness of disaster prevention in the university's neighboring areas. They collected articles on the Internet about the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred in January. The students compiled materials on the subject of “reducing earthquake-related deaths,” and on May 24th the students gave a presentation in front of staff from the Center and teachers from Hama Koshien Junior High School. After the completion of the entire program, the two students were handed certificates of completion of the program by Mr. Otsubo, Director of the Community Liaison Center.

　The Division hosted two students from Naruo Junior High School for two days on May 23rd and 24th. The students experienced working at a book center and a convenience store, where they helped out with merchandise and served customers at the cash register. At the division store, the students worked on creating pop-ups and displaying merchandise.

May 28th, 2024

Professor Rie Horiuchi of the Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Department of Dietary Life and Food Sciences, Junior College Division, was selected as a recipient of the Governor's Award for Health Promotion, etc., for her distinguished services in training dietitians in 2024, and received the award on 25 May at the Hyogo Prefectural Citizen's Hall.

 This year, the Governor's Commendation for Health Promotion was awarded in the categories of Health Promotion, Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition and Dental Health. Professor Horiuchi was selected in the 'Nutrition category' for her contribution to the promotion and improvement of advanced nutrition in the prefecture, and for her contribution to the training of dietitians.

Professor Horiuchi specializes in food service management and administration and has been teaching and training nutritionists and dietitians for more than 20 years. At Mukogawa Women's University, she is also involved in preparation classes for the national dietitian examinations and contributes to maintaining a high national examination pass rate.

In accepting the award, Professor Horiuchi said: “I consider it a great honor. Many of my students are working hard to become nutritionists and dietitians, and it makes me happy to see them flourish."

May 27th, 2024

Graduates gathered at their alma mater on May 26 for the annual Homecoming Day, “Meiso-kai Day” event.

 A total of 459 graduates showed up for the reception and reunion. The event was crowded with graduates from the 6th generation of the high school to recent graduates who graduated from last year.

After the acceptance speech, the Taekwondo Club and Baton Cheerleading Club presented their performances to the audience, who applauded their impressive and lively performances.

After the reception, some went to the café in the Koe Memorial Hall, while others enjoyed a tour around campus.

The Meisho-kai, organized by Mukogawa Institution graduates, is an alumni association founded in March 1944 at the request of the then graduates of the first Mukogawa High School for Girls. The name “Meisho-kai” was chosen by the then president of the school, Mr. Kiichiro Koe, after the “Pine Tree in the Village of Naruo,” which is sung in the school song.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of Meisho-kai, and the number of members exceeds 200,000. Every year in May, the association holds an annual event called “Meisho-kai Day,” where alumni gather at their alma mater to reconnect.

May 15th, 2024

The 60th Mukogawa Women's University Sports Festival was held on the 18th at the Central Campus, where students and local residents enjoyed playing sports and other activities together. The Sports Festival used to be held for two days at the Central Campus and the Koe Memorial Stadium, but at the initiative of the Sports Festival Executive Committee, it was changed to a one-day event this year, and the venues were consolidated at the Central Campus. It is now a one-day event, and the venue has been centralized at the main Campus. The aim was to create a “fun sports festival for everybody" by expanding the scope of participation by increasing the number of programs that the general public and students who are not good at sports can easily take part in."

 In principle, all first-year students are required to participate in the Mukogawa Women's University Sports Festival as part of their classes. There are many long-standing specialties, such as the "Battle of Cheering," known for its highly accomplished mass games, and the "Costume Contest," in which each department expresses its unique characteristics through costumes and performances.

This year, only the "Department of Food Sciences and the Innovative Food Sciences Cheering Squad" participated in the cheering competition. The theme was "The Importance of Food." In addition to the well synchronized movements inherited from their seniors, the cheering squad delivered an evolved performance, enlivening the audience with side rolls, and using creative lighting in the auditorium. The audience was pleasantly surprised by the performance and cheered and applauded loudly.

 Meanwhile, the equestrian club offered a "pony petting and feeding experience," the handcrafts club sold handmade goods, and new programs such as bowling and a rapid-fire quiz were well organized. Seven food trucks filled various parts of the campus with delicious smelling food, and students were thrilled by the surprise guest appearance of Egu-Splosion in the Koe Memorial Auditorium.

 The title of this year's theme was "Sparkling Festival - Sparkling Princess." Mami Inoue, a third-year student in the Department of Business Administration and chairperson of the Sports Festival Executive Committee, said, "I hope that everyone, whether they are good at sports or not, and children from the general public, will enjoy being physically active."

May 13th, 2024

The first job-hunting guidance for 2024, "Exclusive Lecture for People Starting Job Hunting", organized by the Career Center, was held on 24th and 25th April at the Koe Memorial Auditorium, Central Campus. The main target was third-year university students and first-year junior college students who are about to start job hunting. 1,156 people participated over the course of two days.

 The Career Center holds seminars and guidance as needed for students aiming for civil service and local employment, as well as how to write application forms and prepare for interviews. It also supports career development by distributing the Job Guide Book, an easy-to-understand guide to job hunting, and providing employment counselling by career counsellors.

Exclusive lectures were given by Hideaki Ishida, HR consultant, and Keisuke Kinomoto, Executive Advisor, Gakjo Co. Lecturer Ishida explained that while there are many 'Manual Laborers’ who do their work as if it were a task, 'Brain Workers' who are aware of the issues and can offer something extra are in demand. In order to promote yourself, it is important to think about (1) what you want to do and for whom, (2) why you want to do it and (3) how you will achieve it, while asking yourself these questions. He said: 'Job hunting is the same as learning at university. It is important to ask questions, formulate hypotheses about those questions and act on them. In addition to deepening your studies in university classes, you should make use of the Career Center as much as possible".

Lecturer Kinomoto is the former editor-in-chief of the employment information website Asa Gaku Navi. He explained that recruiters are looking for "students who have a business perspective, who can clearly talk about what they want to do when they work, rather than students who only want to work because they like it" and "students who have experience in working with others, as tasks are carried out as a team. You need to be able to verbalize what you have done and what you want to do, based on the ideas of the employer. The start is crucial."

The students listened attentively to the lecturers' words, taking notes, and said, "It was good to hear about the image of the people they are looking for and the various companies, and to learn about the job-hunting process."

May 10th, 2024

The official tourist guidebook of the town of Taki, Mie Prefecture, which students of the Taniguchi Seminar (Assistant Professor Koji Taniguchi) of the School of Business Administration at Mukogawa Women's University took part in producing, "The reason why I came to Taki!“ (vol. 3) has been published.

 In September 2023, the University and the town of Taki (https://www.town.taki.mie.jp/) concluded an agreement on comprehensive cooperation with the aim of mutually cooperating in regional development, the promotion of education, culture and industry, and the development of human resources, and contributing to the development of regional society and the improvement of education and research.

The reason why I came to Taki!” (vol. 3) is 20 pages long. The students introduce the town's best points of interest and a large-scale commercial resort facility 'Vison', which is 24 times the size of the Tokyo Dome and includes a hotel, an herb bath, a produce market, restaurants and other facilities. Assistant Professor Taniguchi says: "Many people visit Vison, but Taki Town has many attractive ancient sightseeing spots, and we hope that many people will learn about them through this tourist guidebook.”

A representative of the town of Taki added: "The students involved in the production of the town's official tourist guidebook were able to accurately grasp our intentions and responded quickly and willingly to our urgent requests. Thanks to their efforts, a highly interesting and appealing guide has been produced. We hope that this guide will help to convey the town's attractions to as many people as possible".