February 6th 2024

Hina Fujiki, a 4th year in the Department of Health and Sports Science, won the first round of the 24th BANKEI Mogul Class A competition (sponsored by the Sapporo Ski Federation and the Hokkaido Ski Federation) held on January 27th and 28th at the BANKEI ski resort in Sapporo. She also won second place in the second round.

This is one of the top-level competitions in Japan, in which only the top skiers in the All Japan Ski Federation's point ranking are eligible to compete.

Fujiki commented, "In this competition, I was able to focus on improving the quality of my turns. In February and March, I will compete in the Asia Cup and All-Japan Championships at the same venue. I will continue to train hard so that I can improve my skills even further."

February 5th, 2024

On 3rd and 4th of February, students from the Nakahori Seminar (Associate Professor Chikako Nakahori) of the Department of Health and Sports Science volunteered as student first aid volunteers at the N-PRIDE CUP "W" (organized by the N-PRIDE CUP 'W' Executive Committee) held at the baseball field in Hamakoshien Sports Park, Nishinomiya City. Students from the Nakahori Seminar (Associate Professor Chikako Nakahori) participated as student volunteers and supported the tournament.

This tournament is organized by the Nishinomiya City Sports Boys' Association, which upholds "Nishinomiya, the sacred place of baseball", and is a baseball tournament for elementary school children, with approximately 20 teams from mainly western Japan taking part. This year celebrates the 6th time of the event, with the participation of approximately 400 primary schools girls' baseball players, with high level games being played at five stadiums each day.

The Nakahori Seminar set up a first aid booth next to the headquarters, and participating students patrolled the venue and provided first aid to the injured and sick. These activities provided a valuable opportunity to practice the sports injury treatment and fixing methods learnt in class, and to experience the importance of learning knowledge and skills, as well as the responsibility of managing the health of athletes.

In one section of the booth, the latest sanitary products such as sports sanitary napkins and absorbent shorts were displayed, giving the participating schoolgirls and their parents the opportunity to actually hold samples in their hands and to prepare and think together about how to deal with menstruation as female athletes. Associate Professor Nakahori said, "The Department of Health and Sports Science will continue to support female athletes and provide opportunities for students to learn and grow through experience."

February 2nd, 2024

On 19th of January, students from the Department of English and Global Studies heard Ms. Hiroko Yano, Executive Officer, Director General, Sustainability Management Department at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), speak about the bank's sustainability initiatives and gave a presentation in English on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 The event was conducted online and attended by students from the 'Globalization and Japan' subject and the International Business and International Cooperation Seminar (Prof Kenji Hosono). Ms. Yano explained the world developments surrounding the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the efforts of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation in the field of climate change. She spoke about international career development, sharing her own experiences. The students listened intently to her valuable advice on the importance of communication and an international perspective, and exchanged opinions on a wide range of sustainability-related topics.

 In the student presentations, Rika Nagai and Rina Fujiwara presented various issues and initiatives in Japan, such as disaster prevention and livability, under the theme of urban development and community. Nao Imabeppu and Arisa Shibata presented the historical background to climate change, its impact in recent years, and innovations and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They received feedback on their presentations from Ms. Yano, as well as useful comments from Professors Mr. Kato and Ms.Ono, lecturers at the volunteer organization (Mukogawa English Community), who teach SDGs and international exchange activities, etc.

February 2nd, 2024

A follow-up workshop for the 1st year of the Rising 3 Employee Training Program was held.

On 30th of January, 17 first-year employees of the Rising 3 Employee Training Program (ETP) took part in a post-training workshop as the fifth generation to summarize the program.

The Rising 3 ETP program began in 2019 as a training program to develop new employees over the first three years of their employment. The goal of the first year of training is to become familiar with university administration and to be able to explain the work of other departments in their own words.

At this post-training session, the trainees and staff from each department who served as lecturers were divided into three groups to reflect on the training, which took place every two weeks, and discuss their growth over the year and what they gained from their learning.

Representatives from each group then presented their thoughts from the discussions.

Some of the comments included: 'I would like to make use of the fact that each department's work is linked to my own work in the future'; 'It was good to learn about the work that my peers are involved in'; and 'I would like to have the opportunity to experience work in a department I am interested in for a certain period, like an internship'.

In his comments, Mr Mitsunoh Hashimoto, Director of the Education Department, said: 'From now on, each of you must be able to act independently and with a keen sense of speed. You are the talents who will be responsible for our university in the future. I hope you will work hard for university innovation". Yutaka Takii, Director General of the Administration Department, said: 'The career recruits who have joined us have no doubt played a key role in stimulating those who have been working here for some time in a positive way. I hope they will have their own ideas and work closely with other departments while carving out their own careers".

The theme of the Rising 3 (second year) training in the next academic year is collaboration between teachers and staff. In the first semester, they will participate in training for new teachers, and in the second semester, they will enter general education classes to learn about classroom operation.

January 31st, 2024


A follow-up workshop for the 1st year of the Rising 3 Employee Training Program was held.

On 30th of January, 17 first-year employees of the Rising 3 Employee Training Program (ETP) took part in a post-training workshop as the fifth generation to summarize the program.

The Rising 3 ETP program began in 2019 as a training program to develop new employees over the first three years of their employment. The goal of the first year of training is to become familiar with university administration and to be able to explain the work of other departments in their own words.

At this post-training session, the trainees and staff from each department who served as lecturers were divided into three groups to reflect on the training, which took place every two weeks, and discuss their growth over the year and what they gained from their learning.

Representatives from each group then presented their thoughts from the discussions.

Some of the comments included: 'I would like to make use of the fact that each department's work is linked to my own work in the future'; 'It was good to learn about the work that my peers are involved in'; and 'I would like to have the opportunity to experience work in a department I am interested in for a certain period, like an internship'.

In his comments, Mr Mitsunoh Hashimoto, Director of the Education Department, said: 'From now on, each of you must be able to act independently and with a keen sense of speed. You are the talents who will be responsible for our university in the future. I hope you will work hard for university innovation". Yutaka Takii, Director General of the Administration Department, said: 'The career recruits who have joined us have no doubt played a key role in stimulating those who have been working here for some time in a positive way. I hope they will have their own ideas and work closely with other departments while carving out their own careers".

The theme of the Rising 3 (second year) training in the next academic year is collaboration between teachers and staff. In the first semester, they will participate in training for new teachers, and in the second semester, they will enter general education classes to learn about classroom operation.

January 26th, 2023
The Arii Laboratory of the Innovative Food Sciences, School of Food Sciences and Nutrition has developed plant-based sweets aimed at improving the QoL (quality of life) of people with food restrictions.

The Food Science Laboratory (Prof Yasuhiro Arii) of the Department of Innovative Food Sciences has developed a plant-based sweet that is suitable for people with food restrictions such as wheat, egg and milk food allergies, dyspepsia, vegetarians and vegans.

Professor Yasuhiro Arii says: "In order for more people to lead enriched lives, it is important to take a scientific approach to the problems faced by people with food restrictions (such as food allergy sufferers, people with difficulty in eating, vegetarians, vegans and others who prefer plant-based foods) and improve their QoL. We will continue to propose food products for people with food restrictions. We would also like to provide information on cooking methods so that they can be prepared at home as well."

This development is a summary of the work done by Misa Kanda (graduated in 2022) in her graduation research, which was also reported in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science (Netherlands).

This research was funded by JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research JP22K02191.