January 26th, 2024
Second-year students from the Department of Human Environmental Sciences, worked on the The Appeal of the Aji River in the Water Metropolis of Osaka and a proposal for a cruise' as part of an industry-government-academia collaborative community project, and a critique session was held.
In the 'Field Survey Practicum' (Prof Masahiro Miyake) of the Department of Human Environmental Sciences, second-year students worked on the “The Appeal of the Aji River in Osaka, the Water Metropolis, and Proposal for a Cruise' as an industry-government-academia-region collaborative town planning project, and held a review session on 23 June. This year's exercise involved a field survey using boats on the Aji, Dotonbori, Dojima and Tosabori Rivers in the Water Metropolis of Osaka, with the cooperation of Ipponmatsu Shipping Co. Proposals for future urban development and waterside cruises were compiled.
January 26th, 2024
The University's School of Education co-organized a symposium on coexistence and innovation with the Cultural Change Cluster of the Asia Oceania Research and Education Organisation, Kyushu University.
On 19 and 20 January, the School of Education at MWU co-organized the symposium "Innovating Symbiosis: City Planning and EBPM" (organized by the Cultural Change Cluster of the Kyushu University Asia Oceania Research and Education Organization) at the Kyushu University Nishishin Plaza. The symposium examined coexistence and innovation from the perspective of urban development and EBPM (evidence-based policy-making). The symposium was attended by a number of university faculty members, prefectural assembly members and junior and senior high school students. Speeches and panel discussions on symbiosis and innovation, and examples of innovation in cooperation with start-up companies and local stakeholders were discussed.
On 19 January, Professor Katsuya Kitaguchi, Dean of the University's School of Education, introduced the University's initiatives and future direction in the panel discussion 'Case studies of regional cooperation and innovation', which received sympathetic comments from many participants.
The University will continue to work with various universities and research institutions to spread its initiatives.
January 24th, 2024
Mukogawa Women's University and Montbell Inc. signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement on 23 January. The signing ceremony was held at Montbell's headquarters in Osaka City, where Montbell Chairman Isamu Tatsuno and Mukogawa Women's University President Kazuyoshi Seguchi signed the agreement.
Montbell has set out its 'Montbell 7 Missions', which aim to raise awareness of environmental conservation and strengthen disaster prevention and disaster response capabilities through outdoor activities, and was quick to form the 'Outdoor Donation Team' to provide assistance in the wake of the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Mukogawa Women's University, on the other hand, plans to open its School of Environment and Sustainability in April 2025, the first of its kind at a women's university (currently under planning). The new school will focus on fieldwork and aims to develop human resources with an environmental mindset to create a sustainable future.
The two institutions, which share the mission of 'coexisting with the environment', have signed an agreement to work closely together to solve various issues and contribute to regional revitalization and human resource development through fieldwork and practical activities in the outdoors. The Faculty of Environmental Symbiosis has been selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a project to support the consolidation of university and technical college functions.
At the signing ceremony, Chairman Tatsuno said: 'We expect you to put our seven missions into practice in fields such as the environment and health. We hope that you will go out into the field and experience nature first-hand, and learn the wisdom and strength to survive, rather than just learning from a desk".
President Seguchi said: 'I am impressed by the fact that Montbell Inc. was quick to extend a helping hand after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the recent Noto Peninsula Earthquake. I am convinced that since MWU offers a wide range of faculties and departments, we are committed to connecting with the seven missions in many different ways."
January 23rd, 2024
Many people took part in the 'One-day bus food tour in Tamba Sasayama' organized by students of the Omori seminar of the School of Social Informatics.
On 20th of January, 31 people took part in a one-day bus tour of the food of Tamba Sasayama, organized by students of the Omori Seminar in the School of Social Informatics.
The Omori Seminar has long been involved in food research to develop food resources in the Tamba region of Hyogo Prefecture. The bus tour was devised by four third-year students of the seminar in response to a request from the Hyogo Prefectural Citizens' Bureau to implement food tourism. The students went to Tamba Sasayama many times and spent about a year working out a plan to create a tour that would not only allow people to eat, but also to experience the attractions of Tamba. A questionnaire was sent to about 100 respondents on campus to formulate a plan, which was then made into a one-day bus tour with the help of Nippon 0 Travel Co.
The bus departed from Osaka and arrived in Tamba Sasayama in about two hours. First, they experienced painting at the pottery production centre of 'Tamba-yaki', 'Tou-no-Sato'. Afterwards, they had lunch at a 400-year-old thatched-roofed old private house restaurant using Tamba ingredients, and enjoyed picking fresh strawberries themselves at an aerial strawberry farm.
The students also acted as tour guides. They explained the highlights and itinerary on the bus and handed over the beverage money. They showed their hospitality by checking the number of people on the bus before and after boarding, and by talking to each participant and taking photos.
Asuka Mure, a third-year student at the Department of Information and Media Studies, who worked on the project, said: 'We planned this event not only to eat, but also to let people experience the charm and unusualness of Tamba through a variety of experiences. I am glad to see so many people participating and enjoying themselves".
January 23rd, 2024
Students at Mukogawa Women's University are organizing a fundraising campaign on campus to support the areas affected by the Noto earthquake of 2024, which occurred on 1st of January.
The fundraising is being carried out jointly by the Brown Rice Volunteers and the General Affairs Committee of the Alumni Association. The students started the fund-raising on 10th of January with a strong determination to provide as much support as possible to the victims of the earthquake.
Donation boxes have also been placed at the reception of the main building, the Student Affairs Department, the Facilities Department, the Business Department, the cafeteria, the Kamikoshien Campus (Koshien Kaikan) and the Hamakoshien Campus (Faculty of Pharmacy) on the Central Campus.
Donations collected will be used for activities to support the disaster-affected areas, and we are currently considering potential donation recipients.
January 15th, 2023
Volunteer groups from the Department of English and Global Studies are exhibiting a display about vaccine assistance to developing countries through the collection of plastic bottle caps.
Students from the Mukogawa English Community (MEC), a volunteer group from the Department of English and Global Studies in the School of Letters, held an exhibition entitled 'Why don't you collect plastic bottle caps - you can be a hero too' at the Korowa Koshien commercial facility in Nishinomiya City (Koshien Takashio-cho, Nishinomiya). The exhibition, entitled 'Why don't you collect PET bottle caps - you can be a hero too', is being held from 9th to 16th of January.
The exhibition explains how the collection of plastic bottle caps helps to support vaccines for children in developing countries.
The caps of plastic bottles, which many people usually throw away as rubbish, are collected and handed over to a designated company to be recycled as resin, and part of the profit from the sale is donated to a non-profit organization that gives polio vaccines to developing countries, helping to save children's lives.
Students from different grades and departments worked together on this exhibition, with Misaki Ito (1st year, Department of English and Global Studies), Satsuki Yamamura (4th year, Department of English Language and Culture), Rika Morita (2nd year, Department of Information Media) and Risa Yamanaka (1st year, Department of English and Global Studies) taking part in this project. Misaki Ito said, "I want people to know that plastic bottle caps can be used to make polio vaccines and save children's lives", and Satsuki Yamamura said, "I hope that this exhibition will be a catalyst for similar initiatives on campus.