January 12th, 2023


The MUKOnoa⁺ (MUKOnoa Plus) initiative has been selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for the 'Career Development Support through Reskilling' project.

The Mukogawa Women's University Recurrent Education Centre "MUKOnoa⁺ (MUKOnoa Plus)" initiative has been adopted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for its "Career Development Support Project through Reskilling". (The adopted operator is Work Academy Co.)

 The project aims to develop a system that integrates career consultation, provision of reskilling and support for career change, with the aim of facilitating reskilling and labor mobility.

MUKOnoa⁺ started at the Nishinomiya Kitaguchi Campus (nicknamed Kita-E) in FY2023 as a co-educational school for all businesspersons aiming to heighten their careers. With reskilling being recommended by the national government, the school offers about 150 courses specializing in digital skills that are now essential for employment, such as PCs, DTP and the web, including the 'Basic DX Course for Businesspersons'. There are also courses that are unique to Mukojo, which supports men, such as the 'Parenting Course for Fathers'.

One of the most attractive features offered is that it is a one-stop service, not only for learning again, but also for career counselling by professional career counsellors, career change support and job introductions. In December, five companies participated in a joint company information session for 20 applicants.

In less than a year since its establishment, more than 300 people have used the career counselling service, and five have found the company of their choice and switched jobs.

January 11th, 2023

On 6th of January, a total of 16 students from the Japanese language teacher training course and students from Club IEO, the university's official volunteer organization, held a Japanese language exchange meeting with 21 young diplomats and civil servants from 21 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Central America at the University. The diplomats and civil servants from each country arrived in Japan last October and are scheduled to continue their Japanese language training at the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai in Osaka until May.

The exchange meeting consisted of discussions in small groups. A diverse range of topics were discussed, including where they are from, favorite music and food, and introductions to young people's languages from different countries. The students communicated using simnple Japanese and English, written communication, gestures and image searches on their smartphones.

The Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, holds a Japanese language exchange meeting every year, except during the Corona Disaster, for diplomats and civil servant trainees from various countries who are taking Japanese language training at the Japan Foundation Kansai International Centre in Sennan-gun, Osaka Prefecture.

December 28th, 2023

Mukogawa Women's University plans to open its thirteenth undergraduate course, the School of Environment and Sustainability, in April 2025 (currently under planning for establishment). The university has been selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for its "Project to Support the Functional Enhancement of Universities and Colleges of Technology," which supports the strengthening of university functions through the conversion to science-related fields.

 So why the Department of Environmental Studies and Symbiosis now?

In order to turn around the current crisis and protect a sustainable global environment and the future of humankind, we need scientific knowledge to comprehend the current situation of people and nature, the ability to think flexibly to ask questions about all phenomena, and the ability to take action. In the expanding field of green (energy and environment) and other fields, there is a need for ambitious professionals who can make breakthroughs with new ideas, and especially the emergence of women in this field is eagerly awaited. These also include looking into greenhouse gas emissions, abnormal weather, ocean pollution, soil contamination, and depleting natural resources.
 
Mukogawa Women's University's School of Environment and Sustainability emphasizes fieldwork in order to gain firsthand experience with global issues. Students take the questions they discover back home and set up their own projects. In the project room, which is a dedicated place for executing projects, multiple assignments are always running, and the teams face their own issues while stimulating each other. Fieldwork is conducted at MWU facilities such as Tantei-Gakuen Training Center (Kita-ku, Kobe City), Nashio Outdoor Activity Center (Nishinomiya City), and sometimes at the American Campus MUSC) in Washington State, USA.
 
The faculty consists of experts in each field covering a variety of specialized areas. A faculty member is assigned to each project to support students in selecting specialized courses.

December 26th, 2023

On December 7th, third-year students of the Department of Applied Music taking "Lifelong Learning Relations II" held a Christmas concert at a Mukogawa Women's University kindergarten, attended by about 70 kindergarten children.

 The students performed Christmas songs such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Sanpo," Ghibli songs, and JPOP on piano and tone chimes. The kindergartners also joined in the performance using bells, tambourines, castanets, etc., and sang many of the songs together. For encore, the children sang "Idol" by YOASOBI, the most popular song among the songs performed, in loud voices, and the performance ended with a great excitement in the hall.

December 22nd, 2023

In December, Professor Miyoshi, who has been involved in planning and designing many new towns, published "Making the Most of Old New Towns! -From the Genealogy of the Ideal City to the Realization of Diverse Living Styles" (Osaka University Press). The book proposes a broad framework of thinking for all those concerned with the current state of new town, and also serves as a "guide" for specific initiatives.

 The number of Japanese-style new towns developed in response to postwar housing needs is said to be 2,022 nationwide, with a total project area of 189,000 hectares, an area equivalent to the size of Osaka Prefecture. This book reevaluates the negative aspects of new towns, which tend to be focused on, such as shopping refugees, problems with vacant houses, and aging housing and facilities. It proposes a concrete vision for the reorganization of suburbs and the revitalization of the old new towns and their lifestyles. Another feature of the book is that it focuses on new towns in the Kansai region.
 
Professor Miyoshi points out that old new town has a potential market for solving social issues such as renovation of the living environment, home medical care and nursing care, improvement of the child-rearing environment, and how suburban residential areas should be in the digital age, and urges the need to think about the matters.

 Professor Miyoshi stated, "The Japanese version of new town used to be a shining example. It is not right to bemoan them as old new towns after only 50 years or so. We should work with the idea of making the best use of it. We should gather the collective efforts of industry, government, and academia to study new lifestyles, new regions, and new suburbs, and create mechanisms to attract a variety of lifestyle-based businesses to the area.”

December 19th, 2023

Ten wonderful employees in their third year of employment at Mukogawa Women's University, who are in the third year of the "Employee Training Program - Rising 3," were divided into three groups and presented the results of their training.

　The "Employee Training Program - Rising 3" began in FY2019 as a training program to develop newly recruited staff members over the first three years of their employment. The objectives of the first year of training are to learn about university operations, the second year to gain experience in collaborative work with faculty and staff, and the third year to enhance a broad perspective and expertise as an employee.

　The mission given to this third year training was "to decide on a research theme for each group and make a feasible proposal." Over the course of six months, they visited other universities to learn about case studies and conducted on-campus surveys, and after an interim debriefing session in October, the 10 members of staff presented their findings at the final meeting of the program.

　The three teams presented their research and proposals under the themes of "Workplace Environment Innovation and Business Improvement from a Free Address Perspective," "Building Bridges (Measures to Bring Employees Together)," and "The Power of Information Sharing Across the University," respectively, to which the other faculty members listened. Faculty members listening to the presentations asked numerous highly specific questions and comments on the proposals, which were answered by the presenters.

　As a general comment, Mitsuyoshi Hashimoto, Director of the Teaching and Learning Department, said, "We are going to face difficult times with a declining birthrate, but the most important thing is to enhance colleagueship as well as collaboration between faculty and staff. The most important thing is not just to be a close group of friends, but to work hard and compete with each other." Head of administration, Yutaka Takii added, "The three teams each came up with good ideas, but I would like to see them work together to expand the circle of employees. It may be difficult to see whether or not our proposals will be immediately accepted, but it is important to have the strength and energy to break through and to make allies who will understand and support such efforts."