July 25th, 2023
Videos of Mukogawa Women's University are currently aired on large digital signage at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi, Sannomiya and Namba.
A video promoting the Department of History and Culture, which will open in April 2024 in the Faculty of Letters, is being simultaneously screened on large digital signage screens at Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station, in front of Sannomiya Station and in front of the main staircase at Nankai Namba Station from 24 July until 31 July. The Mukogawa Women's University and the establishment of the Department of History and Culture will be promoted in the vicinity of the terminal stations, where the number of high school students is on the rise as the summer holidays approach.
Two videos are being broadcast: 'I will find my own way to the future' (15 seconds), featuring the main visual by MUKOJO ACTION, and 'I will DIVE into the historical world' (15 seconds), an animation featuring a high school girl who loves history. The two videos are linked together and run for 30 seconds at 10-15 minute intervals on the Wide Vision in Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station and on the OS Vision in front of Sannomiya Station, while only the MUKOJO ACTION video runs every six minutes on the Twin Vision at Nankai Namba Station.
The OS Vision in front of Sannomiya Station was easily visible from the plaza and the pedestrian crossing from the JR side to the Hankyu direction, and people waiting at traffic lights could be seen watching it. The Galleria Twin Vision in Namba is naturally visible from Nankai Namba Station when riding down the escalator, and is expected to be seen by a large number of people due to its short broadcast cycle.
From 28th of July to the 10th of August, a 15-second video clip, 'I will find my own way to the future', will be shown as a commercial before the film 'How Do You Live' airs at Osaka Station City Cinema, TOHO Cinemas Namba, TOHO Cinemas LaLaport Kadoma and TOHO Cinemas Odaiba, TOHO CINEMAS Otori.
From 5th of July to 4th of August, the missed video service TVer is also distributing the animation video and open campus information of "Watashi wa Historic World ni DIVE suru". More and more people are likely to encounter the visuals of Mukogawa Women's University, at the cinema and on their smartphones.
July 24th, 2023
The touch football team won the Sugar Bowl.
On 9th of July, the University's touch football team won the 30th Sugar Bowl Touch down Cup 6-man touch football Japan Championship at the Amino-Vital Field (Chofu, Tokyo). The team was able to make up for last year's failure to advance to the finals.
Rei Imoto (4th year, Health and Sports Science), captain of the touch football team, said: 'We were able to win the championship because of the support of our coaches, trainers and seniors, as well as the university. Our next major goal is to win the Sakura Bowl at Tokyo Dome on 3rd of January and become the 'Best in Japan'. All members of the club will do their best to achieve this goal. Please continue to support the Mukogawa Women's University touch football club GeNTLe BReeZe."
July 20th, 2023
The Nikkei STEAM 2023 Symposium, in which 18 public, and private universities in the Kansai region and high schools take part was held on 19th of July at the Osaka International House in Tennoji Ward, Osaka with Mukogawa Women's University joining forces with the high school. Among several programs held simultaneously, a team from the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received the SHIONOGI Special Award for their presentation on drug-resistant bacteria at the Student Summit Future Earth Conference.
The Student Summit Future Earth Conference, was attended by 34 teams from universities and high schools in Japan and overseas, and the Mukogawa Women's University high school presented a paper on self-checking health with fingernails, while the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy presented a paper on drug-resistant infectious diseases. The participating teams received lectures from their advisor, Ms. Sachiko Nakajima, in an online seminar beforehand, and spent about three months working on their content.
Under the name of Mukology, a team of six students from the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Pharmacy, conducted a university-wide survey on drug-resistant bacteria (AMR), which have the potential to cause a pandemic greater than the novel coronavirus, and found that 78% of students answered that they had never heard of AMR, and considered that "a lack of knowledge is leading to the spread of the AMR threat." They suggested disseminating information on Instagram to inform students of "what not to do" such as discontinuing the use of antimicrobials at their own discretion, and to stop future damage from infectious diseases. The presentation received a high evaluation, saying, "It is significant that the students were aware of the issue of AMR, the greatest threat among infectious diseases, and tackled it head-on," leading to the award. Ayako Funai, a sixth-year student in the Department of Pharmacy, said, "I am happy that our efforts to spread the threat of AMR with a clear policy were highly assessed. I hope people will take a look at our Instagram.”
Fourteen female researchers from various universities took the stage at the Female Researchers Forum. Professor Azusa Uemachi of the Department of Landscape Architecture in the Faculty of Architecture was one of them. The moderator asked questions submitted in advance by high school students, and the speakers responded by raising their hands in a rally style. Professor Uemachi raised her hand to answer the question, "What is the significance of going to university?" to which she replied, “At University, you can expand your own learning by working independently with faculty members and conducting research on your own theme. Such experiences at university are the basis of my current research. It will be a valuable experience that is different from high school, where all students learn the same things in class."
The Health and Sports Science Department held a hands-on experience section in which participants jumped on a mat to cue light and noise stimuli and measured their whole-body reaction time. High school students, cheered on by Professor Kanji Watanabe and three students, took on the challenge one after another. Some of the high school students competed with their friends to see how fast they could react, and the event was a great success.
The Faculty of Social Informatics also participated in a new project, Digital Art Exhibition. Three students from the Information Design Laboratory created a digital artwork of "Judge Kappa," a character that symbolizes the realization of the SDG goal of "Peace and Justice for All." High school students watched with great interest as the humorous character floated in the space display when they held up their iPads with the app.
At the Mukogawa Women's University booth, the Department of History and Culture, which will newly open in 2024, gave an overview of the department, and the high school students who love history listened with intently interested expressions. About 500 high school students from 35 schools in the Kinki, Chugoku and Shikoku regions participated in the event. The booth with "Mukogawa Women's University" banners was always crowded with high school students.
July 14th, 2023
The Department of Education's Baby Master Project was held at the Central Library, where students interacted with babies and mothers.
On 12 July, the Department of Education held the 'Baby Teacher Project' in the teaching course 'Understanding Children and Early Childhood Education' (Prof Michiru Tsukada and Prof Hiromi Takai). At the Global Studio on the 2nd floor of the Central Library, students interacted with 10 pairs of babies and their mothers under the theme 'Let's get to know the baby'.
The 'Baby Master Project' is a program of the NPO Mamahata, an organization that supports the way mothers work, in which participants experience the power of babies through their expressions and behavior, and get in touch with their mothers' thoughts. Through the program, participants are also given the opportunity to reflect on their own growth process and recognize their own feelings of gratitude. It is also an opportunity for students taking the teaching course to be able to deepen their knowledge for future studies in a more concrete way.
During the project, the students sit in groups and with the baby in the middle, everyone's eyes are focused on the baby. The babies vary from sleepy, to not wanting to leave their mothers, to crying, but the students talk to them with a friendly smile and play with their fingers to give them a chance to interact with the infants. They gradually became accustomed to the environment and their behavior gradually changed, such as starting to run and play with toys, while the students also stood up around the babies or ran with them, and several groups moved around in different forms.
The students also had the opportunity to listen to the mothers explain how to use the stroller and push it, and to hear about their daily experiences and the mothers' own feelings, thus deepening their understanding of childcare from the mothers' perspective.
At the end of the program, one by one, the group presented their thoughts. The participants said, "It was a good experience for me because I don't get to spend much time with small children", "I remembered when I was little and thought again how hard it must have been for mothers", "I knew it's not an easy journey, but I want to apply the experience I have gained through this opportunity to become a teacher at a kindergarten or nursery".
At the end of the session, the babies left the venue while singing 'Maa-rui inochi' ('A good life'). The students waved their hands and looked on with a sense of sadness of parting ways.
July 9th, 2023
Open Campus
The Mukogawa Women's University July 2023 Open Campus was held at the Main Campus and three other campuses on the 9th of July following the 8th, with a total of 2057 participants on both days. The next one will be held on 10th and 11th of August.
At the Hama-Koshien Campus, the Department of Pharmacy and the Department of Health and Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Faculty of Pharmacy conducted hands-on work experience and gave explanations about their departments, and such. High school students and their parents who were interested in pharmacy and chemistry enthusiastically toured the campus.
21 groups participated in the hands-on work experience "Pharmacist experience: 'Let's make an ointment!" workshop. Twenty-one groups took part in the hands-on work, dressed in white lab coats. The completed original ointments were packed in containers to be taken home.
In addition, tours were conducted of several laboratories, including pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, in order to familiarize the students with the specific research content of the Faculty of Pharmacy. In each laboratory, the research was introduced in an easy-to-understand manner using slides and actual experimental equipment. The high school students looked on with interest, saying things like "I like chemistry, so I'm interested in pharmaceuticals" and "The experiments look interesting".
At the Main Campus, 10 faculties except for architecture and pharmacy each held their own departmental programs. The Department of Social Welfare introduced the wide range of fields of study required to obtain a national certificate and explained that "welfare is a profession that supports the well-being of people's lives as a whole. In order to understand the background of consultations and find solutions, it is necessary to understand all aspects of the field, from psychology to law and medicine," said a professor in a passionate speech. In the Psychology Department, participants experienced various psychological experiments such as box garden therapy and optical illusions. The weight sorting machine, in which participants compared weights of the same weight but of different sizes, and the mirror reflection drawing, in which they traced a figure while looking at its reflection in a mirror, were popular. At the Faculty of Music, after a performance in the concert hall, participating high school students played on Steinway pianos and sang Italian songs. At the Faculty of Life and Environment, the Tanabata Decoration Workshop, in which students worked on Tanabata decorations, attracted the interest of the high school students.
There was also interest in the Department of English and Global Studies, which will have a dual major system from next year. The English Language and Culture major had a mock class where participants interviewed each other in English, while students in the Global Communication major gave four-minute speeches in English, demonstrating the special features of their respective majors.
At each venue, the students played an instrumental role in various aspects of the event, from guiding visitors around the venue to hosting the event and organizing student events. The student staff leading the campus tours also enlivened the participants with real-life talks, such as "It's so great that the teachers and students are very close to each other, closer than at other universities" and "The buildings are clean and cozy" as they toured each building.
July 6th, 2023
The Hanshin Railway's Naruo-Mukogawa Joshi Daigaku-mae Station area was selected for the Grand Prix, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award, in the 35th National Street Project Competition, which recognizes municipalities that have carried out excellent street improvement projects. A total of 17 projects from across the country were entered in the 35th National Street Project Competition.
The continuous multi-level crossing project around Hanshin Railway's Naruo-Mukogawa Women's University Station was carried out by the Nishinomiya Civil Engineering Office of the Hanshin South Prefectural Centre of Hyogo Prefecture between 2000 and 2018 by elevating a 1.9 km section of railway near the station to eliminate six level crossings and improve the surrounding urban planning roads and side roads, in collaboration with the community. The station was highly praised for its ground-breaking attempts in cooperation with the local community. The station was designed by the Mukogawa Women's University Architecture and Urban Design Studio (a first-class architect office) in collaboration with Hanshin Electric Railway Co.
In December 2018, Mukogawa Women's University signed a comprehensive collaboration agreement with Hanshin Electric Railway Co. The Mukojo Station Campus and Mukojo Station Campus Annex I and II are the first full-scale university facilities in Japan to utilise the space under the elevated railway tracks (approx. 2,200 m2 ) on the east side of the station, which opened in 2019. The Mukojo Station Campus is a community creation zone where the university connects with the local community, businesses and residents and provides them a platform of information, and includes facilities such as lecture rooms, Lavy's café, Minato Bank and the Knowledge Café, where students and businesses can interact. Mukojo Station Campus Annex I is a health maintenance and promotion zone for students, staff and residents, while Annex II is used as an educational support zone with seminar rooms.
With the opening of the Mukojo Station Campus, the Mukogawa Gakuin Educational Corporation and Hanshin Electric Railway Co came together to develop a system whereby the university, businesses and the local community work together to contribute to community building. The association publishes the local magazine Naruo Tsushin, as well as sharing information via social media and other means, and organizes Naruo Fureai Events. In addition, efforts are being made to improve convenience and create liveliness, for example by installing an art box and stage in the park in front of the station, and making the north-south side of the station an alleyway that can be passed through, thereby contributing to the formation of a platform for industry-industry-academic collaboration, a place where students and residents can get together.