March 4th, 2023

The 3rd International Women's Day MUKOJO Forum was held.

On March 4, before International Women's Day on March 8, the 3rd International Women's Day MUKOJO Forum (hosted by the Gender Equality Promotion Office and co-hosted by the Institute for Women’s Career Advancement and Gender Equality Development was held in the large lecture hall of the Koe Memorial Hall, both face-to-face and online.

In commemoration of the establishment of the Institute for Women’s Career Advancement and Gender Equality Decelopment in April 2020, Vice Governor Mie Katsuno of Tokushima Prefecture and President Yuko Takahashi of Tsuda College delivered keynote speeches on the theme of "Creating a Society Where Women Can Have Active Roles". Vice Governor Katsuno spoke of Tokushima Prefecture's efforts to increase the number of women in decision-making bodies, using the prefecture's low gender gap index as an example of how the percentage of female presidents and the percentage of women on councils and other bodies is among the highest in Japan. President Takahashi also pointed out the significant impact on students of the university landscape where, despite the narrowing of the gap between male and female university enrollment rates, the number of women disappearing as they enter graduate school and advance in faculty positions. She called on students to have the courage to voice their doubts, which will change the landscape of universities and eventually become a force for pushing women into politics and the economy.

In a panel discussion titled "What should be done to create gender equality at universities and in society?" Vice Governor Katsuno, President Takahashi, Vice President Kawai, and Kyoko Takahashi, Director of the Institute for Women's Advancement Studies, participated as panelists and facilitators, respectively. The panelists explored ways to promote gender equality, focusing on "universities" and "society." The panelists confirmed the significance of women's universities in empowering women in Japan, where the difference regarding gender is still severe.

Of the three winners of the essay contest, whose theme was "Considering Lifelong Career Design" and which was solicited on campus, Ms. Nishide and Ms. Yamamura gave speeches and were awarded the Grand Prize and the Prize for Excellence.

March 3rd, 2023

The 3rd Annual Biscuit Academy Awards event was held at the Koe Memorial Hall and a total of 250 students, faculty, and staff attended.

On February 28, "Biscuit Day," the 3rd Biscuit Academy Awards, sponsored by the confectionery information media "Confectionery and I," was held at the Koe Memorial Hall and was crowded with about 250 students and faculty members. The "Biscuit Academy Award" is an event in which various biscuit manufacturers participate and vote for their favorites, for the purpose of promoting the development of the biscuit industry.

In response to the company's need to reach a broader audience, information on the web alone is not enough to reach a certain segment of the population. In response to the company's need to make the project known to the younger generation, "Share-Sta," a group of student volunteers from the School of Business Administration, collaborated with Yamahoshi-ya, which operates the "Confectionery and Me" website. 27 types of biscuits were available for tasting, and those who tasted them voted for their favorite on the spot.

The members of Share-sta said, "This event was made possible by the combined efforts of each student involved, from the layout of the day, to the items purchased, to the social networking posts, to the creation of product pop-ups. We were able to see many happy faces on the day of the event, and I think our first corporate collaboration event as an organization was a great success. We also learned a lot about the many different kinds of biscuits and fell in love with biscuits ourselves.”

March 2nd, 2023

Music majors held a mini event of "Spring concert" at Mukogawa Women's University's kindergarten.

On February 24, six music majors held an event, "Spring Concert," at Mukogawa Women's University Kindergarten, where they received a warm welcome from the 3- to 5-year-old children.

Part of the "Mukogawa Women's University Music Department Presents Spring Concert" to be held on March 14 at the Concert Hall in the Main Campus Music Hall was arranged for preschool children and held ahead of the concert. In addition to Totoro and Disney songs, nursery rhymes were on the list of performances, such as "Yugi-san Yubin" and "Omocha no Cha Cha Cha. The preschool children participated by clapping their hands together. After the program, the children asked for an encore, and the band played "Anpanman March," which received a standing ovation from the children.

March 1st, 2023

The Graduate School of Architecture and the School of Architecture are holding an exhibition of their works at the Nishinomiya City Gallery.

"Faculty of Architecture Exhibition of Works and Graduation Designs" is being held at Nishinomiya City Gallery until March 5, free entry. It will also be held online from March 17 to April 16.

The exhibition features approximately 120 pieces of artwork including woodwork and ceramics, architectural and landscape design works, graduation and master's design works, and a full-size bamboo tea house created jointly by first-year undergraduate students and second-year master's degree students. This is the first exhibition of works at the Nishinomiya City Gallery since the establishment of the Department of Landscape Architecture in April 2020. The exhibition is rich in works that showcase the unique characteristics of both departments and majors.

February 27th, 2023

A film produced in cooperation with Mukogawa Women's University on the 60th anniversary of the Nishinomiya-Spokane sister city affiliation won the Planning Award in the 70th Hyogo Prefecture Public Relations Contest.

"People to People," a film featuring students of the Hirata Seminar (Associate Professor Mitsuhiko Hirata) of the University's Department of Japanese Language and Literature, members of the Calligraphy Club and Koto Club, and volunteer students, won the Planning Award in the 70th Hyogo Prefecture Public Relations Competition.

The 70th Hyogo Public Relations Contest was held to honor excellent works selected from various public relations media (PR papers, photos, and videos) published or announced by cities and towns in Hyogo Prefecture between January and December 2022.



The winning entry, "People to People," featured a performance of calligraphy and koto music to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the exchange, as well as stories about the students' experiences in the City of Spokane. The work was conceived around the theme of Japanese culture and exchange, and was created using drones and other equipment.

February 22nd, 2023

A pre-course held for the recurrent education program "MUKOnoa⁺

Two courses were conducted on this day: "DX Basic Course for Businesspersons (hereinafter referred to as "DX Course")" and "Men's Childcare Support Course (hereinafter referred to as "Men's Course")". The "DX Course" was attended by female employees and the "Men's Course" by male employees with infants and toddlers. The "DX Lecture" was taught by Professor Toshimi Munehara of the School of Business Administration, and included a digest of various DX case studies and business applications of AI. A female member of staff said, "I had an image that AI would replace human workforce, but I gained a perspective that the development of AI will expand the range of creative work, so my interest in DX has grown."

On the other hand, the "Men's Class" was held jointly with the Nutrition Clinic to encourage men to take the initiative in raising their children and doing household chores. Participants learned how to easily prepare nutritionally balanced meals by combining microwave ovens and store-bought side dishes, and completed a loco moco bowl by making an omelet in the microwave. A male staff member who participated said, "Knowing that I don't have to make everything by hand and that it can be done so easily lowered the bar of cooking a little.

Mukogawa Women's University's recurrent education program is designed to support a society in which women are active throughout their lives, in line with the university's vision of "empowering women to create a life-long career path.” The university offers approximately 150 courses specializing in digital skills essential for employment, such as PCs, DTP, and the Web, in order to support a society in which women have active roles. The program is open to people who want to continue working, including those in the business world. In particular, the focus is on supporting women to continue working while flexibly handling life events. We offer a variety of learning methods, such as face-to-face or online, individual or class-based, to make it easier for those who are seeking a career change while still working. In the case of "in-person/online private lessons," students can take classes at their preferred time by making an appointment, and they can ask questions on the spot if they don't understand something, so that they can learn at their own speed.