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Placing Information Education at the Core

Interview - October 31, 2024

Osaka Electro-Communication University continues efforts with the aim of improving the quality of education, research, and management infrastructures.

KUNINARI SHIOTA, PRESIDENT OF OSAKA ELECTRO-COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY
KUNINARI SHIOTA | PRESIDENT OF OSAKA ELECTRO-COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY

Today, Japan is facing a number of challenges, including a lack of labor force globalization compared to other countries. Additionally, with Japan’s decline in population, there is increased pressure on the global workforce. It is estimated that in 2040, Japan will face a shortfall of 10 million workers. To try to address this challenge, the government is setting ambitious targets of attracting over 400,000 students from overseas to Japan to study. What role do you believe Japanese colleges can play in trying to address these challenges that Japan is facing?

Regarding the declining demographics, I certainly feel a sense of crisis, particularly, I feel it might change the social structure of Japan. If we continue seeing the decline of the productive population and workers, we will not be able to support the Japanese economy. Those are four core solutions to address this situation. One of them is to raise the productivity of younger generations even though the population is declining. The role that higher educational institutes can play is going to be significant. The second point concerns the reskilling of aged people. In Japan, this is also referred to as recurrent education, and it should be provided by Japanese universities. Especially in the area of technology, the speed of reskilling is quite high, so universities need to match. The third point is to promote working women. The fourth is to invite foreign people who are interested in Japan to come to this country and support the economy. This fourth point relates to the need to globalize universities, but when normal people think about globalization, they tend to think of a businessman spanning the world in a suit and tie, not a university. Without this stereotype, we are trying to address the issue from a different angle.

Japan is on the way to rapid globalization, and you will not need to leave the country. When you go to a local school or regional institution you will find non-Japanese people studying there. Workplaces will have non-Japanese workers. This situation is going to be part of our daily lives, so communicating with these people will lead to the promotion of better globalization. This is the kind of globalization we are focusing on.

 

You mentioned promoting working women. As an engineering institution, what are you doing to promote and encourage women in engineering?

While universities are trying to address the challenge of promoting women in the engineering space, I think the government has already noticed that this is due to structural problems in Japan. In a typical high school, after the first grade, you have to choose whether you would like to learn liberal arts or science and technology. Only a few women choose science, and thus, you will not find a lot of women in this field. The government is working on a project to encourage women to study science, breaking this stereotype that women are not suited to this field.

The rate of female students at our university is only 8%. That is the part we need to improve, but only PR activities are not enough. We should also improve the environment of this facility. In fact, for the last 60 years this facility only catered to men mainly, so changes need to be made, making the structure more comfortable for women. Two years from now we plan on holding an entrance exam that focuses on women. 

 

A unique aspect of your university is your OECU Steps which are designed to support independent learning through a four step process. Can you tell us more about these OECU Steps and the main benefits of this approach?

In terms of machine engineering, for example, the contents of the education are quite similar among universities. In order to make our education more unique than other universities, we would like to present students with the opportunity to use their education to make something real and practical. For example, we encourage students to participate in robot contests or solar car competitions. Students in the Department of Digital Games are also working together on game jams and creating games, so they are able to give shape to what they have learned at university, and from that, they are able to gain confidence out of this cycle.

 

Digital experiences and the integration of advanced technologies such as generative AI and language learning models have significantly impacted education worldwide. In this realm, your university has its mathematics, data science, and education programs, which have been certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Can you tell us more about these programs and how they can prepare students to stay up to date with the rapidly changing nature of technology?

Our university specializes in electronic communication, so areas such as IT and communication technology are the ones that we should place the utmost focus on. With this happening, we are trying to utilize the existing facilities and departments, incorporating ICT as the common element of education.

We are just about to open our new Faculty of Health Information and in the current medical world, advancements can be made with the use of information technology. In the past, surgeons would use scalpels and manually conduct operations, however, recently, manipulators can do the operations. Imaging technology has also advanced, meaning it is now very useful in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. IT is necessary for innovations to happen in this field. Any aspect of social advancement is going to need IT, and that is why we are focused on this area of education.



Make things as part of their extracurricular activities, “JIYU KOBO”


In addition to the Faculty of Health Informatics that you are opening next year, in April 2026, you have plans to open a new Department of Digital Games, with three areas of study: digital gaming, social design, and gaming media. The department will be characterized by a learning environment that combines cyberspace technologies such as the Metaverse with other physical technologies such as motion capture. What is the inspiration behind introducing this new department, and can you offer some insight into what potential students can expect from the department?

One strength we have is the Department of Digital Games which we established back in 2003. Back then, we provided education that focused on the creation of games, which covered programming and 3D design. However, we wanted to expand this area further, so we incorporated animation and digital content. We believe that recently, the technology to create games has already become a part of the infrastructure of society. Based on that recognition, we decided to provide an education to foster people who will be able to design digital solutions for social issues. Through technologies such as the Metaverse, people will be able to create new social gateways.


Create works in a motion capture studio, “the Department of Digital Games”


Your Research Collaboration Promotion Center was established in 2021. As part of this project, you have partnerships with many firms and conduct many joint research projects. How have these industry collaborations benefited your research capabilities, and are you looking for any new industry partnerships either in Japan or overseas?

Industries can provide a theme for new research where students and companies can work together to ultimately write papers. Through this process students are able to see real issues that are happening in society and learn more about these issues.

Partnerships with communities are critical since, through the utilization of technologies, universities are able to address various issues that are affecting the people of local communities. This is good for communities and the local government. We even have our own site that serves as an interface with the industry so that we can attract more attention from industries.

 

Is this purely domestic, or does it work overseas as well?

Unfortunately, right now it is only for the domestic market.

 

In addition to your industry collaborations, your university also places great emphasis on international connections, with partnerships spanning 22 institutions in 12 countries, which can help facilitate student exchanges, collaboration opportunities, and many more benefits. How important are international partnerships and exchanges for your university’s mission? Are you currently looking to expand your international partnership network?

Earlier, we discussed that the internationalization of Japanese universities is a must, particularly to ensure a better future for Japanese society. We have to contribute in that direction, and the role of universities is quite significant.

In particular, Japanese students could be better at learning English. In Japanese high school, students who are not good at English tend to choose the faculty of science and engineering when it comes time to go on to university. A few students here at our university are the same; they really don’t like learning English. The problem, however, is that once they graduate and start working as an engineer, they face a lot of English, such as speaking with other engineers from English-speaking countries or manuals for equipment that are in English. We have to help them shift their mindset. The trigger for this change is the internationalization of our education. Something like traveling abroad itself will help students broaden their horizons.

 

What strategies are you employing in order to attract more foreign students and send more Japanese students abroad?

With even one foreign student in a lab or research institution, the whole environment changes significantly. In that environment, students will be more motivated to learn about English and mutual understandings so they can communicate. We would like to work closely with foreign educational institutions that have the same specialized areas as ours.

 

How would you like your university to be seen in the eyes of the global market?

Japan is getting less and less attractive compared to the 1980s in many different aspects, such as technology and academic fields. Having said that, Japan is now in the process of reinventing itself to find a new attractiveness and appeal to the world. I hope that people around the world will be interested in Japan and the things we can offer.

As the president of our university, I want to explain to the world that we are a university that focuses on basic technological education, evolving industries such as manufacturing by combining it with IT innovations. We are also very unique with our focus on gaming, so those that are interested in Japanese pop culture are welcome to study at our facilities.

 


For more information, visit their website at: https://www.osakac.ac.jp/en/

 

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