Advancing Information Education and Aiming for a Form of New Practical Learning in the Era of Society 5.0

This year is the second year of the school’s second five-year plan, and we will continue our efforts with the aim of improving the quality of our education, research, and management infrastructure, the priority policy of the entire school. As a core project, we plan to open the new Faculty of Architecture and Design in April 2024, the first new faculty in 15 years. The new faculty is expected to offer two majors: the Architecture major for those students who aim to become the next generation's leading architects in digital technology, and the Spatial Design major for those students who wish to design cities, structures, and interiors using not only digital technology but also virtual spaces. In addition, the renovations of the Neyagawa Campus will be completed in August 2023. This campus will offer a plaza designed based on student suggestions as a place for students to gather. My hope is that this will be a new space in which students can interact with each other and bring about innovation.

Our educational philosophy is practical education that fosters human qualities and technological capabilities and enables students to lead their own lives. We constantly review our education and research in conjunction with the needs of society, and continue to upgrade the content of our practical learning. The school will further promote ICT education, one of our strengths, and we aim to develop human resources who can thrive in the Society 5.0 era by enhancing university-wide information education in areas such as mathematics, data science, and AI, and deepening synergies between specialized education and ICT. We will also enhance our graduate schools and strengthen our research capabilities. We will seek to establish a robust virtuous cycle model for society and universities that identifies research issues from and returns results to society. The promotion of internationalization is also critical Working in a foreign language, having non-Japanese colleagues, and going on business trips or assignments to other countries has become commonplace, and specialized language skills and cross-cultural understanding are therefore necessary. Internationalism has become a type of practical learning.

With the declining birthrate and aging population, it is the mission of higher education institutions to nurture social leaders. Osaka Electro-Communication University aims to be a useful university that continues to change in response to its social mission and produces human resources who can respond to changes in society. We are committed to managing the university with a sense of mission, and we ask for your continued support.

Kuninari Shiota,President