- Striving to Become University that contributes to Core Human Resource Development and
the Generation of Vitality in the Local Community - Second Phase Midterm Goals
- The 6 Priorities Plan and University-wide Common Plan of the Second Phase Midterm Plan
- Issues to focus on in the 2014 academic year plan
- column3：Plan for Regional Involvement and Regional Involvement Program
The year 2014 is the fourth year of our second phase midterm goals period. The operations of Iwate Prefectural University follow an academic year plan, as well as 6-year medium-term objectives based on a medium-term plan spanning from 2011 to 2016.
Our midterm goals to strive to become a university that contributes to core human resource development and the generation of vitality in the local community are founded on two basic stances : education that puts students first, and research and regional contributions that generate vitality in Iwate.
The university is undertaking an approach to education, research and regional contribution based on 3 basic goals. Our educational goal is to strengthen our students’ ambition. We also want to be a university that the region will depend on for research, contributions to the local community, and international exchange. And, we also want to be effective and flexible in university administrative operations. These goals both affirm the mission of the university when it was founded while looking ahead and embracing various environmental changes.
A University that contributes to core human resource development
and the generation of vitality in the region
● Student-Driven Education
● Research and local contribution efforts that vitalize the region
The Midterm Plan, which is intended to achieve the second phase midterm goals, is composed of a 6 Priorities Plan for issues that have especially high urgency, importance, and continuity, and a University-wide Common Plan that will be taken up by entire university in order to deploy the priorities plan.
① Acquisition of new students that have a strong sense of purpose and passion for learning
- Effectively enhance educational connections between high school and the university due to our collaboration with the Prefectural High School Principals’ Association
- Set up the exemption agreement of admission fee of graduate school in order to meet our quota of graduate school admission
- Continued economic support of students affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and support the aspiring students so that they can attend the university
② Execution of a systematic and consistent education program
- Improve the Center for the Advancement of Higher Education and restructure of the liberal arts and general education (Kiban Kyoiku) curriculum
- Enhancement of education and research focusing on the region due to the active learning introducing field-work program
- Encourage the exchange system of liberal arts and students due to plot out of “international exchange strategy”(tentatively named), enhancement of international exchange system, and consolidation of facility to accept the international interaction
- Assessment and rearrangement of new curriculum whether it satisfy degree conferment“diploma policies” and educational course organization and implementation “curriculum policies”
- Improvement of faculty training system
③ Supporting the development of the student employability and the promotion of employment within the prefecture
- Enrichment of the lecture of governmental employee through the enhancement of civil service exam preparation and promotion for graduates to remain in the prefecture
- Supporting the activity by the student volunteers for the area affected by the earthquake
- Effective management of the IPU-E Map (a student employability evaluation sheet)
- Enhancement of a career education by invitation of guest lecturers, visiting companies and participation to internship
④ Carrying out research that is valuable to the region and publically disclosing the results
- Active and effective public announcement of the results of research
- Promotion of research that contribute to earthquake disaster recovery by joint with the local government and cross-sectional project by departments
- Improvement of the application and selection rates of grants-in-aid for scientific research
⑤ Strengthening industry-university-government collaborations and making full use of think-tank functionality
- Promotion of cross-sectional research of Progressive Reconstruction and Recovery Project from the Great East Japan Earthquake at the Center for Regional Policy Studies
- Training of engineers who can contribute to new technology development in i-MOS and promotion of car electronics development
- Toward achievement of Takizawa Village IPU Innovation Park concept, promote joint research with companies that would move in Takizawa-IPU Secondary Innovation Center
⑥ Development of teaching staff with a strong motivation to educate and research
- Improvement of a teacher's ability of teaching and research by an introduction of sabbatical training system
- Support teachers by Career Education and training based on a vision and plan of human resource education
- Considering and application of an effective program through the fusion of FD (Faculty Development) and SD (Staff Development)
With our policy “University with the Community”, we have developed the research and educational activities with local companies and residents. However, even though students have been involved in the local community as a part of research and lectures, we have never had the opportunities to face the regional problems on a university-wide basis.
In the academic year 2013-14, our university, which aims to be “Iwate’s base of knowledge”, setup the plan “Plan for Regional Involvement (Chiiki-Sozo Plan)”. As a part of the plan, the “Regional Involvement Program (Chiiki-Sozo Gakusyu Program)” has been started for freshman and sophomore students. In this program, they are encouraged to learn how to be involved in the region through the overnight field-work by visiting various areas of the prefecture. The ultimate goal of this program is to motivate students to learn and act voluntarily in their undergraduate education; for this purpose, students learn and experience the current situation and problem of the region they visit, and they are also encouraged to find the resolution to the problem they have observed.
One of the features of the program is that students design and work on the contents of the program. Sophomore to senior students who have experienced the regional activities design the plans as coordinators with help from faculty and staff, as well as from alumni/alumnee who have worked as a coordinator themselves. Many students (140 students in total) have participated in the field-work at 5 locations in Miyako, Otsuchi, Kamaishi, Nishiwaga, and Morioka-Takizawa.
Notes
- ※1…Iwate Monozukuri and Software Integration Technology Center
- ※2…An effort to improve course content and methods. Faculty Development
- ※3…Efforts to improve the skills of administrative and other staff concerned with the operations of the university. Staff Development.
- ※4…A series of activities in which students evaluate and visualize their own employability based on their own experience.
