Aichi Prefectural University, Nagakute Campus

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Radical changes have ensued in the wake of ever more rapid globalization. In response, the university actively advocates “Connect with people and tie in with the world.” This means making frequent close face-to-face contact with people. Naturally, we reach out to people within Aichi Prefecture and Japan, but we also seek close ties with people worldwide. Working hand in hand with others, through knowledge and action, we can help make the world a better place in myriad small ways.

Connect with people with different cultures and extend active links to localities across the globe. Rich cultural diversity exists both in Japan and in other parts of the world. In current times, marked by the rapid spread of nationalist sentiment, we urgently need to deepen mutual understanding through intercultural exchange. The year 2020 will witness several landmark events, including the Tokyo Olympic Games. Regarding this year as a milestone, the prefecture has formulated a policy known as Aichi Vision 2020. With the future in mind, during the six years starting 2018, we will lay the groundwork for deep and varied encounters with diverse cultures.

To stimulate education: cooperation and collaborative research by the university’s five schools Cross-cultural exchange thrive in research and education. The university has connected research fields that had become compartmentalized and divided, and the five schools have joined to cooperate in collaborative research involving different disciplines. Rather than narrow collaborations of science with science, or literature with literature, now, in multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted studies, staff and students are fusing science and the humanities while working together to pursue an “anthropological approach to learning.”

By studying about and inquiring into “life,” we take an “anthropological approach towards learning,” Through collaboration between the university’s five schools, we study about and inquire into “life.” Life is undoubtedly the one thing we all share as people, and it is granted equally to each of us. In Japan and overseas, the recognition of this fact is now under threat. To determine the reasons for this situation and find solutions for it, we have to face the challenge by intricately intertwining scientific, political, economic, cultural, and environmental studies. Aichi Prefectural University is steering the very practice of education and research in the direction of learning about life, that is to say, taking an “anthropological approach towards learning.”

There are two campuses at Aichi Prefectural University. The “Nagakute Campus,” comprising the School of Foreign Studies, the School of Japanese Studies, the School of Education and Welfare, and the School of Information Science and Technology, is located in the hilly area overlooking Mt. Ontake in Kiso, beyond the mountain range of Seto. The “Moriyama Campus,” consisting of the School of Nursing and Health, is situated on Mt. Tougoku, where there is a fruit park famous for cherry blossom viewing, in the northeastern part of Nagoya City. Both campuses are located in landscaped areas, surrounded by fresh air and greenery. At these two sites, both undergraduate and graduate students and approximately 3,500 faculty members are always engaged in their studies. First-year students at the School of Nursing and Health are provided with lectures on the Nagakute campus.

The modernized Aichi Prefectural University’s motto is “High-quality education, based on high-quality research.” Therefore, by not only building upon the traditions initiated by the Women’s Junior College and Aichi Prefectural Women’s College but by also taking advantage of offering both arts and science courses, Aichi Prefectural University now pursues academic education and research with the following vision:

• That, in the so-called “Knowledge-based society” of the 21st century, we aim to become a “Knowledge Hub,” where both researchers and students with a thirst for knowledge can enlighten one another.
• That, as a prefectural university meeting the growing demands for advanced education in an “Era of decentralization,” we will promote a high quality of education endorsed by quality research and will contribute to both regional and global communities through the accomplishments of our staff and students.
• That, focusing on realizing a “Developed co-existent society,” we intend to advance research, education, and regional partnerships, promoting the coexistence of nature, scientific technology, and people in diverse cultures of society.

This vision comprises three priorities that are critical concerns for people inquiring about a human society living in the 21st century.

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