Niigata University of Health and Welfare

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The University was established in 2001 to train future health professionals in health and social welfare sciences. Currently, more than 4,000 graduates are working, not only in Japan but also in foreign countries, as "QOL (quality of life) supporters" involved in the care of the elderly, patients undergoing medical treatment, and the disabled. Fostering "qualified QOL supporters" has been our School's primary emphasis since its foundation.

The Undergraduate School has four faculties consisting of eleven departments. In the Faculty of Medical Technology, the departments include Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Prosthetics & Orthotics and Assistive Technology Clinical Engineering and Medical Technology and Orthoptics and Visual Sciences, which was newly instituted in 2014. In the Faculty of Health Science, the departments include Health and Nutrition, Health and Sports, and Nursing. The Faculty of Social Welfare consists of a single department, the Department of Social Welfare. The fourth faculty is the Faculty of Healthcare Management, which consists of the Department of Health Informatics. There are about 3,400 students now taking a wide range of courses in these faculties.

Our graduate school started in 2005 and now has four master's courses with majors in Rehabilitation Sciences (Master of Rehabilitation Science), Social Welfare (Master of Social Work), Health Sciences (Master of Health Science), and Health Informatics and Business Administration (Master of Health Informatics and Business Administration), which was just established. The School has one doctoral course with a major in Health and Welfare (Doctor of Health Science). Out of 102 students, 74 are in the master's courses and 28 in the doctoral course, as of April 1, 2014.

As a matter of educational policy, we pay special attention to interprofessional education (IPE). It is necessary for students to participate in a learning system shared with different professional trainees based on the multi-disciplinary healthcare team's concept and to understand the roles of the different professions within the team. IPE can increase patient satisfaction and a reduction in medical expenditures. With the increase of globalization in the form of the influx of health care professionals into Japan from abroad and vice versa, the IPE has been becoming more important than ever for students and professionals in health-related fields.

We want to encourage students with scientific interests in improving people's health to become "qualified QOL supporters" with the intent to work worldwide in the future. We have been conducting collaborative research with international professionals, especially those from countries in Asia and the Pacific region. Therefore, we are looking forward to producing modern scientific and technological achievements with the international community of health professionals who share a common interest in health science and health care.

Basic Goals for NUHW:

To foster health professionals who will work not only in the super-aged society but also in the upcoming global society in Japan, we aim to increase students from 2800 to 5000 within ten years.

To produce qualified QOL supporters who will work in the super-aged society and the upcoming global society in Japan, we provide educational support for all our students and graduates. They can work not only in local communities but also in many parts of the world. Also, we provide the basis for education and research according to the following ten domains (refer to the table below).

• Long-term Goals (2010-2020)
• Mid-term Goals (2014-2017)

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