February 21st, 2024
Hanae Nakamura, a second-year postgraduate student in the Research Institute for Nutrition Sciences (Prof Katsuhiko Yoshizawa), received the Outstanding Presentation Award for Young Researchers at the 20th Functional Food Society Meeting held at the Yonago Convention Centre (Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture) in January 2024.
Ms. Nakamura gave a presentation entitled 'Pathological suppression effect of black soybean polyphenol Chronocare® in MNU-induced rat breast cancer model'.
Ms. Nakamura commented: 'I am incredibly pleased to receive the Best Presentation Award for Young Scientists. We were able to conduct the experiments in this study with the cooperation of so many people. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the teachers who gave me guidance and to everyone in my laboratory who helped me with my research."
February 20th, 2024
Students from the Department of Business Administration at Mukogawa Women's University have compiled the results of the second year of their Generation Z Research, a year-long study of the values and preferences of Generation Z women (born between the late 1990s and around 2010), and held a Generation Z Research debriefing session on 16th of February at the main campus.
The results of research conducted by Generation Z girls on the present state of Generation Z boys also attracted attention, with many companies, practitioners and researchers in attendance.
The project was undertaken by 12 third-year students studying marketing design in the Takahashi Seminar (Prof Chieko Takahashi) in the Department of Business Administration. The research themes were "What is Generation Z?", "Generation Z boys", "Fashion", "Music" and more. The values, consumption trends and future marketing of Generation Z were explored in depth through quantitative, qualitative and field research.
After hearing the presentation, Hiroshi Saito of Mainichi Broadcasting Station said, "I got the impression that they are doing thorough research. It was wonderful that they not only looked at the results of the questionnaire, but also how they could apply them to their business".
Saki Hosoka, a third-year student, said, "Generation Z seems to have the impression of being an unknown species, but I hope that this activity will help people to understand the meaning and background of Gen Z behavior."
February 20th, 2024
A kick-off symposium was held on 16th of February at the Media Hall on the central campus of Mukogawa Women's University, following its selection as an institution to take part in the 2023 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Human Resources Development Grant Program "Diversity Research Environment Implementation Initiative (Female Leader Development Type)".
In view of the significance of being the only private university and the only women's university to be selected as an institution, a keynote speech and a panel discussion were held with a focus on the "development of next-generation female leaders at women's universities".
In the first part, keynote speeches were given by Ms. Yasuko Yamamura, Program Director of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and Ms. Kyoko Takahashi, Director of the University's Institute for Women's Career Advancement and Gender Equality Development. Yamamura gave an overview of the situation in which it is still difficult to nurture female leaders due to a deep-rooted awareness of the division of labor between men and women, under the title 'Japan's aim to nurture female leaders'. She pointed out that a 'leaky pipe phenomenon' is occurring in which the number of women in university teaching positions declines as they move up the ladder, and that it is important to create a system that prevents 'unconscious bias’s from intervening when promoting the development of female leaders as a management strategy.
In the second part of the panel discussion, in addition to Yamamura and Takahashi, speakers included Haruki Imaoka, President of Nara Women's University, and Yukio Furuno, President of Nishinomiya-based Furuno Electric Co. Professor Chieko Takahashi of the Faculty of Business Administration acted as facilitator, and the participants discussed women's leadership development from various perspectives.
Regarding the background to the delay in women's advancement, Director Kyoko Takahashi said, "First of all, it is important to raise awareness and educate women on matters such as career design and life planning", while President Imaoka said, "If the proportion of women is too low, women who challenge minority positions will not appear".
President Furuno commented: 'Recently, there has been a move to change the conventional framework and thinking in the industry as a whole, such as the appointment of female directors up to a certain percentage. In fact, if women are not raised, the company's power will decline, so all companies are actively working on creating places and systems for women to play an active role", he said, describing the changes in the company.
The panel discussion continued with comments from the facilitator, Professor Takahashi in between adding her own experiences facing students and the challenges in promotion of leadership within them.
February 20th, 2024
Mukogawa Women's University has signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Good Holdings Co.
On 16th of February, Mukogawa Women's University, which will open a Department of Environment and Sustainability, in April 2025, concluded a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Good Holdings Corporation, which operates a comprehensive environmental service in Nishinomiya City.
The university decided to conclude the collaboration agreement on the occasion of the Department of Environment and Sustainability, which will be Mukogawa Women's University's 13th School (to be established in April 2025), with the aim of working together to create a sustainable future, promote the SDGs, regional development and human resources development. Upon opening, the two universities plan to cooperate in fieldwork and facility tours.
At the signing ceremony held at Mukogawa Women's University's Central Campus, President Kazuyoshi Seguchi said: 'In the upcoming department, we hope to develop human resources who can lead environmental issues from a comprehensive scientific perspective. Not only the latest one, but there are many other departments that contribute to environmental issues, such as the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, the School of Social Informatics and the School of Business Administration. We hope that they will make use of the wide-ranging knowledge and research findings of our university and mutually grow together."
CEO Kenichi Akazawa commented: 'We have responded to a wide range of environmental and social needs, including the recycling of waste materials. We hope that through the cooperation agreement, students with knowledge and practical skills in environmental and social issues will grow and play an active role in society. It is also true that it is difficult to reach a consensus from a one-sided perspective. On the other hand, I hope that the students will be able to resolve these issues on the same vector, rather than by making a trade-off between the sustainability of society and the growth potential of industry.”
February 17th, 2024
The 6th Mukogawa Women's Smile Festival is held at Lalaport Koshien with the students from Mukogawa Women's University.
The 6th Mukojo Smile Festival was held at Lalaport Koshien on 17th of March and will run until the 18th. It is held jointly with the Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport Koshien every year to make the people of the region aware of the initiatives of Mukogawa Women's University, and this year will be the sixth time it has been held. Sixteen groups, including seminars and volunteer organizations, take part, holding panel displays and workshops on the first and second floors of the shopping mall.
On the first day, Associate Professor Chikako Nakahori of the Department of Health and Sports Sciences presented a seminar entitled 'Hello! FemTec", a workshop to experience samples of menstrual cups and absorbent underwear and to find menstrual products that suit each individual, while Kenichi Fujimoto, Professor of the Department of Social Informatics, introduced the community-based initiatives of Heal & Doul (Hilsol) Beer, a craft beer produced by a coffee shop in Nishinomiya City.
The two day included 're:creation' by Akira Kudo, a lecturer in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, which reinterprets modern literature in a modern way and creates video works, and 'fruit candle craft' using dried fruit from Hyogo Prefecture by Takumi Hirai, an associate professor in the Department of Social Informatics. The project is also supported by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) through the promotion of brown rice. In addition, the Brown Rice Volunteers, who promote the activities of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) through the spread of brown rice, and the student PR staff La chouette*, who present the appeal of the University from a student's perspective and other exhibitions by student volunteers also take part as in previous years.
February 14th, 2024
A story-telling session was held using original picture books donated to Ashiya City by students from the Department of Human Environmental Sciences.
On 30th of January, a story-telling session using the picture book 'Sakura Machi to Mirai', which was created by students in a class at the Department of Human Environmental Sciences and donated to Ashiya City, was held at Ashiya Seido Kindergarten.
The book is an original picture book handmade by Aimi Sasai and Yuuka Omichi, third-year students at the Department of Human Environmental Sciences, from the original illustrations to the story. The story is about 'Mirai-kun', a resident of Ashiya City, who meets five cherry blossom fairies and discovers the charms of Ashiya City.
The book was presented at a workshop in July last year, and 14 of the 50 copies, which were bound into hard covers with funds raised, were donated to Ashiya City in November. The books were also distributed to Seido Kindergarten, which made this reading session possible.
The reading was performed by Ms. Sasai and Mr. Omichi for 49 five-year-old children at the school, who listened attentively to the storytelling.
Many of the children listened attentively to a scene in which they were asked, "What kind of city do you want to live in when you grow up?" Many of the kindergartners raised their hands and answered, "A town where everyone is smiling" or "A peaceful town with blossoming cherry trees".
The children presented the students with a certificate of gratitude and a song as a thank-you for a fun-filled day, and asked them to come back again and that they grew to like the picture books even more.