Kyushu University’s Faculty of Arts and Science held “KIKAN Education Inaugural Symposium” at SHIIKI

　On Saturday May 24, 2014, the KIKAN Education Inaugural Symposium was held at the Shiiki Hall on the Ito Campus. This symposium was held to spread the word – both within the university and outside it – and facilitate open discussion of the principles and concepts underpinning KIKAN Education, following the launch of this new program at the university in April 2014.
　Opening remarks by former university president Dr. Arikawa were followed by a few words from Daisuke Yoshida, Director-General of the Higher Education Bureau at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which supported the symposium. He said, “This symposium is profoundly significant as a means of informing society about Kyushu University’s pioneering initiative. I have high hopes that KIKAN Education will bear fruit in due course.”
　There were two keynote speakers: Norihiko Suzuki, President of Akita International University, gave a speech entitled “Rethinking Universities: Moving from a 20th-Century to a 21st-Century Approach,” while the address by Professor Shigeru Miyagawa of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was entitled “Opening up Education: What Will Happen?”
　Setsuo Taniguchi, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, then gave a report entitled “What is KIKAN Education? Aiming to Foster Active Learners,” which formed the basis for a panel discussion on the subject “Hopes and Prospects for KIKAN Education to Nurture the Next Generation,” which was moderated by Yasuaki Shin’ya, Executive Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. In the second part of the panel discussion, panel members conducted a lively exchange of opinions, focusing primarily on questions from the audience.
　Kyushu University’s Faculty of Arts and Science will continue to disseminate information about KIKAN Education in a variety of formats. For further details, please visit the following website.

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