Given the proliferation of uncertainty and the malaise that pervades society today, the need for universities to foster individuals equipped with the skills, aptitude and commitment to engage in social betterment is greater than ever—a task that “those of us involved in advancing higher education must truly take to heart,” writes Soka University President Hideo Yamamoto.

On April 1, 2010, Soka University announced the Grand Design, an overarching series of concepts, strategies and initiatives to enable students to lead lives that are as creative as they are contributive, while concurrently ensuring that the school will continue its development towards 2020, when it celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding.

Soka’s Grand Design allows the school to fully assess the institutional traditions and academic successes it has achieved over the first half-century. It will also establish a broader, better framework with which the many diverse and evolving needs of its students, along with the burgeoning challenges of the 21st century both at home and abroad, may be fully met.

The plan consists of three key objectives: 1) to foster individuals who will lead creative and contributive lives based on Soka’s three founding principles 2) to create specific educational and research programs to facilitate the development of such students; and 3) to prepare a broad and robust framework with which to support such educational and research programs.

Under the Grand Design aegis, a special agency will be set up to evaluate and upgrade existing curricula and extracurricular programs, while introducing new courses and programs. The overall goal is to enhance each student’s scholastic aptitude and capacity for creative and critical thinking. The process will be supported by a new learning center and calls for a phased reorganization of the university’s respective faculties and departments.

What separates Soka’s Grand Design plan from those adopted elsewhere is its concurrent focus on enriching the humanity of students. It includes programs to improve skills in communications, debate and leadership, as well as to enhance awareness of global issues and perspectives, training students to think and act as global citizens in accordance with Soka’s founding principles. These and similar initiatives will be further advanced by providing Japanese students greater opportunities to study abroad, while actively expanding the university’s foreign student enrollment, as well as its academic exchange programs with foreign universities.

Over the next decade, seven committees and other agencies will be set up to develop specific strategies and solutions in the realms of education, research, international outreach, student support services and distance learning. These committees and agencies will be tasked to develop initiatives to upgrade Soka’s campus facilities, finances, administration and public relations, as well.