Soka University organized its seventh forum on Faculty Development (FD), which was held over two days on December 12 and 13, based on the theme of multi-dimensional FD activities to enhance baccalaureate degree programs. The forum not only marked the tenth anniversary of the launch of Soka’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and its advancement of FD activities, it represents an ongoing higher education support initiative backed by Japan’s education ministry.

Soka University Deputy President Yoshihisa Baba opened the forum on December 12, with the first-day program featuring Masao Terasaki, assistant director of Rikkyo University’s graduate schools, as its keynote speaker. In his address, the Rikkyo administrator said colleges and universities were entering a new phase, spurred by globalization and the need for cooperation and unity. He rejected the notion that market forces are compatible with higher learning and said that each institution needs to develop unique identities in the search for ways to provide students with a quality education. The speech was followed by a panel discussion on Soka University’s decade-long FD effort, including initiatives to raise faculty awareness and to improve pedagogical techniques.

The forum’s second day began with a discussion on building an academic community by universities in the Hachioji area, followed by a lecture by Jugo Imaizumi, who heads the government’s university reform initiative at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Higher Education Bureau. He spoke on the changes and challenges to FD today, as well as the government’s initiatives in support of FD activities and to improve baccalaureate degree programs in general.

Day 2 also featured a progress report by Faculty of Engineering Graduate School Dean Prof. Yoshimi Teshigawara on a web-based teaching tool developed by Soka students and the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) at the university. That was followed by the second keynote lecture from Toshio Okamoto, Chair of the non-profit Japanese Society for Information Systems in Education. He pointed out that, through its ICT systems, Soka had steadily built up and upgraded its learning applications, developed an extensive array of software content, and successfully integrated e-learning and learning design as an educational tool.

Day 2 concluded with a panel discussion on ICT usage and its impact on education in the future.