Soka University introduces new plan for design platform "Canva" - Enterprise plan features will be provided free of charge to all students starting September 2026.

Soka University (Hachioji City, Tokyo) has introduced a new plan for higher education institutions of the design platform "Canva" with the aim of improving students' learning environment and strengthening digital education. Starting in September 2026, the university began offering enterprise plan features free of charge to all students.
This implementation will allow students to freely use large-capacity storage, diverse AI functions, and over 140 million professional-grade assets without any personal cost. Including students who have been familiar with Canva since high school, we will provide a rich digital creation and thinking environment, contributing to the development of DX (Digital Transformation) talent that will support future society.

Background and Objectives for Promoting Implementation for All Students

1.The number of users among our university students has increased approximately fivefold in three years.
The total number of Canva users at our university has already reached 8,500 (including graduates before the 2025 academic year), and it has become an established everyday tool among many students. Given that the number of new registrations has increased approximately fivefold in the last three years, we have decided to provide it free of charge to all students in order to meet this high demand.

2.Providing a seamless digital education environment that continues from junior high and high school.
Currently, "Canva Education Edition" is used in 375 junior and senior high schools across Japan, serving over 2 million students, making it a familiar tool for many. We are creating an environment where students can continue to use the same functions free of charge even after entering university, ensuring that the digital skills they cultivated in junior and senior high school are not interrupted, and that they can further improve their skills.

3.Improving "practical digital skills" required on the front lines of society.
Canva is more than just a design tool; it's used by over 95% of the world's top companies (Fortune 500) and over 10,000 companies in Japan (*1), and is widely utilized in business settings. By familiarizing students with AI functions, creating presentation materials and videos, and visual diagrams (infographics) from their student days, they can acquire practical skills that will be immediately useful in the workplace, including creating portfolios for job hunting.

Student usage scenarios

• Classroom and self-study: Creating persuasive presentation materials and reports with diagrams. Summarizing key points of lectures and research content into visual diagrams (infographics) to deepen understanding through note-taking.
• Extracurricular Activities & Information Dissemination: Creating posters and flyers for the university festival and club/circle activities, and editing videos. Introducing the university's appeal and initiatives through engaging content from a student's perspective.
• Job hunting: Creating a digital portfolio for self-promotion during job hunting, and creating self-introduction slides to use in online interviews.

Taking this opportunity of introducing "Canva" to all students, Soka University will further promote the development of its digital education environment. In order to support the improvement of each student's creativity and communication skills, we will create an environment in which technology can be used with confidence and strive to cultivate human resources who can respond to the diverse challenges of society.
(*1) Source: Official data released by Canva (as of May 2026)

[About Canva]
Founded in 2013, Canva is the world's leading all-in-one platform built for visual communication and collaboration. To empower everyone to shine through design, Canva caters to the creative and design needs of large corporations, SMEs, individuals, and students in over 190 countries worldwide.