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The 2024 Keio SDGs Student Conference has commenced. This marks the third year the conference is being held since it was first initiated in the 2022 academic year. The Student Conference will involve students chosen through open recruitment as well as random selection from across all of Keio's undergraduate faculties. During the sessions, student members engage in discussions with each other while consulting with experts to propose an overall vision, specific goals, and obtainable targets for Keio University to make progress towards its SDGs.

In the Spring Semester, students will learn about the current situation surrounding the SDGs through lectures and discussions, and in the Fall Semester, students shall discuss the themes of "environment," "society," "economy," and "overall approach" in subworking groups and compile a list of recommendations addressed to the president of Keio University. Several graduate students from the United Nations University will also participate in the discussions this academic year.

The first session, an introductory one, was held on Wednesday, May 15, and was attended by about 70 participants. The session kicked off with an opening address by President Kohei Itoh, followed by an overview of the Student Conference, now in its third year, by Vice-President Akiyo Okuda. Professor Hiromichi Kobayashi from the Faculty of Law then gave a talk on how the Student Conference will proceed this year. Students who participated in the previous year's Student Conference also shared their experiences and ongoing projects. Yukiko Yoshii, manager of the Hiyoshi Media Center, delivered a lecture on the necessary information retrieval processes for the creation of proposals and recommendations. This was followed by a speech by Professor Norichika Kanie from the Graduate School of Media and Governance, as well as an address by Guest Professor Hiroko Kuniya from the same graduate school.

During group work, participating students shared with fellow members their reasons for participation and what they hope to accomplish at the Student Conference. Finally, faculty members involved with the Student Conference, including Senior Assistant Professor Shiori Doi from the Faculty of Law, Professor Naoko Moriyoshi from the Faculty of Business and Commerce, Assistant Professor Kazuhiro Terasawa from the School of Medicine, Professor Yuko Oguma from the Sports Medicine Research Center, and Vice-President Eiji Okada, gave the students a pep talk, spurring them on with words of encouragement and raising morale as they work toward the final proposal with their eyes set on the future in the year 2050.