2024/04/11
The Keio University Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion launched a pilot version of its Mentoring Program in fiscal year 2022 with the aim of promoting the empowerment and leadership of female faculty members at Keio University, and officially started the program in fiscal year 2023.
This program was developed in collaboration with faculty members (WG members) who participated in the Asia Pacific Women in Leadership program run by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), of which Keio University is a member, and is structured to suit the unique characteristics of Keio. At Keio University, a "female leader" is a future pioneer who will take on the responsibility of running the university and drive reform. Through the experience of this program, which embodies the spirit of "learning while teaching, teaching while learning"—one of Keio University's founding principles—we expect to see more female leaders play active roles.
◆ The 2023 Mentoring Program
A total of 36 female faculty members, forming 18 mentor-mentee pairs, participated and learned from each other throughout the year on various themes such as leadership and empowerment.
As part of the program, interim debriefing sessions were held concurrently with workshops. The first session, led by Ms. Miyako Tanaka-Oulevey, a sports psychologist with a Ph.D. in System Design and Management, deepened awareness and understanding of stress coping related to "how to manage one's mind." The second session featured a body conditioning workshop by Professor Etsuko Itagaki of the Institute of Physical Education, which included a hands-on Pilates experience and a lecture on breathing techniques.
Scene from the first interim report workshop
Scene from the second interim report workshop
Then, in March 2024, a completion ceremony was held, where President Ito presented a certificate of completion to each participant. At the ceremony, each pair shared their comments, demonstrating that the program was fruitful for both mentors and mentees. A selection of their comments is introduced below.
<Comments from Mentees>
・ Ultimately, I reflected on what leadership means to me personally. I realized that for me, leadership is about valuing my own identity, embracing diversity, expanding my network and perspective through clinical practice, research, and education, and enjoying my work. I had never thought about or discussed such topics with anyone before, so having the opportunity to engage in deep discussions with a successful female professor within Keio was incredibly valuable. She listened earnestly to my concerns, which was very reassuring. The roles of women at home change with each generation, and their professional careers evolve accordingly. In this respect, my mentor's stories were always insightful and extremely meaningful.
・ Through dialogue with my wonderful mentor in this program, I learned the importance of articulating the challenges faced by female researchers and received much advice on how to solve them. Furthermore, the workshops allowed me to experience well-being strategies that I could immediately put into practice, and my interactions with everyone constantly gave me the energy and inspiration to move forward. Through this program, I realized that my awareness of career support for women was changing month by month, and I was able to reaffirm the importance and excellence of such a platform. In the future, I will further develop the goals I set in this program and seek ways in which I can contribute. Thank you so much.
<Comments from Mentors>
・ Through this program, I was able to witness junior faculty members striving to do good work with well-formed ideas. I was inspired by them, and it turned out to be a great learning experience for me as well. I am confident that a unique and brilliant future awaits all of you, and I encourage you to continue your diligent efforts.
・ This program gave me the opportunity to be paired with a faculty member from a completely different field with whom I would not normally interact. I feel that I gained more new information than I provided in my role as a mentor, and it was also very useful for networking within Keio. On the other hand, many of the challenges related to childcare and the associated work-related concerns still require creative solutions today, even as times change. I hope that sharing my own experiences was of some help.
We plan to recruit members for the third term of the program in fiscal year 2024.
President Ito presenting a certificate of completion
Group photo
Photo: Takeshi Kishi