[Event Report] The 2nd K-MED Symposium "The Essence Revealed by the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Universities Should Preserve and What They Should Change" (Held on March 1, 2021)
Event Date
Event Venue
March 4, 2021
Report on the 2nd K-MED Symposium "The Essence Revealed by the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Universities Should Preserve and What They Should Change"
On Monday, March 1, 2021, the 2nd K-MED Symposium, "The Essence Revealed by the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Universities Should Preserve and What They Should Change," was held online. We received 55 registrations not only from university affiliates but also from a wide range of industries and age groups, including high school students. This indicated that the issues concerning the role of universities, which have become apparent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are a matter of broad public interest. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all who participated.
At the beginning of the symposium, Professor Kenjiro Takemura of the Faculty of Science and Technology explained the overview of the Keio Med-Tech Design Project's (K-Med) activities over the past year and the purpose of this symposium. He introduced past achievements, such as holding symposiums to disseminate information on projects and activities directly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also introduced K-Med's medium- to long-term goals, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which include the development of a med-tech ecosystem and a med-tech educational program.
Next, Professor Tomoaki Okuda and Associate Professor Genya Ishigami of the Faculty of Science and Technology, along with Hiroshi Kojima and Sora Ishikawa from the master's program at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, presented on the topic "Growth Brought by a COVID-19 Countermeasure Project: Through the Social Implementation of a Real-Time Ventilation Monitoring System." After Professors Okuda and Ishigami introduced the project from a faculty perspective, Mr. Kojima and Mr. Ishikawa shared from a student's perspective how they tackled the development of the real-time ventilation monitoring system and what they learned from the experience.
Furthermore, Associate Professor Kanetaka Maki of Waseda Business School gave a presentation titled "What We Should Do Now for Post-COVID International Competitiveness." Drawing on his experience teaching in both Japan and the United States, he introduced examples of how universities have changed under the global COVID-19 pandemic and presented cases of quantitative comparisons between the effectiveness of in-person and online classes, offering multifaceted perspectives on the fundamental role of universities.
Finally, a general discussion was held on keywords such as the essence of learning at universities, teaching methods and quality assurance in the COVID-19 era, and the international competitiveness of universities. The ability to discuss the role of universities, including comments from participating high school students, was highly significant for this symposium.
We hope this symposium will serve as an opportunity for all participants and organizers to continuously discuss the essence of the university. We look forward to your continued guidance and support.
A video of this symposium is available here .
Scenes from the lectures and discussion