Camp for Designing the Future 2012

This year, as a new initiative, the "Camp for Designing the Future" will be held. This "camp" is not a "camping trip" in the traditional sense, but an environment where you can learn the importance of utilizing your own abilities and experiences on-site and translating your ingenuity into action.

The approach to various problems that SFC advocates requires the ability to execute. While the "camp" is prepared in advance, the specific activities are designed improvisationally according to the situation on-site. We know from experience that flexible ideas and flashes of insight are born in unexpected ways and often in informal settings. In that sense, the "camp" seems to be a place where many hints for understanding communication between people can be found.

Originally, both "campus" and "camp" are derived from the Latin word "campus," which means "a flat place or open field." The essence of intellectual activity at a university is to share a special time through free and open discussion. The "Camp for Designing the Future" is a place for diverse knowledge and wisdom to collide, and for participants to experientially consider the "ability to execute" that will lead to the future.

This year, five "camps" are planned. In each program, you should be able to experience SFC's way of seeing and thinking. On August 1, 2012, let's work our minds and bodies busily with the friends gathered at the "camp" and take another step toward the future.

August 1, 2012 (Wed) 9:00–17:30

Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC)

This year, the second time the event was held, 109 high school students from all over the country were divided into five workshops. Together with faculty members and SFC students, they proactively engaged in crafting, video production, and discussions. On the day of the event, a newsletter called "Mirai-dane" was published by supporting university students, conveying in real-time the lively activities of the busy high school students.

Focusing on the tactile sensation of objects, let's create artificial objects that have the feel of nature.

Our surroundings are overflowing with visual and auditory information, but in fact, the act of "touching" is indispensable for living in this world.

We may not often be conscious of our sense of touch, but in various situations such as play, communication, sports, and eating, we understand our environment and connect with the world by "touching." Moreover, "touchable" media and tools like smartphones, game controllers, educational toys, and advertisements are appearing one after another. In this workshop, we will focus on the sense of touch and think about creating objects with tactile sensations that we like. We will actually go out into the forest and fields, observe the natural objects and living things around us, and fabricate products with their textures, using our minds and hands, and also making full use of the latest machine tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters.

Facilitators: Hiroya Tanaka (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Yasuaki Kakehi (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)

The world's first public film screening by the Lumière brothers took place about 120 years ago. The short films shown at that time recorded everyday scenes that one might have seen somewhere. However, the magician Méliès, who saw them, came up with the idea of creating unrealistic events on film that could not happen in this world by connecting shots. In the early days of cinema, it was accepted as a spectacle using new technology, and not much attention was paid to its content. However, the exploration of what could be conveyed and told using the expressive medium of film, which was different from words, paintings, and photographs, soon began. And so, the films of the Lumière brothers led to documentary films that explore the world we live in, while the films of Méliès led to fiction films that use imagination to create other worlds. Now, unlike in those days when complex processes, time, and a large budget were required to obtain a short film, you can get high-quality images on the spot by pressing a button on a video camera, digital camera, or even a smartphone. So, what can we tell and convey using those images? How can we construct those images to create a single film work?

In this workshop, using the SFC campus, you will work together with people you meet for the first time to create one film per participant. However, there are restrictions. The length of the film is about one minute, the same as a Lumière film. Editing is limited to in-camera, a technique Méliès used for his trick films. While facing major constraints, we will challenge the attempts of filmmakers who created various expressions, feel the joy of creating, and think about what visual expression is.

Facilitators: Shuhei Fujita (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Daijiro Mizuno (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Fumitoshi Kato (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)

Capacity: Approx. 15 people

The future internet will be completely different from the existing internet. For example, computing and similar services are shifting to the cloud, and the proliferation of mobile networks, terminals, and devices like sensors will continue. The number of devices connected to the internet is about to exceed the world's total population, and the ways these devices connect to the internet are also diversifying. This workshop is an experience of the future internet through discussion and practice, by creating internet devices and applications. Participants will be divided into several groups and will work on a creative task related to the future internet. In the process, you will experience mobile devices, sensors, web interfaces, and web services, and your understanding should deepen while having fun. This workshop is intended for general high school students with no specialized knowledge of information technology.

Facilitators: Jin Mitsugi (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Jin Nakazawa (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Keisuke Uehara (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)

Capacity: Approx. 20 people

In this workshop, while taking a broad view of the current situation in a region, participants will define problems through group work and propose feasible solutions from multiple perspectives.

Recently, in local communities, various systems and factors are intricately intertwined, and problems that are difficult for both companies and governments to deal with are emerging everywhere. Traditionally, communities had means to solve problems through mutual aid systems like 'ko' and 'yui.' However, such systems based on local ties are becoming dysfunctional, and the financial situation of local governments is becoming increasingly severe. It can be said that we are in a trial-and-error stage regarding how to achieve recovery in the future.

Here, we will not end with mere analysis, but will explore what should be through thorough discussions, aiming to create practical knowledge that brings about social innovation.

Facilitators: Yoshinori Iimori (Faculty of Policy Management), Tomohiro Ichinose (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Tomoe Iguchi (Faculty of Policy Management)

Capacity: Approx. 20 people

It has been quite some time since the style of foreign language learning shifted from "teaching" to "learning." But have we truly been able to construct a learner-centered learning environment? When we think about learning a foreign language, we must start with the questions of why we learn foreign languages in the first place and which languages we should learn. We need to consider the goals, learning content, and learning activities in a total way. From another perspective, we must consider the "human" issues such as the role of the teacher and the psychology of the learner, the "material" issues such as IT teaching materials and textbooks, and the "content" issues such as the number of classes and the content of each class. In this sense, there is no single correct way to construct a foreign language learning environment, and various approaches may be possible. Does your current foreign language learning meet your needs? Broadening your perspective, is your current learning environment sufficient for you to be active in the world of tomorrow? If there are problems, how should we change them?

Since its establishment, SFC has been practicing output-oriented language education. It has also advocated for multilingualism and designed its curriculum so that students can learn a variety of languages other than English. In this workshop, you, the learners, will not only reflect on your own learning environments but also experience the richness of a multilingual environment and the various possibilities of foreign language education, while designing a new foreign language learning environment for yourselves.

Facilitators: Takahiro Kunieda (Faculty of Policy Management), Toru Nomura (Faculty of Policy Management), Hongcheon Li (Faculty of Policy Management), Shuichi Kurabayashi (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Patrice Leroy (Faculty of Policy Management)

Capacity: Approx. 20 people

Applications are now closed.

9:00–9:25 Assembly & General Guidance (Registration opens at 8:30)

9:30–12:00 Workshop (Morning Session)

12:00–13:00 Lunch (All participants) *Participants are responsible for their own lunch.

13:00–16:00 Workshop (Afternoon Session)

16:00–17:00 Commentary by the Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management and the Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies

17:00–17:30 Awards Ceremony

If you have any questions about the Camp for Designing the Future, please feel free to contact us by phone or email.