February 19, 2024
At the 9th SDGs Student Essay Award, Konoi Sato (4th-year student, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), a member of Professor Yuichiro Shimizu's seminar in the Faculty of Policy Management, and her co-author won the Grand Prize, while Eri Shimamura (4th-year student, Faculty of Policy Management), a member of Professor Takashi Iba's seminar in the Faculty of Policy Management, received the Excellence Award.
The SDGs Student Essay Award has been held annually since 2014, hosted by Sumitomo Riko Company Limited.
The 9th award, held this time under the theme "What is the HR strategy for the SDGs/ESG era for sustainable corporate growth?," called for proposals from the unique perspectives of students.
Award-Winning Essays
【Grand Prize】
"A Joint Regional HR Department Model for Fish-Related Companies: Focusing on the Fishery and Seafood Processing Industries in Ishinomaki City"
Mayu Iizuka (Hitotsubashi University), Konoi Sato
【Excellence Award】
"The Meaning of Work: A Mindset and 'Creative' Practical Workshop for Each Individual to Live Happily While Working"
Eri Shimamura
Comment from Konoi Sato
I am deeply honored to have received the Grand Prize with my co-author, Ms. Iizuka from Hitotsubashi University, at the 9th SDGs Student Essay Award hosted by Sumitomo Riko Company Limited. It is a great privilege to receive such an award.
In this paper, we proposed the "Joint Regional HR Department Model for Fish-Related Companies." This model enables local small and medium-sized enterprises, primarily in the fishery and seafood processing industries that lack their own HR departments, to establish a joint HR department within the region. This allows them to create a sustainable HR strategy and sustainably retain both on-site and management personnel.
For this paper, we interviewed companies in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, about their outstanding HR strategy initiatives. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Minato Suisan Co., Ltd. and Fisherman Japan. Although I was writing in a completely new field, I believe we were able to win this wonderful award thanks to the interview research, the advice from the reference staff at the SFC Media Center, and the daily guidance from Professor Yuichiro Shimizu and Dr. Junya Hoshida (former Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management). I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks. I am committed to dedicating myself even more to my research activities in the future.
Comment from Eri Shimamura
I am very happy and grateful to have received the Excellence Award at the 9th SDGs Student Essay Award, and to have a work I enjoyed writing be recognized in this way. I would like to thank Sumitomo Riko Company Limited and Alterna Inc. for giving me the opportunity to think more deeply about companies and the people who work there through this award's theme, "What is the HR strategy for the SDGs/ESG era for sustainable corporate growth?". I am also grateful to Professor Iba for his constant guidance and to everyone around me for their support. I am also thankful for the encounters and connections that arose from writing this paper. I will continue to move forward, enjoying both inquiry/research and writing.
Source: General Affairs Section, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office