"Miraisozojuku (Institute for Designing the Future) and SFC's 5th Graduating Class Reunion" | Hideyuki Tokuda (Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance)
January 29, 2015
This year, my turn to write for the Okashira Diary has come around, following Professor Ota, so I would like to report on a few events from the beginning of the year.
On January 1 at 8:45 a.m., we gathered at the security office and, along with Dean Kawazoe of the Faculty of Policy Management, Dean Ota of the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, and Administrative Director Takano, I attended the annual New Year's Greeting Exchange hosted by the Endo Seibu Neighborhood Association. This is a New Year's greeting exchange held at the neighborhood association hall right next to campus, which we have been participating in for many years. This year is a memorable one for SFC, marking its 25th anniversary, and I learned that it is also a commemorative year for Fujisawa City, celebrating the 70th anniversary of its municipal administration. There was also some happy news, such as Fujisawa City being ranked number one in Japan in a "Happiest Cities to Live In" ranking for housewives in their 20s to 40s, sponsored by a magazine last year. I also had the opportunity to express my gratitude to the Fujisawa City Hall staff for their tremendous support with demonstration projects such as the EU-Japan Project (http://clout-project.eu) and the G-Space Project. Furthermore, we received a suggestion from local residents who expressed their hope to revive the "mochitsuki" (rice cake pounding) event that was held in April 1990. I hope it will be revived at the commemorative ceremony scheduled for October 10 this year.
On January 9, an SFC campus tour was held for members of the Keio University Board of Councillors. Many faculty, staff, and students were involved in the preparations for this event, and we were able to welcome the councillors. They toured the entire SFC campus, including not only the main construction site for the Miraisozojuku (Institute for Designing the Future) but also the Fujisawa Junior and Senior High School, the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, and other educational and research facilities. Finally, we held a reception at Tablier with students, including international students. It was a very meaningful event that fully showcased the strengths of SFC. It was very thought-provoking, reminding me of the summer of 1988, two years before I was assigned to SFC, when I visited the vacant lot intended for the SFC campus. This time, in 2015, it is a great joy to be able to discuss the "shape of Miraisozojuku (Institute for Designing the Future)" with SFC students.
On January 12, the SFC 5th Graduating Class Reunion + W (Double) Coming-of-Age Ceremony was held at the New Otani. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the graduation of SFC's 5th class, and I heard that volunteers planned it as a "W (Double) Coming-of-Age Ceremony" to coincide with their second coming-of-age. Mr. Nakazawa from my laboratory and Mr. Ishida from the Murai Lab, both from the 5th graduating class, were also participating as organizers. From SFC, former Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management Professor Iseki, Professor Uno, as well as current Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management Kawazoe and Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies Murai, were also in attendance, and we were able to spend a pleasant time with the members of the 5th graduating class. This generation of graduates is in the prime of their careers in companies and organizations, and they are so busy that they may not have many chances to take a break at opportunities like this.
I hope that the joy of gatherings like this will spread, in addition to online connections.
I hope that we can all work together to create a place where those who have graduated from SFC can return to take a break, live and eat with current students in the Miraisozojuku (Institute for Designing the Future), and engage in friendly competition and mutual learning.