President's Daily Report
Participation in the Niijima Juku Retreat (Day 1)
On August 28, I participated in the Niijima Juku retreat at the Doshisha Biwako Retreat Center and, as director, led the first-day session.
Niijima Juku is a new educational program launched in the 2019 academic year to cultivate leaders for the next generation with comprehensive knowledge that transcends the boundaries between the humanities and sciences. This year’s retreat was attended by 14 students, 2 trial participants, and 2 tutors.
The theme of this year’s retreat was “Global Environmental Issues and Conscience,” and I began the event with a roughly two-hour lecture and Q & A session in my capacity as director.
For the second session, Mr. Atsushi Horiba, Representative Director and Chairman of Horiba, Ltd., joined us as a guest lecturer and delivered a talk titled “Japan at a Turning Point: How Should We Cope in an Era of Transformation?”
For the third session, Professor Emeritus Kazunari Shibata of Kyoto University joined us as a guest lecturer.
The retreat will run for three days, through Sunday, August 30. I hope that through discussions with fellow participants and fieldwork, the students will develop the ability to approach issues from multiple perspectives.