On December 2, Okayama University held a meeting between current students and FUNAHASHI Hiroaki, Executive Director for Academic Affairs / Provost. This time, the meeting was planned and held to allow current students and the Provost for Academic Affairs to directly talk and share new perspectives and issues in order to improve education at the university.
　
A total of 14 undergraduate students attended the meeting, one from each faculty and department in the morning. At the beginning of the meeting, Provost Funahashi explained the themes of "English Education" and "General Education," and all students exchanged opinions with him on each topic. In response to questions from Provost Funahashi such as "Do you feel comprehensive English proficiency is necessary?" and "What do you think about the introduction of external certification tests? The students commented that "I feel that my speaking ability is lacking, so I want communication to be incorporated into the class," and "I want classes to be developed that match our goals in learning English."
　
In the afternoon, a total of 17 graduate students, one from each graduate school and major, attended the meeting to exchange opinions on "English education" and "support measures”. In response to questions from Provost Funahashi such as "Is the support for graduate students sufficient?" and "What support measures are needed to increase the number of students entering graduate school?", graduate students expressed their opinions such as "I would like to see the laboratory facilities reinforced" and "Career support should be reinforced to enrich the employment opportunities from graduate school”.

The meeting was held in a relaxed atmosphere from start to finish, and opinions were freely exchanged. Many positive comments were received from the participants, such as "I was able to participate without being nervous" and "I was able to communicate things I would not normally be able to communicate."The meeting was a valuable opportunity for the university to exchange opinions that will serve as a reference for future improvements in education.