On December 2, 2020, Okayama University entered into a comprehensive agreement on education and research exchange with the Graduate School of Project Design (Advanced Academic Agency).

The Graduate School of Project Design aims to provide an environment for practical learning to foster active members of society and caters to working adults interested in project design and business initiatives. The school offers a variety of curriculums that support students develop their ideas and concepts into concrete project designs or business plans.

On October 7, 2020, Okayama University held an online seminar in collaboration with the Graduate School of Project Design about human resource development for post-corona regional revitalization. Following that event, the two institutions continued collaborative activities, with the aim of achieving the SDGs through “co-education and co-creation”, which ultimately culminated in the formation of this comprehensive agreement.

The agreement will facilitate opportunities for the mutual exchange of faculty, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students and the promotion of research meetings, though the agreement may extend beyond these activities as well.

Representatives from both institutions participated in the online ceremony to mark the event, including President MAKINO Hirofumi, Executive Director for Planning and General Affairs TAKAHASHI Kayo, Vice President and Executive Director for Research NASU Yasutomo, Vice President in charge of Graduate School Reforms FUNAHASHI Hiroaki, and Vice President for Global Engagement Strategy YOKOI Atsufumi from Okayama University, and Chairman AZUMA Hideya, President TANAKA Risa, Dean of the Graduate School TANINO Yutaka, Dean of the Graduate School of Information and Communication KAWAYAMA Ryuji, and SDGs Research Institute Senior Researcher HAKUTA Norifumi from the Graduate School of Project Design. President Makino explained the details of the agreement, while President Tanaka gave the opening remarks, stating, “As a result of the COVID-19, Japan has come to place greater emphasis on the need for a space to have deep intellectual exchange. I hope that this agreement will organically and effectively foster a new paradigm to meet this need.” Afterwards, a commemorative photo was taken, capturing each of the members holding up the agreement to their monitors.

The official ceremony was followed by a discussion on opportunities for future collaboration and included topics such as opening joint Faculty Development and Staff Development programs and business ideas focused on ways for university management to secure permanent monetization.