Representatives from the Lifelong Education Research Office of the National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Korea, and from Choonhae Health Sciences University (CHSU) visited the Surugadai Campus on December 4.
Currently, in Ulsan Metropolitan City, the Ministry of Education of Korea’s policy, Regional Innovation-centered University Support System & Education (RISE) project , is being promoted by three local universities, including CHSU. As part of this initiative, UNIST, a designated research institute of Ulsan Metropolitan City, is advancing research on developing the Ulsan Model for lifelong and vocational education. This aims to build a sustainable regional talent development ecosystem through collaboration between local universities and the municipality. This visit was arranged based on the desire to refer to the advanced case studies of our university’s lifelong learning hub, Liberty Academy.
Representatives from our university, including KUROSAWA Mutsumi, Director, Organization for Community Relations and Support (Professor, School of Law), and IDA Masamichi, Director of Liberty Academy (Professor, School of Political Science and Economics), attended the meeting. They engaged in extensive Q&A discussions primarily regarding Liberty Academy’s intensive short-term business program, the Smart Career Program for Women, covering topics such as course planning, content, target audience, operational structure, and subsidies. Particularly, given Ulsan Metropolitan City’s background as an industrial city, noteworthy were the case studies of industry–academia collaboration, including company-commissioned training, which proved highly instructive from a practical perspective.
The Liberty Academy case studies may be utilized as policy reference materials for the Korean Ministry of Education and Ulsan Metropolitan City in the future. Our university’s commitment to social contribution, as part of our social mission, has garnered international attention and provided a meaningful opportunity to share insights with overseas partners.
Liberty Academy
It was established in 1999 as a lifelong learning hub to return Meiji University’s intellectual property to society. Based on the concept of Meiji University’s lifelong learning for everyone, it offers a wide range of courses, including Liberal Education/Culture Courses for those seeking enjoyable learning, and Business Programs for those aiming to enhance their work or career advancement, as well as special projects and hands-on courses.
Smart Career Program for Women
Key recurrent education programs provided by the Liberty Academy. This program was launched in fiscal 2015 for women aiming to advance their careers and re-enter the workforce. Two courses are offered to meet different objectives, and both follow the certificate program system established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).