Professional Development

Three Guidelines for Professional Development

We develop professionals who can grasp "hardware (environment, architecture, and social infrastructure)," "software (institutions and communities)," and "connections" in an integrated manner, which cannot be handled by conventional, stove-piped academic systems.
We develop people capable of responding flexibly to local conditions by taking advantage of the strengths of each region (local resources and regional characteristics).
In order to realize community development, we develop people who can face local residents and communities, enter into the community, present multiple options for community development, and work collaboratively toward the realization of these options.

The faculty defines and develops such professionals as "specialists who understand regional issues and support community development by utilizing the strengths (regional resources and regional characteristics) of each region."

Specifically, in order to realize community development that responds to diverse local issues, the faculty will develop:

Professionals who design the social groups and institutions that make up regional society (i.e., communities)
Example: Professionals who have acquired the knowledge and skills to identify and analyze local issues, enabling them to work practically in the field as members of local government.
Professionals who design living spaces based on practical architectural techniques
Example: Professionals who have acquired specialized knowledge and skills in architecture that enable them to design buildings and communities that support childcare and the elderly.
Professionals who design social infrastructure based on practical construction technology
Example: Professionals who have acquired specialized knowledge and skills related to social infrastructure and are capable of designing social infrastructure development, including transportation networks and rivers, with consideration for ecosystems and landscapes.

Diploma Policy (degree conferral policy)

Keeping the above in mind, the School of Regional Design’s Diploma Policy (degree conferral policy) is as follows.

Acquire basic knowledge of human beings, society, and diverse regions.
Acquire common literacy in regional design.
Acquire the social skills necessary for regional design.
Cultivate the ethical sensibility required of professionals specializing in regional design.

Professional Development in Each Department

Department of Community Design

This department develops people that can design the social groups and institutions that make up regional societies.

From urban to rural areas, communities in Japan are undergoing major changes. In particular, some areas have emerged where it is difficult to even maintain communities due to serious problems such as a declining birthrate, aging population, population outflow, and declining industry. The knowledge and skills required of people who are involved in community development in each region vary widely, as the types and extent of issues vary from region to region. From this standpoint, the graduates of this department will acquire a broad education that will enable them to understand the current status and origins of local communities from a wide range of perspectives, the ability to identify issues in local communities through surveys and statistics, and the ability to analyze data obtained through statistics and surveys using scientific methods such as multivariate analysis and geographic information systems. Having acquired such fundamental knowledge and skills, graduates of our program will be able to play an active role in the region while forming a new community, equipped with the ability to create regional vitality such as welfare for the elderly, regional business and tourism by utilizing regional resources (nature, culture, history and people), the conceptual ability to propose new social systems (policies and systems, etc.) that utilize these resources, and social skills to ensure smooth communication and consensus building.

The Diploma Policy of the Department of Community Design

Acquire the ability to understand the current state and origins of the local community from a broad perspective.
Acquire the ability to identify and analyze issues in the local community.
Acquire the ability to utilize local resources for new community development.
Acquire the ability to design institutions and propose policies for new community development.
Acquire the ability to act independently and collaboratively in the community and contribute to the formation of a vibrant community.

Department of Architecture and Urban Design

This department develops talent that can design living spaces based on practical architectural techniques.

Currently, in each region of Japan, three major social issues are being addressed against the backdrop of the rapidly declining birthrate and aging population, the decline of regional society and the resulting deterioration of community functions, major changes in the natural environment, and the increasing scale of natural disasters. These are: (1) addressing the declining birthrate and aging society (society with a declining population), (2) addressing environmental and energy issues, and (3) creating a safe and secure society based on disaster prevention and mitigation. Therefore, the department will develop professionals who, in addition to thinking conventionally from the architectural level and the physical environment, can also focus on the social environment, including the regional level and the relationships among the multiple actors (residents, government, businesses, etc.) that make up society, and analyze the relationship between the physical and social environment from a broad perspective of urban and regional space. Having done so, graduates will be able to propose ideas and methods to solve various problems based on an integrated understanding of local conditions.

The Diploma Policy of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design

Acquire the ability to understand the mechanisms of natural phenomena and apply them to architectural and regional design techniques.
Acquire the ability to understand the requirements and conditions of humans and society, and to construct buildings, regions, environments, and institutions.
Acquire the ability to conceptualize resource utilization and construction processes and realize them in the form of architecture and community development.
Acquire the design skills necessary to create goal-oriented architecture and regions while respecting history and culture.
Refine the balanced sensibility between engineering and regional design studies and art and culture.

Department of Civil Engineering and Regional Design

This department develops talent that can design social infrastructure based on practical architectural techniques.

From the viewpoint of fostering engineers who can respond to the rapid changes in society in recent years, the current hardware-based curriculum for social infrastructures has its limitations. Therefore, we do not simply educate engineers focused on the "hard" aspects of social infrastructure engineering. We also develop people with the ability to respond flexibly to changing social conditions and realize a happier social environment for human beings in response to the needs of local communities. In other words, personnel with high skills and competencies to accurately grasp the various demands of society, convert them into concrete, quantified goals, and implement them. Furthermore, there are many different types of regions. Some regions overseas have high birth rates but inadequate medical support, while in others, food and water shortages force children to work instead of receiving an adequate education. In yet other regions, poverty compels the people to sustain industry even as it destroys the environment throughout the region. We develop professionals who can work in diverse regions both at home and abroad, using their highly-cultivated skills to engage with society and work with local communities to improve social infrastructure while providing useful information.

The Diploma Policy of the Department of Civil Engineering and Regional Design

Able to understand the basic theories of natural science, as well as basic specialized knowledge and theories for the development of social infrastructure.
Able to apply and develop expertise to address practical issues in social infrastructure development.
Able to grasp global trends in social infrastructure and to develop technologies globally.
Able to propose appropriate measures to resolve problems arising from social infrastructure development.
Able to steadily implement social infrastructure development and measures in an appropriate manner.