翻訳

Blended Mobility Project (BMX) for Society 5.0 HR (Human Resources)

 

Synopsis of the Overall Project

The JIGE “blended mobility” project is a collaborative educational and workforce development initiative among multiple universities. Aimed at a diverse audience from high school students to professionals, the project offers specialized “Atelier rooms” containing interactive COIL/Virtual Exchange modules. These modules grant stackable micro-credentials, providing a pathway to higher education and career development. To support learners, the project introduces a “JIGE Global Navigation” system for personalized program recommendations and deploys specialized advisors for one-on-one consultations. Additionally, JIGE provides various internship opportunities, including remote and travel-based options, lasting from one month to a year. The initiative strives for quality assurance and international recognition by adhering to rigorous guidelines and plans to extend its offerings to students outside the initial three participating universities.

 

[Overview of Mobility Program (Type A) ] 

 

The JIGE Project is an ambitious, multi-university collaboration aimed at revolutionizing higher education and workforce development. It offers an array of learning modules and internships tailored for a diverse audience, ranging from high school students to working professionals.

 

Core Features:

• Atelier Rooms: Divided into five thematic “Atelier rooms,” the project offers interactive modules built on COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) and Virtual Exchange methodologies. These facilitate synchronous and asynchronous learning, enabling a high level of interaction among students.

 

• Micro-Credentials: Unlike traditional macro-degree programs, JIGE grants stackable micro-credentials based on well-structured syllabi. These credentials aim to serve as a stepping stone for future educational and career opportunities.

 

• Quality Assurance: JIGE is committed to adhering to stringent quality assurance guidelines, assuring the credibility and international applicability of its micro-credentials.

 

Student Support:

• JIGE Global Navigation: A web-based simulation system designed to guide students through the selection of individualized learning modules, tailored to their interests and career goals.

 

• Advisory Services: Specialized ‘BM Advisors’ and Peer Advisors offer real-time, face-to-face, or online consultations to assist students with any unresolved queries, aiding them in navigating the plethora of available programs.

 

Internship Opportunities:

• Types: The program includes various internships such as remote, travel-based, advanced specialized, and collaborative research lab internships.

 

• Partners: Collaborations with companies like SQREEM and INNQQUA offer real-world, practical experience to students.

 

• Duration: The internships are flexible, ranging from one month to a year, and are open to students from multiple universities including Kansai University, Chiba University, and Tohoku University.

 

Participating universities

 

	University	Country
1	São Paulo State University Paulista (UNESP)	Brazil
2	Western University	Canada
3	University of Waterloo	Canada
4	Regina University (possibly University of Regina)	Canada
5	Chiba University	Japan
6	Tohoku University	Japan
7	Kansai University	Japan
8	Kebangsaan University (or National University)	Malaysia
9	University of Malaya	Malaysia
10	San Pedro College	Philippines
11	Nanyang Polytechnic	Singapore
12	Soochow University	Taiwan
13	Panyapiwat Institute of Management	Thailand
14	CEU Cardinal Herrera University	Spain
15	Clemson University	United States
16	Cornell University	United States
17	DePaul University	United States
18	State University of New York Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY FIT)	United States
19	Florida International University	United States
20	University of Hawaii Kapiolani Community College	United States
21	North Carolina State University	United States
22	Northern Arizona University	United States
23	Portland State University	United States
24	Ohio State University	United States
25	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	United States
26	University of Hawaii at Hilo	United States
27	University of Hawaii at Manoa	United States
28	University of California	United States
29	Pennsylvania State University	United States
30	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	United States
31	Baylor University	United States
32	University of Washington	United States
33	University of Montana	United States
34	Temple University	United States
35	University of Alabama	United States
36	University of Cincinnati	United States
37	State University of New York at Stony Brook	United States
38	The New School	United States

 

Future Plans:

JIGE aims to make the program accessible to students beyond the initial three participating universities. It also plans to use the initiative as a model case for other universities interested in developing similar programs.

 

Conclusion:

 

The JIGE initiative stands as a groundbreaking model for modern education, providing a rich, flexible, and internationally recognized learning environment. Through its innovative features and robust student support, JIGE aims to pave the way for future-ready education and career paths.

 

PLATFORM BUILDING INITIATIVE 

The purpose of the platform project is to establish a new hub for innovative global education (JIGE) in collaboration with the three applicant universities as a new platform for the development and promotion of a next-generation international education model, which is the outcome of this project. The purpose of this hub is to establish it as an international education phase of the post-Corona Disaster by effectively utilizing Blended Mobility (BM), which is the pillar of exchange activities. For this implementation, JIGE will develop the following projects.

 

[Overview of Platform Project (Type B)]

 

(1) Train-the-Trainer initiatives (capacity building for educators)

In Japan and abroad, international exchange activities utilizing online have emerged, and new resources such as JV-campus have been created even before the Corona Disaster converged, and will be further enhanced in the future. While this in itself is a welcome development as an environment that will be essential for the future of education, the “leaders of education” who can organically use this digitalized and online educational content to create the highly effective learning that learners seek must also have the skills to meet the needs of today and the near future. The “education leaders” who can organically use this digital online educational content to create the highly effective learning that learners demand must also have skills that meet the needs of today and the near future. The world is beginning to move into an “Education 4.0 phase,” in which learners customize their own learning, when they need it, as much as they need it, and learn effectively with the help of digital technology, to meet the needs of a fluid, rapidly diversifying, and evolving society. Just as industry is strengthening the reskilling of human resources, capacity building (“capacity building”), such as reskilling and upskilling of bearers, is an urgent issue in the education sector.　Against this background, JIGE, as a platform, will make the development of human resources for the next generation of bearers of international education, or Train-the-Trainer initiatives, one of its important missions.

 

(2) Promotion and effectiveness verification of online international education such as COIL/VE with the U.S. and other countries at Japanese universities

In order to make effective use of BM, it is essential for higher education institutions to better understand the effectiveness of online international education such as COIL/VE, etc. JIGE will disseminate low-key participatory activities such as open seminars and webinars at the three partner universities, first to the universities that adopted this developmental power project and then to other universities in Japan. JIGE will disseminate low threshold participatory activities such as open seminars and webinars at the three collaborating universities, and provide them to other domestic and international university networks (UMAP member universities, JPN-COIL Council member universities, AAC&U US member universities, etc., see conceptual diagram in Form 9). Invitations to the above capacity-building training programs will also be promoted at the same time. For universities in Japan, face-to-face and virtual events will be held several times a year in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate and the Canadian Embassy in order to create more opportunities for contact with universities and other educational institutions abroad (especially in the U.S., Canada, etc.) and to bring about opportunities to build diverse international partnerships, including BM. After promoting such implementation, in FY2025, the interim year, and in FY2027, the final year of the project, the effectiveness of BM practices will be verified, mainly by the universities that have adopted this developmental capacity project. This effectiveness verification will include two points: (1) verification of the effectiveness (impact) of BM as a new form of international education, and (2) the degree of contribution of the BM program to the development of the individual abilities of the participants (learners). Regarding (1), in addition to research based on quantitative indicators such as the number of participants and the utilization rate of online programs, we will also investigate aspects such as changes in attitudes toward international partnerships and how the promotion of internationalization at home in universities has progressed at BM. (3) The number of universities in the world that have a diverse range of international partnerships.

 

(3) Promotion of the use of “digital educational credentials” to enable diverse international educational activities and sharing of examples of their use

Digital academic credentials” express macro credentials, such as the acquisition of a traditional degree, and micro credentials, such as the completion of a short course of study or the acquisition of a certification or license, in a digital format that can be collected, stored, analyzed, and shared using the Internet, mobile phones, etc. (Nakazaki et al. 2021). (Nakasaki et al. 2021). While digitalization has already become a global standard, with more than 42 countries around the world having digitalized their certificates, and the elimination of paper certificates (e.g., degree certificates) in China and other countries, Japan is lagging far behind (Ashizawa et al. 2020). JIGE has been working with 3 universities in Japan to develop a new international education system. JIGE will create many examples of digital certificates of academic history through COIL/VE courses and international collaborative educational initiatives utilizing JV-campus, as well as share the good practices of other universities. In addition, as a platform base, JMOOC will also compile research on Good Practices at other selected universities and disseminate the information widely in the form of a handbook. This activity is planned to be produced in close collaboration with the JMOOC Association, the Japan Society for Educational Technology, and JV-campus (specialized committee), all of which share the same goal of proposing domestic guidelines for digital certificates of academic achievement.