Global PBL Program for
Innovative Mind and Intelligence

Program Outline

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has chosen Ristumeikan’s “Global PBL Program for Innovative Mind and Intelligence” for its “FY2013 Re-Inventing Japan Project”.

Ritsumeikan University’s “Global PBL Program for Innovative Mind and Intelligence” is an education program focusing on “international problem-based learning” which looks to provide necessary “multi-dimensional thinking skills” (technical thinking, business thinking, system design thinking) by accepting students from a variety of countries and regions to work collectively to solve policy and social issues such as Asian welfare, and urban planning and development which ASEAN countries have been facing and the College of Policy Science and College of International Relations have been concentrating their research and education on.

This program looks to offer 1) practical class learning including off campus research, 2) consistent education with participant schools (three from Indonesia, two from Thailand) through video on demand and satellite TV lectures, 3) simulation programs that will look at the role of ASEAN governments, international institutions, media, and industry for some specific topic, 4) student exchange with G30 program students.

Pre-departure preparations are being made in FY 2013 and 25 Ritsumeikan students will be sent overseas in FY 2014.

*Re-Inventing Japan Project
The Re-Inventing Japan Project is a Japanese government funding project that aims to foster human resources capable of being globally active, and advance the global reach of Japanese university education. It supports international collaborations involving study abroad for Japanese students and the acceptance of international students to Japan, while advancing higher education quality assurance. In the 2013 fiscal year the Re-Inventing Japan Project began to support higher education partnership programs under an international framework developed in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Applications for funding under this new scheme were received from 25 universities around Japan (including 13 private universities), and 7 (3 from private universities) were successful.