Educational Institute of Kogakuin University
Mall & SC Development, Inc.
Fujita Corporation

Kogakuin University (President: Koji Sato, Location: Shinjuku-ku/Hachioji, Tokyo) launched an unprecedented program called "ISDC Program." Mall & SC Development, Inc. (CEO/President: Etsuhiro Kondo, Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), a subsidiary of Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., and a general construction company, Fujita Corporation (CEO: Yoji Okumura, Location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) collaborated with the university to provide special funding and offer opportunities to students to tackle real challenges these corporations face as their graduate studies (or master theses).

Focused on the Students' Involvement in Corporations

The most distinguishing characteristic of ISDC Program (Industry-Student Direct Collaboration Program) is that it implemented a pathway for "Direct Collaboration" between students and corporations. Any senior student in the Faculty of Architecture or grad student majoring in architecture can apply and they can choose to work on it as their theses.
Multiple challenge topics 【※】 are disclosed to students as the application process begins, and applicants need to submit research plans for the topic they choose. The university and the corporations review submitted research plans, then decide which students are eligible to participate in the program.

The chosen students can take advantage of the special funding to write dissertations and create design propositions to present in the final conference attended by the board members and research-related department chief directors of the participating corporations, where they are evaluated on their work. The program was officially launched this year, and currently 11 students (10 groups) from the Faculty of Architecture are working on their research for the final presentations in February 2017.

Research Results of Academic and Practical Value

The university educational system is not the only entity that can benefit from this program. Through this public social contribution, the participating corporations can gain a great deal of fresh, innovative ideas and academic approaches that help solve the issues they are facing in the real world.
Mall & SC Development, Inc. is looking to take part in the growth between industry and academia by integrating and cooperating with Kogakuin University while building a mutually trusting relationship, as well as to incorporate "new ideas from the flexible mindset of next generations" into its corporate group's commercial facilities and redevelopment plans to strengthen their ability to better serve local societies and communities.
Having a long history of providing education for technicians, Fujita Corporation is anticipating to discover unconventional and original point of views of these young minds trained in the strong architectural education in Kogakuin University, and is confident that the direct interactions of students and corporate employees to work hand in hand would serve as an aid to one of the most serious issues that construction industry faces to secure successors in the future, as the program gives opportunities to educate and groom them to be successful.

The special support fund provided by the corporations are available to ease the financial burdens that come with research, such as the cost of technical books, model materials, or field investigations. Another benefit this program offers is that the students can gain the hands-on experiences of being a part of real workforce as they visit different work sites, or exchange ideas with CEOs or field engineers. Witnessing how their fields of academic specialization play a part in the real society elevates their sense of professionality, and give them what study labs are unable to offer; the opportunities to put themselves in the simulated environment of practical world, which has tremendous educational value. Upon completion of presenting research results, the students are rewarded with the program's original certificates and the president rewards from each corporation involved. Today a lot of young people are leaving their jobs prematurely and it is our hope that this program will be one of the remedies to this big social issue by providing an early access to the real world and enabling each student to paint their own clear picture of what it means to "work."

Plans to Explore Different Fields, Not Limited to Architecture

Completed the test launch last year with Mall & SC Development, Inc., the program officially got off the ground in 2016 with Fujita Corporations' participation. To merit from the industries in which each participating corporation operates, the Faculty of Architecture was chosen to be collaborated this time.
There are different companies already showing interest in getting involved in the program next year, and the plan is to expand the variety of industries so that students studying different fields can benefit from this program as well.

Since 2013, Kogakuin University has contributed to provide more opportunities for its students to learn overseas by launching and promoting its unique original program called "Hybrid Foreign Studies" which removes the barriers of "language" and "economic strain" from studying abroad. The students who participate in this program develop good problem-solving skills, global views, and the sense of independence through interacting with different cultures and supporting themselves in unfamiliar environments. It is their great expectation that students demonstrate these newly acquired strengths in their theses and various design proposals, or presentations of their ideas to corporations, as they step out of study labs into "the real world" to grow and be inspired.

Examples of Research Topics (2016)

[Distribution Industry]
The possibility of improvement in the walkability for the elderly at large commercial facilities
Shopping malls that create new people flow
How children should spend their time in shopping centers

[Construction Industry]
How to reduce environmental footprints at the demolition of tiled concrete exterior walls
Application of public squares in regional cities for routine use
Inheritance and redevelopment for architectures and townscape of housing complex areas in modern industrial cities

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Fujita Corporation
Public Relations Office
Tel. +81-3-3402-1911
Fax. +81-3-3404-8477
Email. info@fujita.co.jp