This program, in place since 2003, involves the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology selecting from the assortment of undertakings to improve university education those that are distinctive and superior, and, by publicly displaying these, universities and junior colleges can cull from the selected example ideas for promoting the improvement and reform of education, and, via this, higher education in Japan will be invigorated.

　This year’s 5 themes were, “Comprehensive Undertakings,” “Improving the Education Curriculum,” “Improving Education Methods,” “Improving Support for Students’ Study and Extracurricular Activities,” “Improving the Link between Universities and the Community/Society.” Waseda has chosen the topic “Improving the Link between Universities and the Community/Society.”

Application Theme: “Improving the Link between Universities and the Community/Society” Project Name: Hands-on, Educational Social Action that Transcends National Borders – Raising World Citizens Who Act – Project Credit: general credit at Waseda University Project Outline: 　Of the “three ideals” at Waseda (“independence of learning,” “practical utilization of knowledge,” “creation of good citizens”), the latter two can be rendered through the aims of “contributing to society as a university” and “building up people who can contribute to the international community.” In April of 2002, the Waseda University Volunteer Center (hereinafter known as WAVOC) was established as a new place to put into practice Waseda’s founding principles. While utilizing the intellectual and human resources of the university, WAVOC aims to raise world citizens who act and it aims to expand volunteer activities – one kind of education in our current age – both within and without Japan. Specifically, this is accomplished through the establishment of a regular curriculum course connected to volunteering, fusing theory and knowledge together with hands-on experience (service learning); this goal is also accomplished through the expansion throughout the world of – among other things – support for education, environmental conservation, international cooperation and human rights promotion. Also, WAVOC is an organization open to students from other universities and members of the community; at present there are approximately 3,000 people involved, making it the largest body of educational social action promotion within Japan.

In the first year, 2003, of the “Program for Supporting Distinctive University Education (Distinctive GP)”, the project titled “A Modern Liberal Arts Education that Strives for Practical Knowledge” and undertaken by Waseda’s Open Education Center was selected.