Up until now, universities have been able to maintain a close relationship with society. This comes from their pursuit of their original goals of educating and conducting research. However, in the future, it will no longer be acceptable for an institution to allow itself to become enclosed within a cocoon of tradition, continuing solely to devote itself to education and the pursuit of truth.While achieving results through sincere efforts directed at education and research, an institution must at the same time actively wrestle with ways of relating to social problems and environmental issues. In order for us to cope in the future with global issues, such as those related to the environment and the population, the results of the intellectual creative activities coming out of universities will prove indispensable. Currently universities are being asked in more pressing terms what kind of contribution they can make to society. In response to this request that grows out of our times, Waseda University is actively analyzing these issues from various angles, while grounding itself in the original spirit of university, which inspired its creation. Among the “Three Great Educational Aims,” which reflect the very spirit that established Waseda, there is the “Practical Use of Learning” and the “Cultivation of Model Citizenry.” These goals work toward making a “social contribution as a university” and “training people who are able to contribute to an international society.”In short, they seek to make a social contribution.
In an effort to put into practice this spirit of social philanthropy and create a new place for its actualization, The Hirayama Ikuo Volunteer Center in April 2002. At this center, volunteer activities are broadly developed both inside and outside of Japan, utilizing Waseda’s intellectual and human resources to the fullest. Through these activities, we aim to educate and train internationally minded people. As part of the actual activities, courses are offered that are related to typical volunteerism and are based on bringing together ethics, knowledge and practical work. In addition, volunteer projects are conducted in various regions throughout the world and these are related to educational support, environmental preservation, international cooperation, and human-rights education. This center is an institution open to students from other universities and general members of society. Currently, it functions as an institution that promotes educational philanthropic activities on a large scale throughout Japan and has approximately 3000 aspiring volunteers. Outside of the activities conducted through The Hirayama Ikuo Volunteer Center, the “Unilab(University Laboratory),” a science camp for junior high school students was put on for the 19th time in 2006 (sponsored by Waseda’s Department of Science and Engineering) and the “Kids Market Camp” was held for junior high school students so that they could learn about money and investments (sponsored by Waseda University’s Nihonbashi branch with the cooperation of Merrill Lynch Securities Co.). Moreover, in the various regions through Japan, we also hold the “Waseda Fiesta,” at which we put on display Waseda’s many accumulated resources related to sports, the arts, and technology. Through these various activities, we are drawing inspiration from many academic perspectives and putting our energy into contributing to society, which is an appropriate function for a university in this day and age.
