Future Vision of the Faculty

March 31, 2018
Faculty of Sustainability Studies Human Faculty of Sustainability Studies, Hosei University

On March 22, 2017, the Faculty Faculty of Sustainability Studies Human Faculty of Sustainability Studies at Hosei University formulated " Faculty of Sustainability Studies 2030 - For Our Sustainable Future" as the Faculty's long-term vision. This was done in recognition of the fact that HOSEI2030, the long-term vision for Hosei University as a whole, was formulated in April 2016, and that the Faculty of Sustainability Studies as one of the 15 faculties, Faculty of Sustainability Studies needs to formulate a long-term vision, as it is responsible for its promotion.
In particular, the third part of HOSEI2030's mission states, "The mission of the University is to contribute to the 'building of a sustainable global society' by solving the diverse challenges of the turbulent 21st century. The vision that embodies the mission clearly states that the university will be a center of education and a global center of research "for the creation of a sustainable global society. The Faculty of Sustainability Studies is aware of the importance of its role in promoting HOSEI 2030, and has decided to chart a course for the year 2030.
The " Faculty of Sustainability StudiesFaculty of Sustainability StudiesFaculty of Sustainability Studies 2030 ~For Our Sustainable Future" is a document that describes the following: 1. the Preamble ~Purpose and Background of the Long-Term Vision, 2. the Identity and Mission of the Faculty of Sustainability Studies, 3. the Strategic Field and Business Development Guidelines of the Faculty of Sustainability Studies, 4. Action Plan (Leading Projects)] [6. Time frame and timeline].
Below is an overview of this long-term vision.

First, it introduces how the Faculty was established in 1999, at the turn of the century, when the international community was in a period of great change. It also looks back on the history of the Faculty Faculty of Sustainability Studies in its infancy, and its efforts to create a faculty with two faces: the Faculty of Humanities and Contemporary Liberal Arts and the Faculty of Policy Studies, both with the philosophy of "sustainable society" to realize Hosei University's vision of a Green University. It also confirms that the time has come for the Faculty, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its founding in 2018, to take on the challenge of a 《Second Founding》.

He states that it is the destiny of the Faculty to continue to question its own existence, "What kind of a Faculty of Sustainability Studies is our faculty?
It then redefines the core mission of the Faculty and the missions of each of its three programs (education, research, and social contribution). The core mission is as follows

The Faculty of Sustainability Studies, with "awareness of moral science" and "coexistence of humans and the environment" as its fundamental values, will explore integrated sustainability, including values related to the coexistence of humans and humans, from an interdisciplinary and comprehensive perspective through education, research, and social contribution projects, thereby fulfilling the Faculty's social responsibility (Faculty Social Responsibility). We will fulfill our Faculty Social Responsibility by exploring integrated sustainability through education, research, and social contribution projects from an interdisciplinary and holistic perspective."

Let me explain a little about the core mission. Awareness of Moral Science" means that the various disciplines in Faculty of Sustainability Studies which are characterized by interdisciplinary nature, share a common mission to contribute to the "creation of a sustainable society," despite differences in the fields of social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.
Then, what does it mean to link "coexistence of humans and the environment" with "coexistence of humans and humans"? As is clear from the current predictions of the effects of global warming, addressing environmental issues has the most important value for the survival of the human race. However, even to solve environmental problems, we need people's agreement. In other words, the value of coexistence among people is also important to confront environmental problems.
In addition, various social issues related to social justice, such as the disparity between developed and developing countries, child poverty, and the human rights of minorities, must also be solved on the premise of the value of people's coexistence.
In light of this, the Faculty of Sustainability Studies takes a broad view of "sustainability" and calls its exploration of sustainability through education, research, and social contribution projects "Faculty Social Responsibility (FSR)" by analogy with the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of business enterprises.

After redefining the mission of the Faculty of Sustainability Studies, we have proposed five strategic fields (problem areas to be specifically addressed based on the characteristics of the Faculty). These are: " Issues Related to Human Beings, Civilization, and Culture," "Issues Related to Science, Technology, and Society," "Issues Related to the Market Economy," "Issues Related to Global Issues," and "Issues Related to Local Issues. These five strategic fields have been incorporated into the Faculty's course-based education system as five courses (Human Culture Course, Environmental Science Course, Sustainable Economy and Management Course, Global Sustainability Course, and Local Sustainability Course) since the 2016 academic year. The first five courses were introduced in FY2016.
Next, we present the business guidelines of the faculty developed in these strategic fields, one of which is to make clear our commitment to address the diverse challenges of the 21st century with regard to sustainability. In particular, the Faculty, located in the capital of a disaster-prone country, will actively confront the issue of massive disasters that have a significant impact on the sustainability of society. In addition, the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) agreed upon by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 have a target year of 2030, the same year as Faculty of Sustainability Studies and this Long-Term Plan. The mission of the Faculty has been newly defined.

The vision for a "sustainable Faculty of Sustainability Studies " in 2030, which embodies the newly defined mission of the Faculty, includes: the challenge to become a frontrunner of Hosei University, long-term stability in the number of applicants by gaining social sympathy and support, collaboration with society to become an "open faculty," global education and education for working adults, and research activities. The vision includes the challenge to become the frontrunner of Hosei University.

In the following [5. Action Plan (Leading Project)], we will work to implement [3. Guidelines for the Strategic Field and Business Development of the Faculty of Sustainability Studies ] based on [2. Identity and Mission of the Faculty of Sustainability Studies ] and [4. Vision for a Sustainable Faculty of Sustainability Studies in 2030]. The Action Plan lists the leading projects that will drive this long-term vision, with a five-year period beginning in FY2017 as the period for intensive efforts. The Action Plan will be updated in the future as the leading projects are reconfigured.
Furthermore, at the end of this Long-Term Concept, we have divided the period from the formulation stage to the target year of 2030 into three phases: Phase 1 (formulation and start-up: 2015-2020), Phase 2 (2021-2026: adjustment and development), and Phase 3 (2027-2030: summary and outlook), The plan states that the appropriate progress will be managed through the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle.
Note that this Long-Term Vision was revised on March 28, 2018 to refer to the SDGs.

The Faculty of Sustainability Studies, based on the " Faculty of Sustainability Studies 2030 - For Our Sustainable Future" outlined above, aims to be a "Sustainable Faculty of Sustainability Studies " in 2030 by fulfilling its role as a frontrunner in Hosei University's "Aiming to Create a Sustainable Global Society". Our goal is to be a "Sustainable Faculty of Human Environment" by the year 2030.
The text is intended to be hard-won in order to express our aspirations and policies for today, tomorrow, and the future in a dignified manner, while preserving the 20 years of history of the Faculty of Sustainability Studies and passing it on to the next generation. (Leading Projects)] and [6.