[Kagoshima Kosen] Kagoshima Kosen and the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya Sign Partnership Agreement to Promote Education, Academic Research, and Regional Contribution

National Institute of Technology, Kagoshima College (Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture; Principal: Etsuko Ueda; hereinafter "Kagoshima Kosen") and the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya (Kanoya City, Kagoshima Prefecture; President: Hiroaki Kanehisa) signed a partnership agreement on Friday, March 27, 2026, aimed at advancing education, research, and regional contributions. ■Background of the Agreement and Expected Effects This agreement aims to create new value by leveraging the respective expertise of the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, the only national physical education university in Japan focusing on sports, and Kagoshima Kosen, which has strengths in engineering education. In recent years, Kagoshima Kosen has been focusing on education that emphasizes "Well-being" and has developed uniquely through collaboration with local sports clubs. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya has been actively promoting regional contributions centered on sports and martial arts through the "NPO NIFS Sports Club". The collaboration between the two institutions is expected to produce multifaceted effects, such as the creation of new knowledge through engineering x sports, improvement of students' motivation to learn, and regional revitalization through sports. ■Collaboration Details and Specific Initiatives The agreement confirmed that a wide range of collaborative activities will be deployed, including mutual dispatch of part-time lecturers, credit transfers, joint seminars and graduation research, and the promotion of joint research utilizing Sports DX and AI. In addition, support for connecting students from Kosen to the university is scheduled to be enhanced through student exchanges, joint presentation sessions, measurement tours, and further academic/career counseling. ■About National Institute of Technology, Kagoshima College Nurturing those who create the technologies of the future. 1. Train globally competent engineers with rich creativity and excellent character. 2. Emphasize development-oriented education and research to create items of social and economic value. 3. Be a community-based Kosen that supports local industry, culture, and lifestyle. 1. Engineers who design the coexistence of human future and nature 2. Engineers who play an active role globally 3. Highly creative development-oriented engineers 4. Engineers who can think from the perspective of others