Kochi Kosen's Social Implementation Education Practiced by the Department of Social Design Engineering Receives the "30th Engineering Education Award"
Kochi National College of Technology's Department of Social Design Engineering has been awarded the 30th Engineering Education Award for its distinctive five-year integrated social implementation education program. This program, built on entrepreneurship education, requires all students to collaborate with local communities and businesses to address real-world challenges, fostering practical engineers who contribute to society.
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Kochi National College of Technology (Nankoku City, Kochi Prefecture, President: Mitsuru Muramoto, hereinafter "Kochi Kosen") is engaged in social implementation education that students learn in stages from their first to fifth year, based on entrepreneurship education.
The social implementation education practiced by the Department of Social Design Engineering has received the 30th (2025) Engineering Education Award.
### What is the "Engineering Education Award"?
The Engineering Education Award is an award established by the Japan Society for Engineering Education, a public interest incorporated foundation, to recognize achievements that have had a significant impact and made substantial contributions to the development of engineering education and technical education in Japan through pioneering and innovative initiatives.
Reference: Engineering Education Award | Japan Society for Engineering Education
https://www.jsee.or.jp/about/award/jsee-prize (External link)
### What is the Social Implementation Education practiced by Kochi Kosen?
The initiative that received this award is "Construction and Practice of a Five-Year Integrated, Compulsory Social Implementation Education for All Students, with the Entire Kochi Prefecture as its Field" (Candidate: Department of Social Design Engineering (Organization), Representative: Associate Professor Takuo Fujita).
Under a single department system of Social Design Engineering, our college has made the development of practical engineers who can contribute to society in collaboration with local communities a crucial pillar of its education.
Based on entrepreneurship education, we have built a social implementation education program that students learn in stages from their first to fifth year. In particular, the "Regional Collaboration Practice" in the fourth year is a compulsory subject, and a system has been established where all students work on real-world problems in collaboration with local companies and local governments. In this context, the award was granted in recognition of points such as the institutionalization of a system that allows students to experience social implementation throughout the entire curriculum as a regular subject, and its compulsory implementation for all students.
The social implementation education practiced by the Department of Social Design Engineering has received the 30th (2025) Engineering Education Award.
### What is the "Engineering Education Award"?
The Engineering Education Award is an award established by the Japan Society for Engineering Education, a public interest incorporated foundation, to recognize achievements that have had a significant impact and made substantial contributions to the development of engineering education and technical education in Japan through pioneering and innovative initiatives.
Reference: Engineering Education Award | Japan Society for Engineering Education
https://www.jsee.or.jp/about/award/jsee-prize (External link)
### What is the Social Implementation Education practiced by Kochi Kosen?
The initiative that received this award is "Construction and Practice of a Five-Year Integrated, Compulsory Social Implementation Education for All Students, with the Entire Kochi Prefecture as its Field" (Candidate: Department of Social Design Engineering (Organization), Representative: Associate Professor Takuo Fujita).
Under a single department system of Social Design Engineering, our college has made the development of practical engineers who can contribute to society in collaboration with local communities a crucial pillar of its education.
Based on entrepreneurship education, we have built a social implementation education program that students learn in stages from their first to fifth year. In particular, the "Regional Collaboration Practice" in the fourth year is a compulsory subject, and a system has been established where all students work on real-world problems in collaboration with local companies and local governments. In this context, the award was granted in recognition of points such as the institutionalization of a system that allows students to experience social implementation throughout the entire curriculum as a regular subject, and its compulsory implementation for all students.