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Pick up the latest spotlight information about Toyo University

NEWS 01
Toyo Sports Center & HELSPO Arena Opening Event “Toyo Athlete Forum”

On April 22, 2023, we held the Toyo Athlete Forum to showcase the new Toyo University organization, Toyo Sports Center, and a new gym (HELSPO HUB-3 Arena) on the Akabanedai Campus. With support from Kita-ku, Tokyo, around 1,300 people attended at the event, including local residents, representatives from companies who regularly support Toyo University, students, and faculty members.

Five Toyo alumni athletes spoke on “Sports and Philosophy” and” Sports and Diet” in the first session. This was a valuable opportunity to gain rare insights into the athletes’ views on sports, personal experiences, and dietary habits. In the second half of the first session, Takaki Sugimoto, who was a representative of a volunteer organization while he was a student at Toyo, joined the session. His lecture from the perspective of supporting sports brought a variety of viewpoints to the discussion.
In the second session, the venue was filled with excitement by the appearance of Japanese national table tennis player Masataka Morizono and three players from the Haneda Vickies women's basketball team as secret guests for sports classes. A Table Tennis Class was held by Masataka Morizono and the Toyo Table Tennis Club, a Basketball Class by the three Haneda Vickies players and the Toyo Basketball Club, and a Parasports Experience Class by Ryoga Yamaguchi and Toyo Alumni who are members of the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences and also work for the Tokyo Sports Association for Persons with Disabilities. At these classes, participants, including local children, had a great time sweating it out through sports.

- List of Participating Toyo Alumni Athletes
Yui Ohashi
(Swimming: 2018 Department of International Tourism Studies, Faculty of Regional Development Studies graduate)
Mitsuomi Takahashi
(Rugby/actor: 2004 Department of Law, Faculty of Law graduate)
Kosuke Hagino
(Swimming: 2017 Department of English Communication, Faculty of Letters graduate)
Ryota Murata
(Boxing: 2008 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration graduate)
Ryoga Yamaguchi
(Para Goalball: 2019 Department of Social Welfare, Faculty of Sociology graduate)
Yoshihide Kiryu
(Track and Field: 2018 Department of Business Law, Faculty of Law graduate) Note: Appearance via recorded video
Takaki Sugimoto
(2023 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration graduate) Representative of student organization, Origami

Introduction of the Toyo University Sports Symbol Mark　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　     

At Toyo University, we decided to introduce a sports symbol mark to build unity and boost support for sports clubs even among students who don't belong to sports clubs, their families, and Toyo alumni. The sports symbol mark was unveiled for the first time at the Toyo Athlete Forum.
We commissioned the design of the sports symbol mark to Beams Sports, a brand that produces sports culture. We are the first university in Japan to establish a sports symbol mark designed by Beams Sports. This was made possible as Beams Sports resonated with our philosophy of contributing to society and local communities through university sports. We will use the sports symbol mark with the University sports clubs’ kit. In addition, we also plan to sell t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies with the sports symbol mark, the Toyo University Original Goods Shop on them at the T,U,O,G,S to be available to people other than student athletes . Portion of proceeds will be used to support sports clubs.

The design concept is based on a chicken combined with the T, Y, and U of Toyo University. Previously, the area around the Hakusan Campus was called Keiseigakubo (lit. Clucking Chicken Hollow), derived from a legend that a golden chicken was found when the ground was dug up as people thought they heard the sound of a chicken every night. In the days of the Tetsugakukan, the predecessor organization to Toyo University, an old well on the grounds was called Keiseigaido, after it was said that the clucking of a chicken could be heard there, something which is also noted in the works of Toyo University founder, Enryo Inoue. Based on these stories, we incorporated the chicken into the design, hoping that many Toyo students become legendary golden chickens and spread their wings on the golden stage.

Toyo University Original Goods Shop ▶https://toyotugsshop.official.ec/

NEWS 02
AY 2023 Entrance Ceremony Featuring guest Ryota Murata (Olympic gold medalist and former WBA world middleweight super champion)

The AY 2023 Toyo University Entrance Ceremony was held at the Nippon Budokan (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) on Thursday, April 6 On this day, 8,010 new undergraduate and graduate students entered Toyo University. Students were divided by faculty and graduate school, and the Entrance Ceremony was held in two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. President Yaguchi gave a ceremonial address, stating, "Without a doubt, the future is yours to create together with the people of the world. As the key protagonists of the future, we hope that you will go on to live resilient and prosperous lives." Toyo alumni, 2012 London Olympic gold medalist, and former WBA world middleweight super champion Ryota Murata (2008 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration graduate) appeared as a surprise guest for the celebratory message. Murata spoke of his regret of not giving his all at a tournament during his time at Toyo and encouraged the new students stating, “I don’t want you to repeat the same mistakes.” If you don’t give your all, it will definitely come back to haunt you. Even if you convince others that you gave your all, you will know the truth. Don’t give up when the going gets tough, and spend the next four years with the confidence to push forward.”


Entrance ceremony


Ryota Murata

Initiatives Using the Official App
The reception on the day of the ceremony was conducted using the "TOYO-PASS" QR code display function in the app. In addition, students were asked to write down their feelings about the entrance ceremony using the "My Journey" function. Students submitted many messages to kick off their campus life journey, including “I want to give it my all,” “I was surprised to hear that there are 8,000 students in the same year,” and “Mr. Murata’s address moved me.”

 

NEWS 03
Extension Program
“A Study of Donald Keene's Japan Studies”

At Toyo University, we hold extension programs every year as part of our lifelong learning program. As part of our AY 2023 Spring Semester Program, we held a three-lecture program honoring the achievements of Donald Keene (1922–2019), a Japanese literature and culture scholar. Professor Keene had deep ties with Toyo University, serving as an academic advisor and honorary doctorate and giving numerous lectures. Since last year, we have been coordinating with the DONALD KEENE Memorial Foundation and Tokyo’s Kita-ku, where Keene spent his later years. Under the leadership of Professor Hitoshi Ishida of the Department of International Culture and Communication Studies, Faculty of Letters, we are conducting a project to organize and research the work of Professor Keene. While being related to the project, the extension program was a new opportunity to learn about the appeal of Japanese studies by reflecting on the Japanese literature and culture uncovered by Keene and his life. Professor Ishida mentioned, “Through the opportunity to organize his work and give lectures, I have acquired an objective viewpoint on how Professor Keene regarded modern Japan. I am proud that Toyo University is involved in laying the foundation of research to understand Donald Keene, the author.” Professor Emeritus and Former President of Toyo University, Makio Takemura, commented, “Through these investigations, we were once again able to understand the contributions that Professor Keene made to Toyo University. I hope that his contributions to Japan, as well as his contributions to Japanese literature, will gain global recognition.”


One of the lectures in “A Study of Donald Keene's Japan Studies.”


Lecture 1 (May 20), Lecturers:
Professor Emeritus Makio Takemura (Former Toyo University President)
and Professor Hitoshi Ishida of the Faculty of Letters

NEWS 04
President of California State University, Dominguez Hills Visited Toyo University

On April 11, 2023, Thomas Parham, President of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in the US, visited Toyo University with four other officials. President Etsuko Yaguchi and Steve Green, Deputy Director of the Center for Global Education and Exchange, and other members discussed the possibilities of joint research and faculty member exchange. Since the comprehensive agreement and student exchange agreement were signed on January 5, 2018, Toyo University and CSUDH have actively participated in student exchange programs. In AY 2022, Toyo University sent four students to CSUDH and accepted seven exchange students from the University. President Parham stated that he placed great importance on the cooperative relationship with Toyo University and hoped to further develop various academic exchange activities, ranging from cooperation in specific research fields to faculty member exchange and student exchange. He also shared information about the advanced IT and computer science efforts made at CSUDH, including the establishment of the e-sports academy, which strategically combines e-sports with academic research and career education. As Toyo University and CSUDH have many academic fields in common, both universities agreed to continue the collaboration and cooperation toward the further development of exchange activities.

 

NEWS 05
Internship and Work Experience Company Information Session Held in the Metaverse for the First Time

Toyo University held an internship and work experience company information session using the metaverse space in collaboration with X Corporation, a metaverse company. At Toyo University, we emphasize providing career support to all students to cultivate individuals who can thrive in Society 5.0. We held this event to promote participation in internships and work experiences for students in their first to third years. Within Job-Hunting Plaza, students could view information about participating companies and their internship and work experience programs from May 29 to June 12, 2023. Also, “Company Interaction Days” were held on June 3 and 10, where students could directly speak with company representatives. By using a metaverse venue, students could easily attend the event regardless of their location, and it was an opportunity for them to learn about new industries and companies and discover potential internships and work experiences.

Student Comments　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　     
I tended to avoid company information sessions because I thought they were rigid. However, it was easy to attend on the metaverse as I was not limited by time and location, and I could communicate through an avatar. I think that was a good thing.

Career Development and Placement Section Staff Comments   
Both students and company representatives used the metaverse more effectively than we had envisioned. We hope to continue to add new opportunities so that as many students as possible can participate in internships and work experiences, not only limited to the metaverse.

NEWS 06
Toyo University Announces its Stance on the Use of Generative AI / The Faculty of Information Networking for Innovation and Design Develops and Introduces an Educational System Utilizing Generative AI

At Toyo University, our stance on generative AI is as follows: “Depending on how it is used, generative AI is recognized to be useful for learning, and it cannot be denied that it can be used as something similar to a reference or cited document.” We have informed students that the basis of writing reports and other assignments is to conduct research and think for themselves and that they should not merely rely on the outputs of generative AI.

 

PICK UP Use Cases at the Faculty of Information Networking for Innovation and Design (INAID)

In April 2023, we developed and introduced an education system for all students using ChatGPT (GPT-4).

Purpose　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　     
■ To enhance educational effectiveness by enabling self-learning with the use of generative AI
■ Have students learn system development skills by enabling the use of generative AI’s API through programming

INIAD’s Stance on Generative AI
■ To encourage, rather than limit, the use of generative AI
■ Students can deepen their understanding through conversing with generative AI
■ Instead of making it easier for students, we will more rigorously assess the quality of outcomes using ChatGPT

■ Regarding the Use of Generative AIs (ChatGPT, etc.) in Reports and Other Assignments ▶https://www.toyo.ac.jp/news/20230727-00003.html
■ INIAD’s Stance on Generative AI ▶https://www.iniad.org/blog/2023/04/14/generative-ai/