Episode
The eight competencies developed at Ritsumeikan Academy.
We introduce how they are developed through daily experiences, along with diverse episodes.
*These episodes are based on responses actually submitted by students at every level of education—including elementary, junior high, and high school students, as well as university and graduate students—in the Quantitative Survey for Ritsumeikan Academy Competency Framework conducted in the 2024 academic year. Information that could identify individuals has been removed or modified before publication.
Competency
Episode
- Classes
- StudyAbroad
- ExtracurricularActivities
- ClubsAndSocieties
- StudyingOutsideOfClass
- Research
- SchoolEvents
- ExtracurricularLessons
- Community
- Family
- FriendsAndPeers
- TeachersAndMentors
- Goals
- Effort
- Achievement
- Growth
- Collaboration
- SeekingAdvice
- GivingUp
- Worries
- Happiness
- Anxiety
- Confidence
- Change
- EntranceExamsAndQualifications
- JobHuntingAndInternships
- PartTimeJobs
As a member of Wadaiko Raku at APU, I was preparing for the Tenku festival performances while balancing work, classes, tests, relationships, leading, and my health due to an injury. While this greatly relied on my resilience, I feel like my multi-tasking ability was improved to the greatest degree. We practiced taiko tirelessly for many months every single day, in between classes, during off-days, despite sickness, alongside assignment and project deadlines too. I feel our performance was a great success, and I did well in all of my classes, despite struggling a lot.
Multitasking
When group members do something that I didn't like, I try to understand them first.
Empathy
In APU there are a lot of group projects and group projects can either break or make friendships. I had to initiate the group to do things that they may seem not interested in. Giving constant reminders, initiate meetings, set a goal and set a schedule for the team. All these teamworks are tiring but it made me hone my leadership skills. I got the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone to initiate discussions and be a facilitator. I can safely say managing people is one of the hardest things to do. I had a really bad experience for my marketing class last semester where I had to talk on a lot of leadership roles when it is a group project where everyone is supposed to also take their own fair share of initiatives. However, in the end with much patience, continuous push the team managed to do well and I got an A plus as my grade. I am truly grateful for it.
Initiative
Before coming to APU, I always felt like I needed someone to lead me and I could not complete the task alone. However, when I had experience with both group work and individual work, I found out that I can work more efficiently independently as I can decide things based on my judgment. I gain more self-respect and self-esteem.
Self-efficacy
Especially in APU where everyone comes from different walks of life, we have to have a high sense of empathy. We cannot just think about ourselves and expect people to respect us. That is why we should be the ones understanding people too. One instance is that when one of my friend was really struggling a lot with her Economics. At first I did not understand why she was so sad, then I approached her and we talked. It was an eye opening experience for me and I decided to help her. I supported her studies and put myself in her shoes. We had weekly study sessions and I tried to accommodate to her concern. In the end, we both got good scores and she thanked me. I was really happy to see her grow and bloom.
Empathy
Since I was a kid, I have always loved talking and playing with other people around me. Back in the days, I spent a lot of time hanging out with my friends and sharing daily events around me with them. We went to each other houses and played card together while talking about our days at school. I was considered as a smart kid back then, especially in English so my friends would come and ask me about English homework. I enjoyed sharing what I knew with them because I found I could be helpful to them. Another thing which I am really good at is giving pieces of advice for relationships. Many of my friends ask me for bits of advice regarding relationships with their loved ones or even disliked ones. I think it is because I am good at listening and I often give them ideas which they never think about. I also do not have much conflicts with anybody as if something goes wrong, I am always the one who say sorry and show attitudes to move toward a better things. I do not like fighting and quarelling against anybody and anythings. That might be because I am afraid to be hurted and hurt other people. My friends tell me I am easy to cry whenever I feel sad. I do not like but also not hate this part of me. Because I do not like the feeling to be hurted and sad so I always careful with words and actions in order not to hurt anyone. And thus that makes me good at talking and building relationships with others. I have always enjoyed playing and chatting with those around me, even as a little child. I used to hang out with my pals a lot and tell them about the things that happened in my life. We visited one other's homes and played cards while discussing our school days. Back then, I was thought to be a bright child, particularly in English, so my buddies would come to me with English homework questions. I discovered that I could be of assistance to them, therefore I appreciated sharing my knowledge with them. My ability to offer relationship counsel is another one of my strong points. A lot of my friends ask me for small pieces of advice about how to interact with their loved ones or even those they don't like. I believe it's because I listen well and frequently offer them options that they would never consider. Additionally, I don't have many disagreements with people since I'm the one who constantly apologizes and adopts a positive outlook in order to make things better. I don't enjoy arguing and fighting with people or things. This may be because I'm scared of getting hurt and hurting other people. According to my friends, I cry easily when I'm depressed. Although I dislike this aspect of myself, I also do not despise it. I always take care with my words and actions to avoid hurting anyone because I dislike the feeling of being unhappy and wounded. As a result, I'm skilled at interacting with people and establishing rapport.
Empathy
A lot of group work in my College led me to assume leadership positions because in all of my groups, no one wanted to do anything, so I ended up having to step up for myself to give my whole group a good grade.
Teamwork
I believed my teamwork grew a lot because I did a lot of extracurricular events that made me focus on teamwork, such as when I helped BBP carry out the stall on school festival day.
Teamwork
When: During my second year at university, in the fall semester of 2021. Where: At my university campus, specifically while working on a group project for an entrepreneurship class. Who: I was part of a team of five classmates, none of whom I had worked with before. The group included students from different disciplines, which made our approaches and perspectives quite diverse. What: Our task was to design a business plan and present a fully developed proposal to a panel of professors and local entrepreneurs. The project was critical, as it accounted for 40% of our final grade. How: When we first started, our group faced significant challenges in coordination. People were hesitant to share ideas, there was no clear division of tasks, and deadlines were slipping. Recognizing the need for organization, I stepped up, suggesting a plan to get us back on track.
Multitasking