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
My junior encountered a problem: he didn’t know how to use microcontrollers. It reminded me of when I was starting out—I also didn’t know much about them and had no one to ask for help. Back then, I spent a lot of time learning on my own. Now that I can help others, I explained the most basic concepts to him and introduced some learning materials and useful websites. This helped him quickly get a grasp of microcontrollers. He was very grateful, and I felt happy that I could help him.
Empathy
I had to move from my country and start to live alone, that means that I had to change everything that I was used, I start to learn more about myself in a new environment. In my home I was used to spend time with my family and pets indoors, now, that they aren't here, I have to motivate myself to go out and give myself quality time, eating healthy and have a good balance of my lifestyle. And sometimes, the routine get the worse of me, thinking living day by day just doing what I have to do, school, work, cooking, etc., but then I remember that I am fulfilling my dreams in one of my favorites country, so, should give me credit of the feeling of accomplishments.
Self-efficacy
Basically I thought I was a type of person who couldn't do anything competently and I was negative about myself. But my friends were like have confidence and try to believe in yourself more. So I started to think more positive and tried to believe in myself. Now, I feel much better and I feel like I have become much more confident in doing stuff and I believe I have also become much more competent person.
Self-efficacy
I have always been scared to step out of my comfort zone, but words and advice has led me to gain confidence and to try new things.
Innovation
I have been in an all-English-speaking environment for only 3 years. However, many of my classmates have spoken English for almost their entire life. Because of this, when I first started the IB program at the Ritsumeikan Uji, I felt like I was failing every class. However, after getting used to this new environment, and getting the support from my teachers, I slowly began to build confidence in some of my classes.
Resilience
I came here because I heard that the lab I joined focused on game development, but what I found was that it's very tough for someone with a weak foundation like me. Luckily, I met a good senior who taught me the content of the slides one-on-one. After the senior graduated, I was able to cope with my feelings and the seminar content, including the pressure from the teacher.
Resilience
I was kind of person who can be easily influenced by the words of other. After coming to Japan I learned to analyze the perceptions and learned how to act them emotionally. I realized after being burdened with the tasks I have never experienced before, I gradually started to de clutter the things with best possible alternatives. For example if I have to fill out the form which is written in Japanese that will give me almost headaches but I used Google translate and answer in best possible way. Another example was talking in front of people in class room, I tried my best even with clumsy attempts, gradually I learned that the gravity of the questions or answers are less important than the expressions becasue very few of them will remember what I speak.
Resilience
Resilience has been learned throughout the entirety of my life. I have constantly experienced troubles and failures in my life, but eventually, I learned that there is no such thing as failure as long as you keep trying. Failure is when you completely give up, learning is when you make mistakes and correct them. As long as you experience troubles and try to learn from them, you will never fail. I will provide an example. Unfortunately, I have had three friends pass away due to problems with mental health. While this profoundly affected me, I learned the importance of taking care of my own self and how to continue living even when life is difficult. Though there are many other examples of hardships in my life, this one stands out as a recent example, and I strengthened my resilience by living through this experience.
Resilience
While starting study here, I was first very pressured how things work here so it took me some time to get used to the system, the people and what was expected of me. After my first semester I became even more aware about myself and trusted my abilities and skills even more than I did already before. A very big contribution was the experience of living abroad as well by my best friend in the UK. Because I am currently working on scholarship applications to stay longer in Japan, I see my path more clearer because I needed to do more reflection on my values I live by and what it can do for my future professional career. Even though I know getting into the scholarships is very difficult I have more insurance and trust in my abilities and skills to find even a way to stay longer in Japan without the scholarship money. It will work out in my way, I am more sure about that. Fortunately, I did not had major set backs to get back up again but the small "failures" or learning experiences in the intercultural context made me really resilient towards everything that I am working on right now as well as my future goals.
Resilience