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
I am impressed with the phrase "Never give up" and that is also what I try do to everyday. Life is full of challenges, problems, uncertainty and unexpected events. There are a lot of times I think of giving up to not go no more on that painful road but then I always have this one belief to recall the reason why I want to do this or why this matters to me.
Initiative
Since I am currently studying in the IB course, I get a lot of assignments, and oftentimes, it is difficult to balance out my studies with the other activities that I do outside of school. However, after experimenting with different studying methods, I began to be better at balancing out my work. I also learned to give up on some things to make time for the other things that I need to prioritize.
Multitasking
During my PhD journey, I developed resilience through repeated rejections of my research papers for publication. Each rejection was disheartening, but I chose to view them as opportunities to grow. I carefully analyzed reviewers' feedback, sought guidance from my supervisor, and refined my work. One memorable instance involved a paper that was rejected twice. Instead of giving up, I revised it thoroughly and submitted it again, eventually achieving acceptance. This process taught me to persevere, adapt, and embrace challenges, transforming setbacks into stepping stones. These experiences strengthened my ability to recover from failures and continue striving for my goals.
Resilience
I learned that without taking the initiative and dedicating time and effort towards something you want to achieve; you won't ever succeed. I learned to sacrifice short-term gains and pleasurable activities (e.g. wasting time watching TV/YouTube, playing video games, hanging out with friends) for meaningful pursuits, such as my PhD, my job, and the skills I wanted to work on. If you want to achieve something, you just have to work hard at it, every day, and you have to give up the things that would otherwise take up that time.
Initiative
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
Resilience is a critical competency that I have recognized as essential to develop during my studies. In the past, I would often feel overwhelmed when things didn’t go perfectly or when I faced setbacks in achieving my goals quickly. I tended to give up easily, feeling defeated by my imperfections. However, through reflection and experience, I have started to understand the importance of persistence and patience. I’ve learned that great things take time and effort, and it’s okay to make mistakes as part of the learning process. This realization has helped me bounce back from challenges, stay motivated, and continue working toward my goals despite obstacles.
Resilience
There were many times when I felt that I could have scored better in the test during my first two years in the university. However, after some time I realized that simply giving up will not solve anything, thus I decided to accept my past failures, and concentrate more on my future goals and achievements. This experience helped me to develop the resilience, and ability to look forward.
Resilience
When I first had a report reviewed by a professor in pbl in first year, he said I needed to try hard more. However, I already gave my best and I lost hope. Then, I realized that I was studying the wrong way so I changed the way I do things.
Self-efficacy
I wanted to drop one class at the start of the semester however, i motivated myself not to gave up and practice a lot so that I would not fall behind in class.
Resilience