PROJECT REPORT | Solution part
New ideas emerged from
diverse multinational thinking.
The distinctive feature of this seminar course is that students not only listen to lectures in the classroom, but also come into contact with people in the real world through fieldwork and work on solutions to real-world problems.
Students not only present the results of their year-long research at the university, but also link it to actual policy proposals.
September and October: DiscussionCompile proposals based on the research
From September onward, based on the results of our field research, we held discussions at the university and compiled proposals for solving the issues identified in the research and revitalizing the northern Ibaraki City area.
Voices of local farmers
- Aging farmers and declining farming population are major problems
- The proposal to hire students for part-time jobs to solve the labor shortage has not been received positively, not only for economic reasons, but also because the business format of farmers, where the fields are family-owned and passed down from generation to generation, does not fit into an employment relationship like that of corporations.
- They are looking for students who are willing to help with agriculture on a long-term, sustainable basis.
- Compensation for damages caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons is also important.
- Support is needed not only for farmland, but also for maintenance of the surrounding mountains and fields.
Voices of Ibaraki City officials
- Economic reasons make it difficult to employ students on a part-time basis to address labor shortages
- Students are needed to volunteer to help with agriculture, but there are still issues such as transportation and transportation fee.
Voices of visitors of “Miyama no Sato”
- Unaware of the problem of the lack of agricultural population in Ibaraki City
- Farming is affected by weather and other factors, making it difficult to earn a stable income
- I am a farmer myself, and as I know how hard farming is, I cannot ask my children to succeed me
The first of our proposals was to create a system at the university that would allow students interested in agriculture to become involved in agriculture as volunteers. We proposed that by making it a club or circle activity, it would not end up being a temporary effort as the farmers are concerned, but would provide sustainable support.
Secondly, as a questionnaire survey revealed that most Ritsumeikan University students are unaware of agriculture in the Izuhara area, the proposal also included the creation of a class at the university where students can learn about various issues surrounding agriculture, in order to increase the number of students who are interested in agriculture.
As a senior, I supported the members, each of whom had interests in different topics, in bringing their views together to form a single research objective. I gave advice based on my own research experience during my second year.
ARORA Sneha
(from India)
November: PresentationPropose ideas to farmers and city officials
In November, the results of the research were compiled into a poster and presented in English at the "Poster Session (now called the Presentation Session)". Furthermore, in December, on the day when the " Agricultural Experience Project" was to end, the students also presented their research findings and proposals in English and Japanese in front of farmers and Ibaraki City officials. One farmer commented, "I was almost crying while the students were talking about the richness of nature and kindness of people in the northern part of Ibaraki City," while an Ibaraki City official said, "We, as Ibaraki City, would like to consider the students’ proposals.”
The students were able to come up with effective proposals that would lead to real policy recommendations, thanks to the solid relationships of trust they built through repeated visits to the site and communication with local farmers and Ibaraki City officials. The project came to an end in late January with the submission of a 'research report' in English, and the year-long experience provided each student with significant food for thought for their research in their third year.
In preparing posters and research reports, it was difficult to write arguments in academic English. I received a lot of advice from my seniors on grammar and expression.
QIAO Yuqi
(from China)
Different countries have diverse cultural backgrounds and values. Through discussions with everyone, I learnt about diverse ways of thinking and new ideas.
LU Zijing
(from China)
What we can learn especially
from field research
Unlike classroom learning and literature research, field research often does not go as smoothly as we would like, and it is a constant struggle. However, there are many things we can learn because of this.
Many universities in Japan are now promoting globalization, and many international students are studying here. On the other hand, the real appeal of studying abroad is not only learning about language and theory in university classes, but also interacting with the people who actually live there and learning about the culture and history of the region. By actually going out into the field and working with the government and local people, you can pursue solutions to real social problems, such as the decline in the farming population. The opportunity for problem-based learning is what makes field research so appealing.
In this project, international students, who had only been in Japan for six months, worked with Japanese students on various initiatives, such as interviewing local farmers, participating in farm work and holding opinion-exchange meetings with city hall officials, and eventually presented their research, including policy recommendations. Many of the international students also said that they had never had any contact with local citizens when just studying at university, so this class was the first time they were able to interact with ordinary Japanese people, families and children, and understand the real Japan.
What the students have achieved over the past year is truly indicative of the potential of the CRPS program, the college of Policy Sciences and Ritsumeikan University.
I believe that the students, both international and Japanese, have not only acquired research skills but have also grown significantly as people by coming into contact with people in society, outside of the university.
SAKURAI Ryo
Associate Professor
It was difficult to keep up with the discussions in English, but I was glad that I was able to talk with international students not only about our research but also about many other things about each other, and then we became friends.
KIKUCHI Yume
（from Japan）