2021 Cohort
14
edits
Changes
== 2. Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship: ==
Sophia University is continuously developing as a higher education institution. In recent years, it has shifted away from a classical discipline-based institution to one that aims to be more innovative and student-centered. An example is the Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA), which offers English-taught undergraduate degrees. This faculty has increased interactions between Japanese and international students, and many of its professors have been at the うuniversity’s university’s forefront in adopting innovative teaching methods.
Recently, Sophia University has been increasingly focused on the environment and sustainable development. Many of its programs have conscientiously incorporated courses related to the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs (a set of global goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015). As a prominent institution for research and higher education in the fields of social sciences, humanities and natural sciences, Sophia University was one among 37 Japanese universities to be selected for the “Top Global University Project” – a funding project initiated by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to support the innovation and internationalization efforts of universities. Based on this project, Sophia University launched a new English-based undergraduate program called “Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures” (SPSF) in the fall of 2020. This program brings together seven different disciplines (journalism, education, sociology, economics, management, international relations, and area studies) and is designed to foster interdisciplinary and action-oriented learning.