Click here to read the 2nd Association of Design Departments and Schools in Japanese Public Universities Conference report article (first part)
A question-and-answer session was followed, after the three universities presented their reports. Below are some of the questions and answers discussed.

Saga University “Resilience for Creation – What kind of ability to survive in this future?”

Tokyo Metropolitan University　”How do you provide support to　students during regular classes?”

Saga University　”Now that everything is online, the reality is that classes are not possible without students’ help. I have seminar students in their second and third years to help me in the Teacher Assistant (TA) type of work. The workload on the faculty members is much greater than when they are offline. We have no choice but to move out of the traditional class format, and we are doing whatever we can. Since the introduction of online classes, some students have not been able to attend. However, it is unclear whether it is a problem with the connection or motivation. I have already counselled a new student who is considering taking a leave of absence. A seminar student who heard about this offered to support the student. There is a lot of opportunities to help those in vulnerable situations.”

Shizuoka University of Art and Culture　”I was impressed by the fact that the VR Open Campus was organized mainly by students. Did you have any back-up from faculty members or the university administration for the event?”

Saga University　”Initially, the Admission Office was working with an external vendor to come up with a web-based open campus, but it was limited to distributing PDFs. As a researcher of VR, I was approached for a consultation. Hence, I asked my students if they would like to try something on a virtual SNS called ‘cluster’. It all started when I asked them if they would like to try something. The contents for the website were done by the Admission Office, the students, and me. For areas that we could not answer (such as the content of the entrance exam), we discussed it with the dean and the president.”

Kyushu University　”Did you have any ideas for making it easier for students to participate in classes?”

Saga University　”It’s a trivial thing, but when I took attendance in the chat room, I asked everyone to write ‘yes’ in reply. The system can take attendance records digitally, but I thought it would be a good way to show that they participated. Now that we are online, we are still figuring out how to evaluate the students. Although this is a slightly different story, the student group ‘Gechide no Tamago’ has set up a website where students can fill out questionnaires to evaluate teachers and classes. I feel that the students are seriously thinking about the way they should learn.”

Kyoto Institute of Technology “(Re)generating Japan – Speculating a New ‘New Normal’ after Coronavirus”

Aichi University of the Arts　”I agreed with the method of encouraging the participants’ independence and not having to listen to the teachers. What do you think is the role of the teachers in creativity?”

Kyoto Institute of Technology　”What I told the participants over and over again was that ‘design is not done by relying on tools’. I thoroughly conveyed to them that this was only a trace of trial and error, and it was something different from design. Our goal was to create an essential and basic design that could only be created through repeatedthought, action, and reflection. Since we did not have only design students this time, we asked them to face the challenge while questioning the method itself, in their own way, whether they could make it or not. For example, a team from a theater club at Waseda University created a ‘performance’ piece. I think this was the kind of thing that is called a ‘skit’ in design thinking.”

Aichi University of the Arts　”How necessary is the role of the faculty member as a mentor?”

Kyoto Institute of Technology　”During the virtual office hours, 26 participants came for consultations, and we provided detailed mentoring to them. On the contrary, for the rest of them, it was not necessary. The participants seemed to feel a sense of freedom in being able to do as they pleased spontaneously. I felt stifled by faculty and students’ fixed roles, especially since the start of online classes, which led me to this initiative.”

Tokyo Metropolitan University　”Only participants from Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) received credit for this exercise, and only three of the final 15 groups were able to submit their assignments. How do you evaluate it?”

Kyoto Institute of Technology　”At SFC, they have a program to reduce the number of compulsory subjects as much as possible from the first year, and to design their own learning. As a result, it is easy to have students who say, ‘I don’t have enough ability to complete the course, but I’ll try it because it’s interesting’ or ‘I can speak up, but I can’t move my hands’. This time around, there were many students who were not suitable for taking the course. They could not read the literature and could not keep up with technological trends. To prevent this, I thought I raised the bar by writing a voluminous manifesto and presenting a set of materials, but it did not work well. I am not sure if the solution to the problem of such students lies in the kind of cumulative learning that other universities are doing. On the other hand, even though no credits were given, 90% of the other students were able to submit their assignments. Students from Okinawa, New York, and London, in particular, felt strongly about the benefits of participating in distance learning. Today, after hearing about other universities’ efforts, I feel that this exercise was not a bottom-up approach, but rather a way to attract highly motivated students.”

Chibi University “The Case Study of Chiba University Design Course”

Kyushu University　”There is a hope that students, whether online or offline, will be able to infer ‘what the other person is thinking’ and take that into account as their own values, but are there any ideas for communication among students that can provide such things?”

Chiba University　”In an offline class, a comment on one student can be a comment on another student, and students often talk to each other about it. In an online class, a place for communication does not occur naturally. I still think it is important to set up a ‘unintended place’. After the class, if I let the students stay after I left, they would sometimes continue to talk for two or three hours. Even during the UX evaluation that I shared in my presentation, there was probably some chit-chat between senior and junior students.”

The 2nd Association of Design Departments and Schools in Japanese Public Universities Conference
November 7, 2020, Saturday Online (Zoom)

■Symposium 13:30～15:50
1.Opening Remarks 13:30～13:35
Masakazu Tani, Kyushu University Faculty of Design Vice President / Dean / Professor

2.Guest Greeting 13:35～13:45
Mr. Mitsunari Yoshida Director,  Education Division, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Mr. Takuya Kikuchi Deputy Director, Design Policy Office, Cool Japan Policy Division, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group,Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

3. Election of Chair 13:45～13:50

4. Theme “Coronavirus: New Lifestyle and Design” 13:50～15:50
（１）Report on efforts 13:50～14:50（20 minutes for each of the three universities）
・Saga University
・Chibi University
・Kyoto Institute of Technology
（２）Discussion 14:50～15:50

■ General meeting 16:00～17:00
(1) Report: Web site “Design Academia
(2) Discussion ・Meeting
Membership fee
Design Academia/Booklet and Website
Others

［Organizer］
Kyushu University Faculty of Design
Center for Designed Futures of Kyushu University

［Cooperation］
Japan Institute of Design Promotion