About the Center for Science and Engineering Education and Research Infrastructure
The Center for Science and Engineering Education and Research Infrastructure (hereinafter referred to as the “Infrastructure Center”) is an organization that was created in the process of planning the establishment of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, which started in the fiscal year 2016, and the background and purpose of its establishment are presented below.
At the beginning of this article, we will include excerpts from past explanations by Dr. Funasaki, the former director of the Center.
The discussion on the establishment of the Faculty of Science and Engineering started amidst the great swell of national university reform, and its specifics were conceived as part of measures to strengthen the functions of Iwate University as a whole. The direction of the reorganization of the Faculty of Science and Engineering had been decided by the end of the 2013 academic year, which was to be realized by transferring science faculty members enrolled in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Hitotsubashi University), which is based on the Faculty of Engineering and is derived from the former Faculty of Liberal Arts, and by hiring science faculty members through the post of President of the university. However, discussions did not start from the beginning with the School of Science and Engineering, and there was a scenario in which the School of Engineering would remain as it was. After much discussion, the Faculty of Science and Engineering of Iwate University was born.
Although the transfer of JINESA science faculty members was one of the important factors in the establishment of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, it was not just a simple reorganization of personnel, but also meant that the new Faculty of Science and Engineering would take over many of the basic specialized education functions that JINESA had previously handled. Based on the experience of past faculty reorganizations, there was a certain degree of common understanding within the faculty that it was necessary to establish an organization to take charge of basic specialized subjects, so we asked the faculty about the concept of establishing an organization to take charge of basic specialized education and eventually proposed it to the entire university. This was the impetus for the establishment of the Center.
The Center for Research Infrastructure has established organizations (divisions) that are in charge of tasks that are difficult to be handled by the conventional committee system and that are indispensable for new departmental operations.
Department of Basic Education for Science and Engineering
It is responsible for the implementation and administration of common courses in science and mathematics in the department and other faculties, and plays an important role in supporting student learning in a stacked science and engineering professional education.
Department of English Language Education
This department aims to strengthen English language education in the Faculty of Science and Engineering in order to achieve the educational goal of the Faculty of Science and Engineering to develop human resources for global science and engineering. In the midst of major changes in English education up to high school, the department is taking steps to improve the English language skills of faculty and students in the faculty, while taking into account university-wide developments and surveys of trends at other universities.
Special Program Division
The purpose of this department is to conduct quantitative research on admissions and plan effective public relations activities based on such research. The department analyzes detailed data, including surveys of trends at other universities, which are difficult for the Admissions Committee and Public Relations Committee to conduct, and shares the results with the Admissions Committee, Public Relations Committee, and other committees.
High School-University Collaboration and Connection Division
As a faculty, in addition to SSH and SPP, we have cooperated with science and mathematics education in high schools through science and mathematics subject research, academic internships in laboratories, etc., but various problems began to arise because we were responding at the level of individual teachers. Therefore, we established this organization with the aim of strengthening the cooperation between high schools and universities by providing systematic support for science and mathematics education, supporting the development of high school students who are interested in science and mathematics, and carrying out activities to increase interest in Iwate University’s Faculty of Science and Technology.
Admissions and Entrance Examination Public Relations Division
The purpose of this department is to conduct quantitative research on entrance examinations and plan effective public relations activities based on such research. Full-time faculty members of the Admission Center join the department to analyze detailed data, including surveys of trends at other universities, which are difficult for the Admission Committee to conduct, and share the results with the Admission Committee and others.
Education Improvement Department
It is an important organization for implementing the PDCA cycle in terms of education within the faculty, promoting the use of WebClass, conducting a web-based class survey each semester and summarizing the results, advising on how to improve classes based on the analysis of the results, and providing FD training. Our efforts on class improvement are clearly shown in the results of the class survey, and contribute significantly to compensating the quality of education in the department.
Global Researcher Development Division
Division of Global Researcher Development This division was introduced when the Department of Science and Engineering was established in 2009, and its purpose is to support the Global Researcher Development Program, which corresponds to a special program within the Department.
The above is an overview of the Center and its divisions. The Center is an organization that supports education and research in the Faculty of Science and Engineering in various aspects, and we would like to further enhance the Center’s activities with the cooperation of all members of the Faculty.
Organization
| Center for Education and Research Infrastructure | Department |
|---|---|
| Department of Basic Education for Science and Engineering | |
| Department of English Language Education | |
| Special Program Division | |
| High School-University Collaboration and Connection Division | |
| Admissions and Entrance Examination Public Relations Division | |
| Education Improvement Department | |
| Global Researcher Development Division |