https://www.sophia.ac.jp/eng/news/0325COIL.html

As part of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Program supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), the online program “Inclusive Leadership: Creating Cultures of Innovation, Engagement, and Belonging” was held from March 1 to 5 with Gonzaga University in the State of Washington one of our partner universities.

Under the theme of inclusive leadership, the students learned about the history and examples of leadership in the U.S. and around the world from the perspective of gender and race. Through a variety of case studies, including the impact of diversity on the work environment, faculty members, guest speakers and other participants shared their experiences and discussed issues that need to be resolved.

On the 3rd, Ms. Charlotte Nemec, the female CEO of Canopy Credit Union, a credit union based in Spokane, Washington, USA, participated as a guest speaker and shared her experiences leading up to her appointment as CEO. She also gave a practical presentation on a specific problem she faced while running her business, in which each group of students had to come up with a solution.

On the 4th, Dr. Li Yang, the lecturer for this program, gave a lecture. She is from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, a region known for its rich diversity. She introduced the everyday scenery of the region and her own background with slides of her own photos. Dr.Yang’s lecture, which was based on her own experiences, attracted a great deal of interest from the students as an example of how to study the program’s topics of leadership, gender, and diversity.

Considering the current state of the new coronavirus infection, this program was conducted via Zoom from each participant’s location. Although the participants were not able to visit the site for the program, they were able to make full use of the unique online features such as chatting and voting functions, which enabled active exchange of opinions among the faculty and participating students in addition to the individual presentations.