by Ellen Mashiko

　

The meeting based on an agenda of inter-related sessions has provided a forum for:

　

Despite differences in circumstances, views and priorities, there is general consensus that academic excellence, commitment, determination, continuity, sustained development, relevance, added-value, feasibility, timing, incremental development, security in relation to database-related matters, creating a sense of belonging and identity, taking a participatory approach and collaboration are important to the SYLFF Program. Moreover, there is commitment to opening horizons for SYLFF fellows and by engaging SYLFF institutions and fellows in planning and implementation.

The proceedings of this meeting will be prepared by the Scholarship Division for dissemination to all participants by end-January 2003 to facilitate reporting and further consultations with the respective SYLFF Steering Committees.

　

　

Welcome remarks by Hideyuki Tokuda, Dean, Graduate School of Media and Governance

The Dean welcomed the participants to the Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) of Keio University and presented basic facts about Keio.

　

Keio was founded in 1858 and is the oldest private university in Japan. It comprises five campuses and has eight affiliated schools (one elementary, three junior high, and three senior high schools, and Keio Academy of New York). With nine undergraduate faculties and nine graduate schools, Keio boasts an enrollment of 31,235 undergraduate and 3,494 graduate students. Keio's Graduate School of Media and Governance is located on the newest campus, SFC, which was created in 1990 to deal with challenges of education in the 21^st century.

　

Three undergraduate faculties at SFC have adopted an innovative curriculum for their 4,000+ students. Courses are divided in three areas with 15 clusters; all undergraduate students are required to undertake foreign language study (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian/Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, or Spanish) as well as computer education. The graduate curriculum is divided into 15 programs with participation in research projects. Graduate students join a project usually as early as the second year of their graduate program, and they are allowed to tailor their course work to the project they work on. Undergraduate students are also welcome to join these projects.

　

Professor Tokuda next introduced WIDE, a program that provides an on-line lecture archive as well as on-demand video streaming to students, and distance learning to Keio students. All five campuses are connected by a university network, which is the fastest university network in Japan.

　

Professor Chiyokura introduced distance learning facilities and the ways in which technology is being used to facilitate learning at SFC. Professor Thiesmeyer introduced projects on network governance which are currentlybeing conducted at the Graduate School for Media and Governance.

　

Q (Julia Gonzales): Do you plan to develop the migration project?

A (Lynn Thiesmeyer): Problem-consciousness is what we try to foster in our students. The faculty work on both policy and project levels, but students work only on the project level so that they can come to grips with the pertinent issues.

Q (Ersin Onulduran): How much are tuition fees? Is it possible to generate income through the projects you conduct?

A (Lynn Thiesmeyer): Tuition fees are approximately US$10,000 a year. The Asian Distance Learning project that we are currentlyimplementing does not provide funding for salaries.

Q (Orlando Taylor): We are all interested in the topic of networks, especially virtual ones. Are you making sure that your systems are compatible outside Asia?

A (Lynn Thiesmeyer): We concentrate more on building the systems for specific purposes than to making them compatible.

Q (Daniel Warner): You said that the ratio of undergraduate versus graduate students is 30:1, but most projects seem to be done only on the graduate level.

A (Lynn Thiesmeyer): Projects involve both graduate and undergraduate students, but the university makes an administrative distinction between the two; graduate students may receive funding for projects, undergraduate students must pay themselves, although they can receive credits for work completed.

Q (Tim Sullivan): (1)What is the literacy rate in developing countries in which you implement your projects? (2)What is the gender ratio of your students?

A (Lynn Thiesmeyer): (1)Students themselves are usually 95% literate, but this is not necessarily the case with their parents. (2)At the undergraduate level it is roughly equal; at the graduate level we have more male students.