In April of 2018, Kanazawa Technical College (KTC) will open the new school year as International College of Technology Kanazawa (ICT). The educational program planned for this transformation is radically different from anything a Japanese 5-year College of Technology (or Kosen) has tried before. It combines an intensive education on a boarding-style campus with compulsory overseas study and collaborative projects from local communities and industries in a primarily English curriculum. How does a school originally founded to produce factory workers in the Kosen system evolve into an internationally-minded, interdisciplinary engineering school with a focus on authentic design projects? This talk will illustrate the social, organizational, and human factors that have driven KTC to become international in a comparison of the historical context of the Kosen system to modern drivers for change.

1. The Evolution of
Kanazawa Technical College
FROM INDUSTRIAL AGE
TO INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
2018 CDIO ASIAN REGIONAL MEETING
12 – 14 MARCH, DUY TAN UNIVERSITY
DA NANG, VIETNAM
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2. A New System of Higher Education
“Leaders of Global Innovation”
English-first class environment
Interdisciplinary curriculum
Context of ethical engineering
with community projects
This requires:
◦ Socioeconomic demand
◦ Organizational flexibility
◦ “Hybrid” human resources
International
College of
Technology
(ICT)
Kanazawa
Technical
College
(KTC)

3. Industrialization of Japan
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/japan_modern_timeline.htm
1868 Meiji restoration and modernization begins
1890 to 1930 Industrialization and expansion
1931 to 1945 Militarization and the Pacific War
1955 Economy restored to prewar production levels
1960s to 1980s Industrial Age: record growth levels averaging 10% a year
1980s to Present Recession, political “chaos”, rising strength of Asian neighbors

4. College of Technology (CoT or Kosen)
Founded in the Industrial Age (1961)
Response to a high demand from industry for
young, technically skilled factory workers
5-year integration of general high school
education with specialized technical courses
Today:
51 national schools
3 private schools (including KTC)
http://www.kanazawa-tc.ac.jp/en/e_what/

5. Monozukuri Education
Monozukuri literally translates to “making things”
A fusion of Japanese craftsmanship with
manufacturing culture
Seizo and seisan are used for
“production” and “manufacturing”, but
monozukuri includes ambiguous and intangible
aspects—the spirit and philosophy of pursuing
perfection in making things
http://www.japanintercultural.com/en/news/default.aspx?newsid=88

6. Monozukuri Education
Example: Toyota City
Japan’s No. 1 manufacturing city with over 350
automobile-related factories
Over USD 120 billion in production value (2014)
Focus on creating manufacturers
◦ Monozukuri Mirai School
◦ Monozukuri Ikki-tsukan Engineer Training Program
◦ Car-making Expert Project
http://www2.city.toyota.aichi.jp/guide/english/outline/3000213.html

7. 21st Century Education
Globalization
Lesser demand in the quantity of engineers with low- to mid-level ability
Greater demand in the quality of engineers with international mobility
Diverse communities and sets of values
Advanced Information Society
Ways we work, live, and learn are all changing with technologies like AI & IoT
Quick and easy access to information on the Internet

8. 6 Problems with our School System
https://youtu.be/okpg-lVWLbE
NEXT School, Mumbai

9. No interaction between students
Isolated information context (i.e., no Internet)
Many students bored because they are ahead,
or confused because they are behind
https://youtu.be/okpg-lVWLbE
NEXT School, Mumbai
6. Lecturing
Differences in how fast students learn
Different effectiveness of tools and resources
System punishes those who cannot learn
through predefined methods
5. How we learn

10. https://youtu.be/okpg-lVWLbE
NEXT School, Mumbai
Key to fulfillment is to find one’s passion
No way to measure unrecognized talent
Students struggle with questions like,
“How do I fit into this world?”
4. No room for passion
Learning that relies on memorization
Generic set of knowledge defined by system
Unhealthy culture values test scores that
reflect retention ability
3. Inauthentic learning

11. https://youtu.be/okpg-lVWLbE
NEXT School, Mumbai
Every minute is controlled by the system
Managing one’s own time is a necessary skill
Autonomy is required to foster intrinsic
motivation, critical to effective learning
2. Lack of autonomy
Following instructions all day long
Good behavior is doing exactly as you are told
Values that make successful factory workers
(e.g., robots)
1. Industrial Age values

12. Before ICT
5-year engineering programs
Integrated general studies
Up to 120 incoming students in 3 departments
◦ Electrical and Electronic Engineering
◦ Mechanical Engineering
◦ Global Information and Management
Optional study abroad programs
◦ 2nd-year summer, 1 month
◦ 3rd-year full-term, 10 months
◦ 4th-year fall, 1 week
Interdisciplinary extracurricular activities:
◦ National Robotics Contest
◦ National Programming Contest
◦ Mini Hydro-Electric Power Design Contest

13. The KIT and KTC Campus
KTC is overseen by the same Board of Directors as
Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT).
Many students transfer to KIT after graduating KTC.
New reforms are often collaborative and share
resources between KIT and KTC.
KTC
KIT

14. KTC English Reform – “Global Engineers”
In 1992, Prof. Mamoru Mukai was promoted to Associate Director of
International Programs
◦ MA in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Saint Michael’s
College in Vermont, USA.
Began initiative to make English classes small, communication-focused
and taught by native speakers with TESL degrees
Expanded study abroad programs through international relationships
◦ Singapore Polytechnic (SP) in Singapore – MoU for exchange programs (1995)
◦ Saint Michel’s College in Vermont, USA – Summer English intensive study
program (from 1994)
◦ Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin, New Zealand – Certificate in English and
Engineering program (from 2002)

15. International Mobility of Graduates
Foreign nationals and native speakers of English hired to teach all classes
◦ Over 1/3 of faculty are non-Japanese
◦ English skills classes → Engineering classes → Science & Math classes
CLE2 – Collaborative Learning in Engineering and English (2010 to present)
◦ Native English-speaking engineering faculty hired in each department (2009)
◦ Team-teaching with Japanese faculty for engineering classes taught in English
◦ Received 3-year “Good Practice” grant from the Japanese government
http://www.kanazawa-tc.ac.jp/information/manabi/

16. Quality of Engineering Graduates
Engineering Design Education (from 1996)
◦ Self-directed problem discovery and problem solving skills based on data gathering and analysis
◦ Became “Project Design” at KIT after observing Project-Based Learning at US schools (2008)
CDIO (recommended by SP in 2006)
◦ KTC joined CDIO Initiative in December, 2010; then KIT joined in June, 2011
◦ Administrative groundwork spurred on by the KTC Secretary General
Design Thinking (inspired by SP in 2010)
◦ Strengthens the “Conceive” and “Design” phases of CDIO
◦ Prof. Omihito Matsushita acquired a Master of Design Methods from the Institute of Design, Illinois
Institute of Technology (2012)
◦ From April, Prof. Matsushita will be the Dean of the Department of Science and Technology at ICT

17. Fostering
Global Talent:
Learning Express
Annual SP program (since 2013)
Multi-national cross-disciplinary
student teams
Initiatives to tackle
environmental problems &
industrial vitalization in
developing countries
Discovering issues from a local
perspective and proposing
appropriate solutions
English as a
subject
English for
communication
Social
Context
Academic
Context
• Current English
• World Affairs
• Short-term Study
Abroad Programs• Reading
• English for
Certification Tests
• Business English
• Long-term Study
Abroad Programs
• General Grammar
• Social Contributions /
Value Creation
• Cross-Disciplinary
Cooperation
• English Visiting
Lectures
Learning Experiences that
employ Design Thinking

18. ICT - The Final Push
In 2014, an American was inaugurated as the 7th KTC president
◦ “KTC 2020 Vision” emphasizes CDIO, Globalization, Continued Education
Pressure to be different from other Kosen schools
◦ Shortcomings of locally-based student supply
◦ Emphasis on our strongpoint of global exchange programs & English
◦ Desire for fully-integrated, intensive English STEM courses
In 2015, the need to become a new school combining boarding-style
intensive courses with compulsory study abroad was realized