Exchange between ABS students and “Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship” in Tokushima Prefecture - Book Bridge Project

ABS students selected 75 books for technical college students (“novels” and literary books for 16-18 year olds to read) and donated them with a message card

Volunteer students of the Aoyama Gakuin University Graduate School of International Management (Aoyama Business School: ABS) selected 75 books of novels and literary works with message cards to be donated to technical college students (15-20 years old) as an exchange activity with the Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Tokushima Prefecture, with which they have close ties through collaborative classes.

This activity, which started with a group of students in the ABS class “Civic Engagement Project” (taught by Professor Kenshi Miyazoe) in the 2023 academic year, was voluntarily continued in the 2024 academic year, and the donation has recently been completed. Specifically, ABS students, as members of society, selected books that they wish they had read when they were 15-20 years old when they looked back on their lives (“novel” literary books were selected for FY2024), as they could offer some kind of learning experience to technical college students, and wrote their thoughts on a message card. The target number of books for this fiscal year was set at 50, but 75 books were collected, far exceeding the target, including those donated by ABS faculty members.

The core members of this year's group are: Hiroshi Fukui (Evening course enrollment: 2023) and DAI DONGYU (Daytime course enrollment: 2023) (continuing to be in charge of the group from last year).

In response, we received the following comments of appreciation from Mr. Takanori Matsuzaka, Executive Director of “Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship,” and Mr. Ryo Fujikawa, in charge of the library.
-Thank you very much for your support this year! We look forward to seeing our students encounter new worlds as we select books from a different axis than last time.” (Mr. Matsuzaka)
-Thank you very much for your donation of books this year. We have received your request to focus mainly on novels, and when we looked at the lineup of books you have sent, we could feel your passion and consideration for the students. All of the books are very interesting and will be a valuable learning opportunity for our students. We will make good use of the books as part of our educational activities as part of the collection of the Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship Library. (Mr. Fujikawa)

In the summer of 2025, “Practical Theory of Regional Development - Kamiyama Project” (led by Visiting Professor Shinya Ominami and Professor Kenshi Miyazoe), which includes a three-day stay in Kamiyama and on-site research, will be offered again, with plans to visit the “Kamiyama Marugoto College of Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship”.