Educational Couse

The "Next Environment" Collaborative Creation Course, a human resource development project of the Doshisha-Daikin "Next Environment" Research Center, is a program to foster human resources with new perspectives and technologies that can drastically solve environmental problems through collaboration between Doshisha University and Daikin Industries, Ltd.

Global population growth, increasing instability in international affairs, climate change, rising energy demand, and resource constraints—together with the rapid advancement of technological innovations such as generative AI—have brought us to a point where conventional academic disciplines and organizational frameworks alone are no longer sufficient to address these complex issues. To confront this “Next Environment,” technological innovation related to global environmental challenges—such as the development of renewable energy technologies and carbon dioxide recycling—must be complemented by multifaceted perspectives that include ethics, culture, and social institutions, as well as a spirit of co-creation, in which people from diverse backgrounds think and create together.

Grounded in Doshisha University’s educational philosophy of “conscience” as its spiritual foundation, this course provides a co-learning environment in which graduate students and working professionals study together. Through this shared learning experience, the course aims to cultivate the integration of knowledge across the sciences and the humanities, as well as practical capabilities for envisioning and proposing future societies. By transcending traditional academic boundaries and integrating insights from the natural sciences with those of the humanities and social sciences, the course enables a holistic approach to environmental issues. In addition, strengthened industry–academia collaboration plays a key role in developing participants’ practical problem-solving skills.

Opened in April 2021, the course has attracted many students and working professionals to participate and address environmental issues. It is expected that future graduates of this course will become leaders in addressing global environmental problems and contribute to the realization of a sustainable future.

We hope that the Next Environment Collaborative Creation Course will serve as an important platform for dialogue and challenge that transcends disciplinary boundaries and professional positions, providing diverse individuals with opportunities to grow into leaders of future society. We invite you to take this opportunity to participate in the course and become part of the next wave of environmental innovation.