Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS), Kobe University
On March 19th, 2022, professor Ogawa delivered a presentation as a keynote speaker under the theme of Learning “Loss” and “Gain” under COVID-19 in Japanese Higher Education at the International Hybrid-Conference on Post-COVID Japan: Economy, Politics, Society, Culture and Literature, organized by the University of Dhaka.
Professor Ogawa illustrated learning loss and gains in Japanese higher education under the COVID-10 pandemic and demonstrated important lessons from the Japanese government’s and Japanese universities’ response to maintain the quality of education. He pointed out three main challenges that Japanese higher education faced under the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) limitations of online learning environments, (2) difficulty of practical skills development by students, and (3) a decline in the enrollment of international students. University students were also restricted from entering campuses across Japan, so some of them had to change their research methods and/or topics for their thesis, and some students have struggled with mental health issues.
The Japanese government has supported students financially and promoted ICT-teaching. Some universities supported students’ mental health and held a special seminar for academic research methods. Professor Ogawa mentioned that there are some learning gains that might have occurred for students experiencing new types of learning opportunities during the pandemic, such as: 1) accelerating digitalization in higher education; 2) options for distance learning class modality; and 3) expansion of global networking opportunities.
Authored by Kohei Uno (Master Student)
