Let’s think about solving problems through manga story making! Call for participants: ‘Multicultural Collaborative Field Study Aimed at Solving Local Issues in Daigo Town, Ibaraki Prefecture’!
2026.05.14
Daigo Town, located in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, boasts abundant tourist attractions such as Fukuroda Falls; however, it also faces various challenges stemming from a declining birth rate, an ageing population and climate change. This programme involves investigating the current state of Daigo Town’s challenges through fieldwork and proposing solutions from multicultural perspectives both within Japan and abroad. In particular, to gain a concrete understanding of how these challenges and their solutions will impact the lives of stakeholders, participants will be asked to devise a manga story set in Daigo Town.
- Activity Schedule
1 July 2026: Pre-programme study; briefing on Daigo Town and its challenges (combined with on-demand learning)
3 July: Travel to Daigo Town; fieldwork (site visits to relevant locations)
4 July: Fieldwork (investigation of challenges)
5 July: Group work (analysis of challenges, formulation of solutions, and creation of manga story concepts)
6 July: Presentation of results (in Japanese) and feedback session in front of Daigo Town officials.
8 July: Post-programme learning (on-campus results presentation) and closing ceremony.
- Number of places available: 9
- Participation Requirements
Any full-time undergraduate, Master’s or first-year PhD student, or exchange student is eligible to participate, regardless of discipline or nationality.
Participants are requested to attend the entire programme.
As group work will involve students of different nationalities, a level of English proficiency sufficient for everyday conversation is desirable.
- Costs
Participants will be required to cover the actual costs of accommodation (at the town’s training centre), rental bicycles for local travel, and admission fees to facilities.
We are currently arranging support for the above expenses.
We will charter a bus for travel between Tsukuba University and the venue, and we will cover the cost of this.
- Credits and Certificate of Completion
As this programme is an extracurricular activity, no academic credits will be awarded. However, participants who attend the entire programme and are recognised by the University as having achieved the intended learning outcomes will be awarded a Certificate of Completion, along with Open Badges (*) indicating their level of attainment in each competency.
*Open Badges are digital certificates and credentials issued in accordance with globally recognised technical standards. They are awarded as data rather than physical items and are centrally managed in a personal ‘Open Badge Wallet’. Awarded Open Badges can be shared on social media and used as evidence of one’s learning history. Open Badges for this programme will be issued via JV Campus.
- Registration
Please access the registration form via the link below and fill in the required details. If the number of applicants exceeds the available places, participants will be selected based on their application forms.
The deadline is 9.00 pm on 29 May 2026 (Extended until June 5!).
Learn more about the program [here]