Q-AOS, in collaboration with the Headquarters for Future Society Design (FS Headquarters) and the Platform for Integrated Knowledge and Future Education Design at the Faculty of Design, will offer an upper-division general education course titled “Social Inclusion and Design B” in the Summer Term of AY2026, utilizing lecture videos from the Brown Bag Seminar (BBS) series. In this course, social inclusion is reframed not as a matter of ideals or goodwill, but as a “structure” shaped by the design of institutions, spaces, language, technologies, and evaluation systems. By also incorporating opportunities to participate in BBS sessions, the course aims to develop an education model that can be scaled and shared both within and beyond the university.

A field study was held in Manila, Philippines, from February 8 (Sun) through February 14 (Sat), 2026, organized by Associate Prof. Mami Wakabayashi. Four graduate students (Ms. Ayuri Ichimaru from the Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Department of Educational Systems, Ms.Binti Mohd Azmil Nurlisa, and Ms. Hana Hashiguchi from the Graduate School of Agriculture, and Ms. Otoha Kemori from the Graduate School of Engineering) and Assist Prof. Heloísa Seratiuk Florens participated. Focusing on the theme of "child poverty," the students conducted on-site inspections and interviews at the University of the Philippines Manila School of Nursing, the Asian Development Bank, the NGO Kanlungan sa ERMA (Child Protection Shelter), the University of the Philippines Hospital Child Protection Unit (Child Care Center), and the Tondo neighborhood (a slum area) let by NGO BYSMP Bless the Children Foundation. Additionally, at KYUDAI NOW Philippines, students presented their research posters to clearly communicate with local students and faculties which have different fields. The day before KYUDAI NOW, official visits to the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University were conducted, with which our university has exchange agreements. As part of pre-departure training, orientations and explanations of assignments were held on December 12, 2025, and January 16, 2026. As part of post-departure training, group presentations were held on March 10, 2026. The contents of the students' group presentations are listed below. ▶Click here for the materials Through academic exchange at the international forum and fieldstudy on-site, the participating students gained diverse perspectives and recognized the importance of forming international networks. The students conducted observations based on their respective areas of expertise and gained a broader perspective through cross-disciplinary collaboration.   Interview at NGO Kanlungan sa ERMA (Child protection shelter) Interview at Child Protection Unit (Child care center） Courtesy visit at college of nursing in the University of the Philippines Manila Visiting a slam area let by NGO BYSMP Bless the Children Foundation

As part of the international collaboration and implementation activities within the Portable Health Clinic (PHC) module, a training session for the maternal and child health follow-up survey and a reporting meeting on previous activities were conducted in Bangladesh. Prof. Kikuchi, Assoc. Prof. Wakabayashi, Asst. Prof. Ajishi, and colleagues conducted an on-site visit from 6–7 March 2026. Furthermore, following TICAD 9 (the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development), the PHC is being applied in the maternal and child health sectors in Sudan and Zambia, utilizing insights accumulated through activities in Bangladesh. a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Volunteer receiving training for the survey: a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Pregnant woman receiving a PHC (Portable Health Clinic) consultation: a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Photo from the on-site reporting session:

1.  Naoki Nakashima (Professor, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University) 2. Rafiqul Islam（Research Associate Professor, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative, Kyushu University） 3. Ashir Ahmed（Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University) 4. Mariko Nishikitani（Associate Professor, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative, Kyushu University） 5. Kimiyo Kikuchi（Professor, Institute for Asian and Oceanian Studies, Kyushu University） 6. Yoko Sato（Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University） 7. Rieko Izukura（Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki） 8. Akane Anai（Assistant Professor, Food Study Center, Fukuoka Women's University）

Transdisciplinary Research Funding (Kyushu University)

Globally, nations are scaling up exploratory efforts to establish resource optimized circular economies to replace wasteful linear economies. These efforts require understanding of systems optimization, design thinking, contextual sensitivities, and high levels of collaboration. In order to foster the transition, widespread change will be needed to infrastructure, purchasing policies, corporate strategy, waste management systems and consumer behavior. This project aims to leverage Prof. Valentine`s global work with corporate CE strategy development to promote capacity building in CE strategy development in Japanese corporations.   Figure 1: Overview of the Circular Economy