? The Shikoku Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (SPOD) Forum 2019 took place on August 28th to 30th at the main campus of Ehime University, attended by 535 people coming from over 120 higher educational institutions across the country.
? SPOD consists of 35 national, public and private universities, and junior and technical colleges, based in Shikoku. Through this intercollegiate network, SPOD trains university faculty and staff to be professionals who have practical abilities to help students enrich their learning and personal growth.
? As one of SPOD’s featured events, the SPOD Forum has been held each year since 2009. This year’s forum, co-hosted by SPOD and Ehime University, included a total of 40 programs provided by 55 lecturers and a session of 21 poster presentations.
? At the symposium, lectures were presented on the theme of “How to increase an organization’s power in university education” by President Atsushi Hamana of Kansai University of International Studies, and other invited speakers. A panel discussion and a Q&A session also took place on this theme, encouraging active exchange of opinions.
? The next SPOD Forum is scheduled to be held at Kochi University on August 26th to 28th, 2020.
