On May 17, 2026, the final presentations and award ceremony for the “Town & Gown Innovation Challenge” were held at the Global Learning Center on the third floor of Hiroshima University’s West Library.
This program is part of the “Multicultural Campus Project Toward Social Impact” * (1), implemented under the Town & Gown Initiative, a collaboration between Hiroshima University and local communities. It utilizes a problem-based experiential learning approach co-developed by Hiroshima University and Arizona State University, enabling students to tackle real-world challenges faced by local industries and society* (2).
For this Innovation Challenge, Sanki Sangyo Co., Ltd. participated as the challenge provider. Student teams, including international students and graduate students, worked on the addressing theme: “Promoting the Appeal of Temporary Electrical Construction Work and Generating New Interest in the Construction Industry.” The participants developed proposals from diverse perspectives to tackle on this challenge.
Sanki Sangyo Co., Ltd. specializes in temporary electrical installations for construction sites and plays an essential role in large-scale civil engineering projects requiring advanced technical expertise, including tunnel and dam construction. The company provides comprehensive services covering the design, installation, inspection, maintenance, and removal of temporary electrical facilities used during construction projects, primarily throughout the Chugoku and Kyushu regions.
Prior to the challenge, students were asked to imagine themselves as job seekers and consider what information they would want to know when visiting a company’s recruitment website for the first time. Through this exercise, they reflected on the concerns, expectations, and interests of prospective applicants.
Students then deepened their understanding of temporary electrical construction work, workplace environments, and challenges facing the industry through a company presentation and Q&A session conducted by Sanki Sangyo Co., Ltd.
From the perspective of potential applicants, each team discussed and developed proposals focusing on topics such as:
- Specific job responsibilities after joining the company
- Workplace safety and support for obtaining professional qualifications
- Creating an inclusive environment for women and individuals without prior career experience of the industry
- Improving perceptions or images of the construction industry
- Communicating the company’s social contributions and unique strengths to the public
After careful evaluation, Group 2 received the Grand Prize for its proposal, “Visualizing Job Responsibilities Through a Recruitment Website Prototype.” The following three students wereparticularly recognized for awards:
- Chihiro Sakashita (School of Informatics and Data Science)
- Shigea Furusato (School of Integrated Arts and Sciences)
- HSIEH CHI LIN (Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering)
At the award ceremony, students presented both their proposals and the processes through which they developed their ideas. The event also featured active discussions and exchanges of opinions between the student participants and representatives from Sanki Sangyo Co., Ltd.
Hiroshima University remains committed to cultivating human resources capable of addressing local challenges through initiatives such as this one.
*(1) About the Town & Gown Initiative
This initiative seeks to promote regional revitalization by integrating the administrative resources of Higashihiroshima City (“Town”) and the educational and research assets of Hiroshima University (“Gown”) to address local challenges. The goal is to implement scientific and technological innovation in society and foster talented human resources through community co-creation, leading to sustainable regional development and university evolution.
*(2) About the Multicultural Campus Project Toward Social Impact
This MEXT initiative supports multicultural collaborative learning between Japanese and international students. Through such interaction, the program aims to foster education and research activities that contribute to proposing and implementing solutions for domestic and global issues, ultimately creating broad “social impact.” Hiroshima University was selected for this project in November 2024.
