On 24 August 2021, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced the selection of the FY2021 Program to Promote Support for Students with Disabilities in Study and Employment.
This program aims to improve support for students with disabilities throughout higher education institutions by forming a platform for universities with advanced initiatives and a great deal of knowledge to work together. Furthermore, the program expects that the participation of other universities and institutions in this platform will further promote collaboration between universities and individuals and enable systematic problem solving, including the sharing of information and know-how.
On 21 May 2021, MEXT sent an open call for applications to the heads of universities, junior colleges, and technical colleges and received four applications and received four applications by 30 June. Based on the selection results by the Committee for the Promotion of Support for Students with Disabilities in Study and Employment, MEXT adopted two projects.
The adopted projects are listed below.
University |
Project Outline |
Representative: The University of Tokyo Joint Applicants: The University of Tsukuba The University of Toyama |
This project has three core components to support students with disabilities: I. Operation of a consultation service for universities and students nationwide, on support for students with disabilities and support for transition to employment II. implementation of specialized training programs for universities (mainly online seminars on academic and employment support) III. The implementation of a program for the transition to work in cooperation with industry, academia, and government through holding town meetings throughout Japan With these three pillars as the project's core to support the study and career transition of students with disabilities, the project will put them into practice after establishing a nationwide structure to realize the cooperation with universities, private companies, and government agencies. In addition, the project will effectively realize three pillars by collaborating with joint applicant universities as a core, using the collaboration that the University of Tokyo has developed. The latter collaboration includes a network of 124 universities, companies, and organizations throughout Japan developed through the "Platform Formation Project on Disability and Higher Education" and the "Project to Promote Support for Students with Disabilities' Study and Career Transition." And the eight specialized committees in collaboration with universities and companies, the AHEAD JAPAN involving more than 100 universities nationwide, and the collaboration with regional networks throughout Japan that PHED has implemented. |
Representative: Kyoto University Joint Applicants: Osaka University Tsukuba University of Technology Hiroshima University |
This project aims to strengthen the support network for students with disabilities in higher education institutions and establish standards. In order to achieve this objective, the project has three phases: [1] support for connecting and transitioning from upper secondary school to university (including technical colleges), [2] support for studying after entering university, including the provision of reasonable accommodation, and [3] support for transitioning into society, including employment support for university students. The project will implement the following concrete measures:
Each program aims not to have a one-time effect but to have a continuous ripple effect. Furthermore, it aims to establish and improve the standard of this field by disseminating the projects' outcomes widely, without limiting them to specific regions. |
For more information, please visit the website below.
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/gakuseishien/1397590_00003.htm