The HUSS Global Symbiosis Project Team at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) held the “KMU × UNU × TCU Sustainable Global Leadership Training Camp” in Tokyo, Japan, for seven days from July 26 to August 1, 2026, with 30 Kookmin University students participating. As part of a joint program with Tokyo City University (TCU), participants engaged in a social contribution-oriented Project-Based Learning (PBL) session centered on the theme of “Global Symbiosis and Improving Quality of Life,” during which Korean and Japanese students identified problems firsthand in local communities and collaboratively sought solutions.
 
Kookmin University and Tokyo City University began student exchanges last January, focusing on a Shinjuku field trip and learning activities; this program took that collaboration a step further by organizing a social contribution-oriented PBL in which students from both universities formed joint teams. Thirty students from Kookmin University and 11 students from Tokyo City University formed a total of six mixed Korean-Japanese teams to explore local community issues and devise solutions together, drawing on their diverse languages, majors, and cultural backgrounds.
 
The PBL project was centered on the Futako-Tamagawa area of Tokyo. Building on an introduction to the area and its challenges by Professor Im Hwa-jin of Tokyo City University and a special lecture titled “Public Space in Transition” by Sandy Jiyoon Kim, a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Planning at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the students toured the site firsthand and, working in teams, investigated everyday issues such as pedestrian environments, public spaces, transportation accessibility, and universal design.
 
Having previously examined global issues from an international perspective at UNU, the students applied this perspective to specific local community problems through the PBL collaboration with TCU students. They defined problems based on data and observations collected on-site and carried out the project by coordinating their opinions and developing concrete improvement ideas together.
 
The students also utilized generative AI and various digital tools throughout the project. They used these tools as collaborative resources to support translation, data organization, and communication while team members with different languages shared field survey findings, organized ideas, and created joint presentation materials.
 
Participating students cited the experience of walking through the Futako-Tamagawa area—observing transportation, the environment, safety facilities, and commercial districts—and examining the area’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through a SWOT analysis as a particularly memorable activity. In particular, they noted that they came to view universal design not merely as the installation of specific facilities, but from the perspective of the connection between people, the city, and nature. They also assessed that their perspective on problems broadened through the process of exchanging different viewpoints and ideas with Japanese students to derive improvement plans. Many also expressed that they gained a deep appreciation for the importance of collaboration through the process of creating a single final product that transcended language and cultural differences.
 
As a result, a total of six projects based on the actual living environment of Futako-Tamagawa were developed, including “Universal Design Development Strategy for Futako-Tamagawa,” “Observing a Pedestrian Environment and Proposing How to Improve It,” “Takashimaya Green Terrace 365,” and “Designing a City for Everyone.”
 
During the final presentation, all Korean and Japanese students divided roles to present in Korean, English, and Japanese, and three teams were selected as winners following evaluation by a panel of five professors from Kookmin University and Tokyo City University.
 As a result, Team 4 “tomogether,” which proposed “Kyosei (共生) ‘3P: People × Platform × Prevention’,” won the Gold Award; Team 6 “TamaGo!,” which presented “Designing a City for Everyone,” won the Silver Award; and Team 2 “BridgeUp,” which carried out the “Tamagawa Takashimaya PBL,” won the Bronze Award.
 
This PBL program was conducted as a collaborative problem-solving process in which Korean and Japanese students went beyond simple exchange to jointly observe, define, and develop solutions for local community issues. Throughout the entire process—from field research to the development of concrete ideas and joint presentations—the students were able to gain experience in global collaboration by understanding and coordinating different languages and perspectives.
 
Professor Lym Youngbin of the Department of Public Administration, who organized the program, plans to further strengthen preliminary exchanges and joint project preparation between Korean and Japanese students in the future, and to continuously develop a collaborative model so that ideas derived from the field can lead to follow-up education and projects.
 
Meanwhile, the HUSS Global Symbiosis Consortium is a project for fostering interdisciplinary talent in the humanities and social sciences, involving Kookmin University, Gwangwoon University, Sunmoon University, Yeungnam University, and Honam University. It operates various educational and international exchange programs to cultivate interdisciplinary talent capable of leading a sustainable global society.

△ Photo: Social Contribution-Oriented PBL Program Conducted by Kookmin University and Tokyo City University