Message from the Director
Toyofumi Mizumoto
The Center for International Education was established in April 2020 as an educational institution affiliated with the Headquarters for Admissions and Education, with the aim of strengthening foreign language education at Kumamoto University. Prior to the establishment of the Center, faculty members specializing in English and other foreign languages (German, French, Chinese, and Korean) were responsible for foreign language education in “Liberal Arts Education,” which is one of the main missions of the Headquarters for Admissions and Education, and the College of Cross-Cultural and Multidisciplinary Studies was responsible for educational programs specifically for students in the Global Leader Course.
In today’s rapidly globalizing society, in addition to foreign language education as a skill, there is a strong demand for “multilingual cultural education” to understand the diverse cultures and values of other countries with different social and historical backgrounds, and to cultivate the knowledge and skills necessary to be active in the international community. To respond to this social demand, the Center aims to strengthen its functions for the globalization of education, and faculty members responsible for foreign language education in the liberal arts and global education from an interdisciplinary perspective are working on multilingual cultural education.
The Center will continue to strengthen cooperation among all faculty members in charge of foreign language, Japanese language, and global education, and will synergize foreign language and global education, striving to develop global human resources who will lead an international society where diverse cultures, histories, and societies can coexist in harmony.
