Implementation Report 2013 Technical College Women’s Forum in Kansai

10:00 Opening ceremony
Opening Remarks Hidefumi Obata, Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Institute of Technology
Greetings from guests: Kumiko Bando, Director-General of the Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
10:15 Report on business activities to promote women's technical college brands in collaboration with female technical college students from all over the country
(1) Business purpose and activity details
Naoyuki Fujita, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Nara National College of Technology
(2) Developing female students to promote the women's technical college brand through the creation of a women's technical college encyclopedia
Nobuko Sasaki, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Kure National College of Technology
(3) What I learned from participating in the technical college women's brand promotion project
Ayuka Uegaki, 3rd year, Department of Information Engineering, Nara National College of Technology
11:10 Special lecture Ms. Sachiko Fumoto, Director of Bizlife, Nikkei BP (Publisher of Nikkei Woman)
“How to utilize the power of women to energize Japan”
13:00 Afternoon session opening speech
National Institute of Technology, National Institute of Technology Gender Equality Promotion Committee Chairperson Maki Iwakuma Director
Student presentation “Education, research, and student life for female technical college students”
15:15 Company presentation “Gender equality initiatives and the success of female engineers”
16:45 Panel discussion
“What can we do now to foster female engineers?”
17:30 Closing ceremony
Closing Remarks Kenji Taniguchi, Principal of Nara National College of Technology
17:45 Business card exchange meeting

First, the opening ceremony was held, and in his speech, President Hidefumi Obata touched on the position and importance of the forum, and then the guest of honor, Kumiko Bando, Director-General of the Higher Education Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, gave a lecture to female technical college students about technical skills. The students were given words of hope for their future as academics and researchers.
In the project report held after the opening ceremony, Professor Naoyuki Fujita of Nara National College of Technology, who was in charge of the project, explained the purpose of the project and the content of the project, followed by Associate Professor Nobuko Sasaki of Kure National College of Technology, who said, ``The technical college women's brand created by the creation of the National College of Technology Women's Encyclopedia. Under the title ``Dissemination of Information and Support for Female Students,'' there was a report on the editing process and innovations of the Women's Technical College Encyclopedia, which was the centerpiece of this project.
Next, Ayuka Uegaki, a third-year student in the Department of Information Engineering at Nara National College of Technology, presented as a representative of the female students about what she learned and how she was able to grow through the project.
In the special lecture that followed, we invited Ms. Sachiko Fumoto, Director of Bizlife, Nikkei Business Publications, to give a lecture on career development for women based on her own experience, with the theme of "How to utilize the power of women to energize Japan." I received it. The female technical college students who participated listened intently while imagining their own career plans.

In the afternoon, female technical college students from around the country gave poster presentations. At this forum, poster presentations were held not only from the nine affiliated technical colleges, but also from publicly recruited students from all over the country, in order to spread the word about the appeal of women at technical colleges. To begin the afternoon session, Director Maki Iwakuma, chair of the National Institute of Technology's Gender Equality Promotion Committee, gave a speech expressing her hope for the advancement of women into society from the perspective of female engineers. This was followed by a poster presentation by the female students, who expressed their strong determination with the slogan, ``Break down! The wall of being a girl! Aim to be the world's female engineer!''
Afterwards, 21 poster presentations were held by 88 female students from 56 technical colleges on themes such as education, research activities, and school life at technical colleges, highlighting the capabilities of female technical college students to corporate stakeholders. It was impressive to see him give a dignified presentation despite the tension and answer questions thoroughly.
In addition, the booklet ``Technical College Women's Encyclopedia,'' which was created mainly by female students and which communicates the characteristics and strengths of female technical college students to companies and junior high school students, will be exhibited at the venue and distributed to companies involved. We communicated the ``Technical College Women's Brand'' to society.

In the subsequent presentations from company officials, 22 pieces of information were provided regarding gender equality initiatives within companies, and many questions were asked by teachers and female students. Female technical college students watched and listened intently to each company's ingenious presentations, and some were heard actively asking questions. The voices of people who are actually active in society seemed to naturally reach the students.
At the panel discussion held at the end of the forum, entitled "What can we do now to foster female engineers?", topics included the development of female engineers at technical colleges and the creation of an environment for female engineers in companies. A lively exchange of opinions took place. The students who participated as panelists also clearly communicated their thoughts and opinions to the faculty and staff.
For this poster presentation, we asked technical college faculty and staff members from companies to vote on which presentations were good or impressive, and awards were given to the students during the closing ceremony. Some students were disappointed that they did not receive an award despite their efforts, but everyone did their best.

Finally, we held a business card exchange meeting between business people and technical college faculty, allowing students to expand their network regarding future paths and career development, and also exchange information on specialized techniques.
The 2012 National Technical College Women's Forum had approximately 300 participants, including people from private companies, demonstrating the high expectations for the success of female students.