Founding Dean of iCLA leaves positive impression on GLC 3-7 class

On October 25, 2018, Otsuma-Nakano welcomed back to our campus Dr. Michael Lacktorin, the founding dean of the International College of Liberal Arts (iCLA) at Yamanashi Gakuin University.  Dr. Lacktorin’s passion for education made a positive impression on our 3-7 GLC students.  During his presentation, he advocated global liberal arts education as one of the best ways to prepare students for a future that is changing at exponential speed.

iCLA encourages students to find their goose bumps as an important step to reach their full potential.  The mantra at iCLA is: Discover your passion, maximize your potential.  To begin this process, Dr. Lacktorin encouraged students to look into a mirror and ask: Who am I?  What gives me goosebumps?  What am I uniquely good at?  Living at the intersection of passion and unique talent can be a key to success and happiness. Especially in our work life.  One of the important distinguishing features of liberal arts education at iCLA is that, unlike most universities in Japan, new students are not required to choose a major before entering the college. Instead, they may take as long as almost two years to ‘taste’ a wide range of courses. During this tasting process, iCLA professors help students locate their passion and unique talent before choosing their major.

Also, from next year, iCLA will offer a new major in Digital Science, which is especially well suited for a future that is rapidly changing.  Dr. Lacktorin’s lecture was filled with examples about the digital revolution, artificial intelligence, the notion of “singularity,” and the almost unimaginable possibility that in a little more than 10 years from now, we may be able to wirelessly download information directly into the human brain.  Such advances in technology make us wonder what jobs will disappear and what new jobs will appear to replace them – and how schools and universities must change to better prepare students for a future that is increasingly difficult to forecast.  One thing seems certain. Students need to become more and more academically and professionally flexible. A global liberal arts education is a good way to do this.

Students enjoyed this valuable opportunity to interact with a leading innovator in Japanese higher education.  We look forward to seeing him again in the near future.

10月25日、本校・中学3年生のGLC（グローバル・リーダーズ・クラス）で、マイケル・ラクトリン博士の特別授業が行われました。ラクトリン博士は、山梨学院大学iCLA（リベラルアーツ学部）の創設学部長です。

ラクトリン博士は、中学3年生にリベラル・アーツとはどのような学問か、なんのためにリベラル・アーツのカリキュラムで学ぶのか、それが生徒の未来にどのような意味を持つのかを教えてくれました。一人一人が持っている大きな可能性を開くために、「自分は誰で、自分の心を震わせるものとは何か」を自分に問うことが最初のステップであり、その可能性を最大限に引き出すのが、リベラル・アーツであり、iCLAのカリキュラムであることを熱心に語ってくれました。今の日本の大学教育にそれはあるのか？という問いかけも。

特に、ラクトリン博士は「シンギュラリティ」が私たちの未来にもたらすことを、さまざまなビジュアル資料を使って生徒に伝えてくれました。AIがもたらす未来に対応できる教育が、リベラル・アーツであり、私たちはこれまでの教育の枠組みにとらわれずに「リベラルに、フレキシブルに」考え、学ぶこと。可能性の塊である本校GLCの中学3年生が、このラクトリン博士の授業をどうとらえ、自分たちの将来にどういかすか、とても楽しみです。次回のラクトリン博士の特別授業も楽しみです。