Students also participated in the Second Cafeteria Renewal Project!

Student PR staff: Hikaru Miyata (3rd year Faculty of Management and Information Sciences)

The second cafeteria on the Chiba Togane campus reopened on April 1st. The interior has been reborn with IKEA furniture, and the food menu has been completely redesigned. Students are also participating in the renewal project team, and our student PR staff has interviewed them about their activities and their thoughts.

A project team was formed to carry out the renewal. It consisted of 14 student volunteers and 12 faculty and staff members. Student participation began in earnest around the winter of 2023, and students helped with proposals for the interior design and toilets in the cafeteria, the menu content of the cafeteria, and the name of the new cafeteria. In addition, since the interior will be furnished with IKEA furniture, they participated in an IKEA store tour, experiencing IKEA's sustainable efforts firsthand and gaining ideas for the interior design and name.

IKEA is committed to initiatives and product development aimed at healthy and sustainable living. The world faces many challenges, but at IKEA we identify three main challenges: sustainable consumption, climate change, and inequality.
At IKEA, we develop and encourage products, services and home furnishing solutions that help people reduce their environmental impact and inspire people to live healthier lives. One of these is our efforts to expand our plant-based food offerings. IKEA plant balls use plant-based ingredients instead of meat. I actually tried comparing plant balls and meatballs. Although there was a difference in taste, I found it so delicious that I wouldn't have noticed it was a plant ball unless I was told.
Additionally, there is a service that will buy back your unwanted IKEA furniture if you bring it to a store. I went to a circular market where purchased items are maintained and resold, and I saw items in good condition being sold at low prices, so I thought I would try using them in the future. Thanks to these sustainable initiatives, IKEA achieved 80% recycling last year.
From the store tour, the students focused on the interior design of the cafeteria, which featured stylish and sustainable furniture. We wanted to get rid of the image of a barren landscape, and based on the design concept proposed by IKEA, we discussed and decided on things like including a stuffed shark toy.

Students sharing their opinions during a store tour

Stair space where students come up with ideas and stuffed animals are placed

A new menu will be available upon reopening. Many of the students' opinions have been reflected in the new menu, including their desire to include vegetables and the cafe menu to include sweets.

The name of the entire building was decided to be VaL, named after IKEA, which was founded in Sweden, and our university's mascot, the flying whale. VaL means "whale" in Swedish. VaL also houses SOL Diner and LUNA Café, with SOL Diner having 146 seats and LUNA Café having 131 seats. The name means LUNA (moon) and SOL (sun) in Latin, and was chosen because "the sun and the moon cannot shine at the same time, but we wanted it to be a place where people who do not meet can easily interact, and because the sun and the moon are close by, we wanted the new cafeteria to feel more familiar, and for it to be a place at the university where anyone and everyone can use it. " This was the name chosen based on the student's opinion that was adopted.

The students who participated in this project came from various faculties because they thought it would be fun and wanted to try it out.
``Renovating the restrooms in the cafeteria was particularly difficult as it had to be completed in a short period of time.As it was a collaboration with IKEA, we had to give it a Swedish feel, and we also had to give it a student cafeteria feel, so we came up with a name idea. "I had a really hard time," he said.
Through this activity, I met new people, and I look back on the experience of participating in this renewal project as a valuable learning experience in my student life. She answered with a smile that she would be happy if the space became a place where people can get along.

After completing the interview, I was very surprised by IKEA's sustainable efforts. I was also inspired by seeing the students who participated in this project.
Students from 7 faculties study at Chiba Togane Campus. This place called VaL has become a place for many students to interact, and it seems that events will be held in the future with new students and students from different departments. I'm looking forward to many more exchanges in the future.

Students reflecting on the project

Students who participated in the project