New student hall completed at Chiba Togane Campus, renovated from the perspective of students and faculty

At Chiba Togane Campus, the renovation of the "Student Hall" on the first floor of Building A, where students use during breaks, has been completed, creating a new Student Hall. A convenience store, Lawson, has also opened in the hall. An opening ceremony was held on July 15th to celebrate the completion of the renovation. Students and faculty of Chiba Togane Campus, as well as IKEA Tokyo-Bay and Lawson Co., Ltd., participated in the renovation, which was carried out as a "collaborative renewal project" under the concept of "the birthplace of JIU culture."

A student giving a presentation at IKEA Tokyo-Bay

Meeting with Lawson representatives and staff

Project Overview

This project was launched in November 2024 with the aim of renovating the existing "Student Hall" through collaboration between students and young staff from the facility management department, incorporating feedback from the field, while also linking it to practical learning for both parties. The design proposal was decided after a total of 10 meetings, mainly consisting of seminar students from Associate Professor Seiji Matsuda of Faculty of Management and Information Sciences and young staff from the General Affairs Department. IKEA Tokyo-Bay and Lawson Co., Ltd. also provided input from a marketing perspective.

What are the challenges facing student halls?

広さ約300平方メートル、座席数140人の旧学生ホールは統一感のない雰囲気や設備、椅子や机の老朽化などが目立ちました。また、学生が独自に調査したところ、以前のコンビニ店舗では、お昼時に15分間で平均110人が利用し、大きな混雑が発生していることも分かりました。

Key points of the renewal

<Student Hall>
With the theme of "a space overflowing with motivation," we aimed to create a space that would increase motivation to learn and help students concentrate on what they want to do. The overall color scheme is based on dark colors, with the number of colors kept to a minimum to create a calm impression, and the chairs and furniture are laid out accordingly. The space can accommodate up to 77 people at tables and counter seating. Potted plants have also been placed there to have a relaxing effect and improve concentration, productivity, and creativity. Also, in response to comments about concerns about views from outside, the placement of plants and other measures has been used to soften the view, while also prioritizing continuity with the outside space. The finished product has a café-like atmosphere, and IKEA furniture creates a stylish space.

 

 

<Convenience store area>
The theme of the renovation was "A QOL revolution for students who create the future." We considered measures to improve convenience for students, such as reducing crowding at the cash registers, arranging shelves to make it easier to choose products, and installing more self-checkouts, and proposed an overall layout plan. In response to this, a new Lawson opened in the student hall on July 16th.

The opening ceremony was a grand success

To celebrate the completion of the renovation, an opening ceremony was held in the new student hall on July 15th. University President Masato Kurabayashi, Associate Professor Seiji Matsuda and his seminar students who participated in the project, and representatives from Lawson Co., Ltd., Takamatsu Techno Service Co., Ltd., IKEA Japan, and Sanyo Co., Ltd. attended the ceremony.

A speech on behalf of the student body was given by Ao Eguchi, a fourth-year student Faculty of Management and Information Sciences.

Student representative Kentaro Hirano, 4th year student Faculty of Management and Information Sciences gave a speech

倉林学長は「学生がお互いに刺激を与えあうような場所として、これらかも永く意味を持ち続けることを願っています。学生ホールの価値が高まるように、ご支援いただいた皆様に恩返しをしてきたい」と感謝し、経営情報学部総合経営学科のプロジェクト代表学生 江口 蒼央さんは「最初にこのプロジェクトに参加したときは、完成までたどり着けるのか非常に不安でした。しかし、企業の皆さまが温かく迎えてくださり、プロジェクトに対してアドバイスやご意見をいただきました。その結果、このような素敵な場所へと生まれ変わりました。この場所を中心として、大学の良さが広がっていくと嬉しいです」と話しました。
プロジェクトをとおして、学生たちは実践的な学びを体験しました。また職員は、学生のニーズを深く理解し、大学運営に反映させるという貴重な経験を得ることができました。 本学では今回のプロジェクトを契機に、学生と職員が協働して新たな価値を生み出すサイクルを、大学の強み・特色として未来につなげていきたいと考えています。