Construction of a Learning Network for Linking STEM, Social Science, and Humanities in Higher Education

Abstract

In Japan, the government encourages the universities, in the 5th plan starting from 2017, to activate and reinforce the graduate schools for PhD degrees. Before responding to the policies, however, structural problems of the universities rooted deeply in the process of growth should be clarified and improved. In this chapter, focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, some of the important issues are analyzed and discussed: which language should predominate in STEM education; how to preserve the quality of traditional laboratory training; how to increase the number of PhD students; how to design up-to-date programs for undergraduate students. Although the grass-roots STEM learning in the mother tongue has contributed to raise the academic level of Japan, it is the time to introduce a course for academic English as one of the cores of the STEM curriculum. Laboratory training originated from the German research ideal is now in danger because of the shrinking national budget and the new redistribution policy for governmental funds. In order to rebuild the PhD machine, graduate schools for the PhD degree have to be more independent from the undergraduate programs; they must be open and attractive much more to global students. While PhD programs are specialized and innovative to adapt for the changing society, classes in undergraduate education were and still are places where different disciplines meet each other. The author proposes and argues a novel idea for designing the program. If integrated science, its counterpart in social sciences and humanities, and academic English are all combined into a comprehensive program, it will work as a learning network for linking the disciplines leading to resolve the divide.