Students from our university participated in the‘2024 Engineer's Retreat 1st’a networking event with female engineers active in the manufacturing industry.

　On 4-5 October, students and faculty members from the University participated in the '2024 Engineer's Retreat 1st' (organised by EmEco Co.〈President: Tokiko Shimizu〉), a networking event with female engineers active in the corporate world.

　The networking event was attended by approximately 40 people, including engineers and human resources personnel from companies that are at the forefront of supporting Japan's manufacturing industry, and female university students majoring in science and engineering fields. The participants held a series of discussions on the theme of 'Consider why women are not choosing science and engineering fields and discuss ways to overcome this'.

　Students from the University took part in the discussions on the second day of the exchange. The students asked questions, expressed their opinions and engaged in heated discussions with engineers working in science and engineering fields, including computer science and engineering. Through the exchange with female engineers who support Japan's manufacturing industry at the forefront, the students seemed to have achieved a great deal, saying that they could feel not only the challenges they face, but also their pride as engineers and how interesting their work is.

　Our university provided subsidies for travel and accommodation costs to students who wished to participate in the networking event. We will continue to use this type of support to encourage students to develop their own careers, and will also work with industry to address the gender imbalance in science and engineering fields.