立教大学

Day 1
  1:00 PM　Opening Session
  1:50 PM　Ice-breaker Activities
  2:40 PM　Alumni & Alumnae Session
  3:50 PM　Dance Session
  5:20 PM　Breakout Session

Day 2
  9:00 AM　Opening Session
10:00 AM　Mini Projects
  3:15 PM　Main Competition
  4:10 PM　Student Assistant Introduction
  4:30 PM　Closing Session

The event began with opening remarks from Dean Nishihara and Professor Davis, followed by a presentation from Associate Professor Tateno, Chief of the BLP, explaining the purpose of the Welcome Camp. Immediately after, student assistants started icebreaker activities, providing first-year students with opportunities to get to know each other through games. As the new students gradually relaxed, the announcement of this year’s corporate partner, “Suntory Holdings Limited”, was met with great enthusiasm, and the venue erupted in applause.

In the Alumni & Alumnae session, three distinguished graduates, each thriving in various fields, shared insights with the students. They spoke about how to apply their academic learning to real-world activities, providing all students, particularly the first-year students, with clear and relatable advice.

The dance activity session, first introduced in 2018, brought everyone together. All new students practiced a simple dance routine and performed it in unison. The session culminated in a collaborative video, uniting faculty, staff, student assistants, and first-year students in a memorable experience.

During the breakout session, the students held separate meetings in different rooms. They had the opportunity to strengthen their bonds with classmates by introducing themselves and participating in icebreaker activities.

In the second day, the students worked in groups and then presented their proposals. First, a representative from the partner company delivered a speech and provided an overview of the company, helping the students gain a deeper understanding of the company.

After moving to the breakout session rooms, they learned about leadership skills by leveraging everyone’s strengths, and then set individual leadership goals. Leadership isn’t just about leading an organization from the front. Each student set personal leadership goals aligned with their strengths and participated in group work with these goals in mind.

The assignment theme for the welcome camp, set by the partner company, was “Propose a dining and drinking experience where you can feel ‘abundance’.” All teams brainstormed their ideas for the main competition.

During the group work session, Dean Nishihara visited each room, personally handing out COB pledge cards to every new student. After receiving their cards from the Dean, they signed a collective pledge poster, which will be displayed in the Dean's office, symbolizing their commitment as new members of the COB.

In the main competition, various ideas were presented, reflecting unique experiences of the COVID-19, including current flexible working styles. Some notable proposals included “A plan to provide products for enjoying and enhancing solo dining,” “A plan to offer drinks and homemade dishes through easy-to-open food stands” and “A plan to offer online dining for junior high and high school students whose parents are too busy to dine with them due to work.”

The competition was filled with excitement as the “Faculty Award” and the “Student Award” were decided by voting, while the “Client Award” was selected by representatives from our client. The day ended on a high note with these awards.

Finally, the video created by the student assistants was shown and a commemorative photo was taken of each class, bringing the event to a close. From beginning to end, the event filled with a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this event.