Kyoto University is committed to the development of a harmonious world through initiatives that blend local needs and resources with academic work and know-how in the search for actual solutions in Japan and abroad. This is a multilayered and complex engagement that becomes a reality through work carried out by the University as a whole, and by individual departments, graduate schools, and research centers.
Social engagement here becomes a reality by addressing real-world problems in collaboration with industry, academia, and other organizations, primarily based on service learning and engaged research approaches. Examples of this include initiatives by Kyoto University's Design School and the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS) . While the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies (ASAFAS) , the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) , and the Faculty of Science are implementing a strategy of curriculum-based service learning with courses designed to bring about specific social impacts.The GSGES and the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) jointly manage the project named Enhancement of Urban Disaster Resilience aimed at communities at risk of natural disasters. Through participatory capacity building, the initiative promotes service learning and community engagement, while data gathered from pilot projects in Kathmandu and Yangon will be used to set up a model program combining engineering and socio-political approaches to natural disaster management.
Other global initiatives include: