On Tuesday, May 16, a 5-week COIL project between Kansai University and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business culminated in an in-person poster presentation session held at Kansai University’s Senriyama campus. Throughout the COIL project, a total of 55 students from both institutions met online to identify and compare sustainability initiatives launched by Japanese and U.S. companies in various industries. These industries included financial, entertainment, automobiles, retails, food, and services, among others.

 

At the end of the project, A group of 18 students and one professor from the Kelley School of Business (KSB) at Indiana University had the unique opportunity to visit Kansai University and to meet and present with their KU peers in-person as part of their two-week study abroad program to Japan. 

The project’s program consisted of the following stages:

 

Week 1: Introduction and ice-breaker. 
All participants were required to upload an introduction of themselves and describe the sustainability programs at their respective universities. The students used FLIP for uploading the videos. 

 

Week 2: Group assignment.
Each student team identified business initiatives for the 3 dimensions of SDGs (People, Planet, and Prosperity) launched by Japanese and U.S. companies in the assigned industry. 

 

Week 3 and 4: Analysis.
Students analyzed and criticized the SDGs initiatives from each selected company. In addition to preparing a slide presentation, students also created presentation posters.

 

Week 5: On campus poster presentation. 
During the poster presentations, the nine teams shared their findings about the SDGs initiatives introduced by the members of Japan and U.S. industry. After the presentations, the students also had a chance to socialize and reflect COIL experiences. 

 

Professor Lin Zheng from the Kelley School of Business emphasized the significance of the collaboration, highlighting its pivotal role in helping students truly understand the concept of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how they are applied in real-world scenarios.  She specifically noted that the topic of Business SDGs is often overlooked in traditional classroom settings, making this collaboration all the more valuable. The two-week fieldwork in Japan provided KSB students with a remarkable opportunity to not only explore the distinctive characteristics of Japanese industries but also engage with their international peers, fostering a rich environment for cross-cultural learning and exchange.