「Integrative intelligence originally referred to the kind of intelligence required to address contemporary social challenges and for innovation. Rather than remaining confined within traditional academic or professional silos, it allows a person to synthesize insights across diverse aspects such as nature, humanity and society to make logical judgements. It also denotes the gathering of diverse forms of reflective capacities to generate new value—the generative power of knowledge. How do the two universities grasp integrative intelligence?

Iwakiri:　I see. ICU is similar in that it upholds a policy that encourages students to maintain a broad, cross disciplinary scope in designing their learning paths and for coursework, and carry this integrative stance into their future careers. However, we do not use the term connectionist. I don’t think it is used very often in Japan.

Lauwereyns:　The term itself is still uncommon—not only in Japan but internationally. Yet today’s major social challenges, from climate change to pandemics to conflict, are profoundly complex and multifaceted. No single discipline can generate adequate solutions on its own: what we need is integrative intelligence. Connectionists are essential to making this possible, but there is currently a significant shortage of such specialists.

Iwakiri:　At ISI, do students acquire the basic competencies associated with a connectionist within the four year program?

Lauwereyns:　Yes. They begin with Project Based Learning (PBL)^*2, where they cultivate the foundational mindset required of connectionists.

Looking back, when we were in our twenties, the world felt peaceful. We could devote ourselves to our studies without paying much attention to what was happening in the real world, because we didn’t yet see global problems as our own. In a sense, we had the luxury of living like philosophers.

Today, the issues facing the world feel unmistakably like our own, so students approach them with a far greater sense of seriousness.

Lauwereyns:　Our system is similar to that of ICU, as students spend the first two years exploring which field they wish to pursue. During this period, they focus on developing essential skills such as data analysis and communication, and also study abroad.

Students begin working on their Degree Project (DP, equivalent to a senior thesis at ISI) in their junior year. They select an issue that genuinely interests them and investigate both its underlying causes and potential solutions. I currently supervise several undergraduate students on their DPs. For example, one project examines sleep disorder and explores ways to address SNS overuse to see if that is a contributing factor. Students analyze the problem, gather relevant information, compare effective and ineffective treatment cases, and consider possible support systems.

Iwakiri:　At ICU we adopt PBL in courses such as environmental studies, but the specific approach is left to the faculty member responsible for each course. Our methods therefore vary depending on the discipline and instructor. Despite the similarities, Kyushu University does not conduct all courses through PBL. From this perspective, I feel ISI and our liberal arts program share more in common than with Kyushu University as a whole.

Lauwereyns:　That is the strength of ICU: the entire university operates under a unified concept. This coherence benefits students as well as faculty and staff.

※1…New Humanities: New Humanities are contemporary approaches that expand the traditional humanities to address today’s technological and societal transformations, by integrating new perspectives and methodologies.
Actual examples include digital humanities, AI, big data, media studies, and cultural studies. The concept builds on the humanities’ deep understanding of the human experience and culture, extending it to encompass technological advances and evolving social conditions to generate new forms of insight and value.
※2…Project Based Learning(PBL): an educational approach increasingly recognized for its problem solving orientation and active learning design, which cultivates autonomous learners

What does it mean to be human? Liberal arts education proposes a way of learning that enables human beings to live better, more meaningful lives, cultivating a mindset that understands that we live within a world that encompasses all.

Iwakiri:　ICU offers 31 majors in a single College and Division. Students can take courses in any field. Disciplines are grouped into the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences—three broad spheres of human life that students engage with as they cross and transcend established boundaries.

In the natural sciences, we have the objective world. The physical world we discover and analyze unfolds independently of human emotions. But within it lies the social realm—the world humans create together. Collective life takes shape through human relationships, and thus cannot be understood by structural analysis alone. We must also attend to how people think, the values they hold, and the way those values evolve over time within different communities and nations.

We also have the humanities, founded on human imagination, the subjective world, such as philosophy, literature and the arts. Humans are human because they possess a personal perspective: this subjective viewpoint is fundamental to our nature. Our judgments can appear to lack objectivity, shaped instead by the values and expectations of the society around us. This is why it is essential to cultivate an awareness that we inhabit subjective, objective, and social worlds simultaneously. We should choose our field of study with this understanding in mind.

My specialty is literature, with a particular focus on poetry and theatrical works. Your specialty is psychology, neurophysiology and cognitive neurology. But you’re also a poet. In fact we have been friends for quite a long time.

That is to say that since the world can be understood in multiple ways, it matters that we grasp how a sociologist would interpret certain situations, even if sociology is not your own discipline. When confronting a problem, it is equally important to recognize that assembling a particular constellation of people may itself reveal a solution. Innovation emerges through the act of connecting. The university’s engagement with the wider world is equally significant. Yet research also rests on creativity, as researchers are guided foremost by curiosity rather than immediate gain. This is what ties the pursuit of new knowledge to the university, and why we must continue to sustain and integrate this creative work.

How do universities create a learning environment that forms the foundation for integrative intelligence? Students draw on their college experience for their future growth. In a rapidly changing society, universities must provide even more opportunities for meaningful experiences.

Iwakiri:　The program starts with online engagement, culminating in an in person component. Each stage offers a distinct level of interaction and experiential depth.

Personal perspectives are grounded on the experiences a person accumulates. Within university learning, it becomes essential to consciously cultivate and internalize these experiences. We attach great importance to designing an academic program in a way that enables students to engage deeply with their own learning, allowing these experiences to take root. Study abroad experiences at our institution are not confined to online interactions; they include both inbound and outbound student mobility. The human experiences students gain within each learning environment cannot always be captured through numerical indicators, yet these experiences carry profound educational value in their own right.

It is essential for educational organizations to recognize this. Universities, in particular, must articulate a clear and integrated philosophy that defines what they regard as fundamental to the formation of their students.

Lauwereyns:　It is, in fact, a core responsibility of universities to provide students with the opportunity to shape and design experiences of this nature.

Iwakiri:　At ICU, study abroad is not compulsory. Many of our students are already returnees or have had some form of overseas experience, so some naturally question whether they need to study abroad at all. Others may simply prefer to remain in Japan and focus on their studies here.

Our study abroad programs are diverse, ranging from language focused options to academic exchange programs. In the latter, many students study their specialty at partner universities overseas. For example, a welfare studies student may choose to study in Sweden, while a physics student may pursue their field in California. Many seek to deepen their academic expertise abroad, while others may wish to explore a broader range of regions depending on their interests.

In our service learning program, students can participate in both domestic and overseas sites. An example abroad includes studying issues surrounding cacao bean production in Indonesia—examining human rights, social structures, environmental impact, and business practices. Although the notion of ‘service’ is rooted in Christian thought, it is not simply volunteer work. Rather, it is a structured curriculum designed to foster learning through meaningful engagement with local communities. It may not resemble traditional academic learning, but it offers students a deeply human experience in international and social contexts. We encourage them to step into environments entirely different from their daily lives, trusting that such immersion will spark new insight and discovery.

As a university, we believe in providing a broad array of programs that support each student’s individual interests and their experiential learning opportunities.

Lauwereyns:　That is very important. At Kyushu University, students can opt to pursue their studies in that direction in addition to the cascade system.

Iwakiri:　Your extensive career and diverse regional background exemplify how lived experience transforms into knowledge.

Lauwereyns:　Perhaps, yes(laughs).

※3…Cascade model:　 a step by step progressive development of a given process

The two universities, each with their own distinctive educational program, offer a unique vision of learning. Yet it can be difficult to gain broad understanding for forms of instruction that diverge from conventional academic models. At the same time, many high school students who seek greater autonomy in their studies hold strong expectations for a more flexible and liberal educational environment.

Iwakiri:　ICU presents itself as the College of Liberal Arts with a single Division of Arts and Sciences. In our outreach to high school students, we redefine the arts and sciences as an outline of the liberal arts.

This understanding comes from returning to the etymology of science—an endeavor to know. When your interests lead you to the discovery of something previously unknown to the world, you must then transform that insight into a form that others can understand. That act of translation is an art. Writing a thesis, for example, is an art because it requires skill: the ability to articulate what you have found and to communicate it in language accessible to others. This is how we interpret the arts and sciences.

Lauwereyns:　I can understand this interpretation of the arts and sciences, because their etymological origins draw us toward the impulses of doing and knowing.

What core values should ground the new humanities that engages directly with human beings? How must universities evolve to foster a society where individuals with differing values can understand and trust each other?

Lauwereyns:　At ISI, our objective is to nurture connectionists, but doing so requires us to establish and spread recognition of the value of this emerging profession. I believe this articulates a vision for the university of the future as part of the new humanities, and will serve as our mission at ISI.

Iwakiri:　Establishing the new humanities begins by engaging directly with human beings and moving beyond traditional academic boundaries so we can respond to the needs of a changing society. In this sense, we share a common purpose.

Some universities overseas seem to assume that the humanities do not lead to lucrative careers and are therefore dispensable. But a society that sidelines the humanities risks becoming something AI could easily imitate. In abandoning them, we risk losing the very qualities that allow humans to remain fully human. As information science continues to advance, we risk losing qualities once regarded as essential to being human. Eventually, we will face a deeper question: Why do human beings exist? Universities must be ready to answer this with clarity and conviction.

New discoveries and knowledge emerge only through human collaboration; without it, discernment itself cannot take shape.

Modern society is almost devoid of absolute standards. Instead, it is a world in which many values coexist. In a civil society, it is essential that people cultivate tolerance for perspectives different from their own. Which principles or commitments one adopts among the many possibilities is ultimately up to the individual—and this plurality matters. Yet if individuals choose only what benefits them and cling to their convictions in isolation, can a society genuinely flourish? Such conditions make conflict all but certain.