Graduate School of Management & Information Technology

Principle and Objective of Graduate School of Management & Information Technology

The Graduate School of Management & Information Technology aims to foster creative business persons for the 21st century. Modern business activities require creative business people equipped with the knowledge, skills and principles required for individual business expansion and who have an integral view of business including theory, information and systems.
The principle objective is to foster business persons equipped with the following three attributes: firstly, possession of the basic knowledge required for business activities, such as economic analysis, knowledge of management techniques and systems management, secondly they must have the skill and ability to analyze information networks, such as the creation, management and accurate analysis of information as it moves in and out of business activities, and thirdly must be able to interact with the people of any country, organize a business line, and cultivate an international vision that corresponds to a position as stable "world citizens." In a broad sense, the creative business persons for the 21st century trained by the Graduate School of Management & Information Technology are innovative entrepreneurs committed to innovation.

What can I learn at the Graduate School of Management & Information Technology?

Japan now faces the need to establish a social model that fits its mature corporate society. The reasoning behind the departure from a business model suitable for the international environment and economic conditions is being questioned. Management & Information Technology includes three dedicated areas of research: Management/Accounting, Information and Global/Local affairs, each of which is highly specialized and involves cross-sectional general research projects.

Particular effort is put into specific programs for interchange within the Asian economic sphere, including China, Korea, Vietnam, India, Thailand, etc., allowing students to learn about the actual state of concrete business activities, from successful experiences to stories of failure. For example, by studying the operations of companies in the Kansai region, like Only One, that have attracted a major top global share in their field, and companies that produce core components for state-of-the-art technologies, important points can be observed about thriving businesses and the essential points for setting up operations overseas. This is seen in courses presented by successful corporations located in Kansai.

The Graduate School actively supports business interaction between Japan and China with its network. The Graduate School also holds international academic symposium (most recently in February and December 2010).

The school also plans to hold workshops in English to help raise students' proficiency in foreign languages, with particular emphasis on English.

Educational Goals

Based on "nurturing modern economic professionals with a global outlook" as the primary educational mission of Hannan University, the Graduate School of Management & Information Technology (GSMIT) is aimed at developing human resources with creative and practical problem-solving abilities required in modern economy and society, which is changing abruptly due to internationalization as well as the progress and the diffusion of information technology (IT).
To accomplish this aim, the fundamental principle of the human resource development at GSMIT is to cultivate wide range of knowledge and skills in addition to a great insight into society, and to develop abilities to integrate and apply those knowledge and skills to solve problems in the real world.
To develop human resources capable of responding to the internationalization of economy and the advancement of IT, a great emphasis is put on studies of economics and business management with international perspectives as well as on acquisition of knowledge and skills of IT to apply to solving business and social problems

Admission policy

Integration of information technology and business management is the distinctive feature of the research and education at GSMIT. It is seeking students who understand the policy of GSMIT, satisfying the following conditions and strive to become an innovator with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, and have basic knowledge and logical thinking ability necessary to accomplish those aims.

①Those who aim to conduct research on management, information technology, tourism, or global business.
②Those who strive to become a creative entrepreneur that integrate information technology and business management in globalized, information-oriented, modern society while maintaining a deep understanding of the mechanisms of economy in highly sophisticated information society.
③Those who have their own clear agenda and endeavor to become a creative business person intending to pursue business-academia collaboration and international expansion with a "glocal" perspective.

Curriculum policy

Making use of its interdisciplinary and international resources as well as business-academia collaboration, GSMIT strives to offer a systematic educational program and conduct creative research activities which integrate knowledge on information technology and business. In addition to a basic course on the practical application of information technology, it offers various advanced and specialized courses to cultivate capability of interdisciplinary research on global business management and tourism business in the information age.

①Students are expected to take "Introduction to the Application of Information Technology" as a basic course, in which they can learn theories and the latest trend of the application of information technology to business and other activities. Then students take advanced and specialized courses to learn knowledge on specific academic fields to prepare for their own research.
②Students can choose advanced courses from several fields including "International Management", "Brand & Marketing", "Tourism Business", "Economic Analysis", and "Information Technology". Students can also take courses on business-academia collaboration, methodologies of social survey and data analysis.
③Students can develop research capabilities through courses and seminars taught by their academic advisor. Orientation for master thesis as well as presentation sessions of interim report held twice a year also help students' research activities.

Diploma policy

GSMIT is aimed at nurturing business innovators with ability to explore problems and the capacity for policymaking related to their major field of study based on international perspectives and knowledge on information technology. Grounded on this goal, it awards diplomas to students who acquire the following capacities and ability:

①Basic research capacity based on theories and methodologies of either of the following fields: "International Management", "Brand & Marketing", "Tourism Business", "Economic Analysis", and "Information Technology".
②The ability to write research papers on their major field of study which integrate scientific principles and practical studies, as well as the capacity to make use of the research outcomes in solving business challenges.

Fields of Study at GSMIT

At the Graduate School of Management and Information Technology (GSMIT), students are required to choose one field of study from five fields according to their own research theme to develop expertise in that field, but they can also acquire wider range of knowledge and skills by taking courses of other fields. This will help students develop readiness and creativity required in the complicated and fast-changing present-day business world.

Brand & Marketing

"Brand & Marketing" field covers theories and case studies of marketing and branding for "B to B" and "B to C" businesses, and offers courses through which students can study global issues and learn step-by-step up to the advanced level. A heavy emphasis is generally put on marketing in the management strategy of business enterprises, and brand strategies in which the brand is embraced as an asset are required to address commoditization in markets. For this reason this field offers courses such as "Marketing" and "Special Topics in Brand Business".

Tourism Business

With its very broad industrial base and the prospect of market expansion at the global level, the tourism business becomes regarded as an important industry exerting a great influence on the growth of national economy and the revitalization of regional economies. Especially in Japan, aging society with fewer children, the tourism business is considered as critical industry at the national and regional level as it is expected to compensate for decreasing consumer demand and contribute to the creation of job opportunities at the local level. Through the study in "Tourism Business" field, students will explore industrial and economic aspects of tourism as well as how tourism can be sustainable. Students will also probe social and policy issues of tourism and learn to make proposals of how to revitalize local communities in collaboration with local residents and organizations.

Information Technology

"Information Technology" field is aimed at nurturing human resources with the capacity to conceive the novel ideas of IT as well as basic knowledge and practical skills to materialize those ideas. Basic knowledge refers to theories learnt through lecture courses such as "Information Science", "Information System Design", "Computer Network", and "Database". Practical skills will be acquired by building practicable information systems in "Project (Information)". The special feature of "Information Technology" field is that student will learn how to develop new and practical applications of IT as well as conduct leading-edge research on topics such as performance enhancement of element technologies.

International Management

The educational program at "International Management" field is provided by the teaching staff specialized in international economics, international trade, international finance, as well as business management, and nurtures human resources with knowledge on the theories of international economics, knowledge required for international business, and research capacity. As many of the teaching staff have long studied on Asian economy, this filed has had academic exchange and collaboration with business sectors of the Asian region. Students can also take "Collaborations between Industry and Academia", which is based on the partnership with an industry association in Osaka. This field offers various courses, through which students can learn from front-line theoretical research, which is necessary for becoming educators and researchers on international economy. Students can also study basic theories and global business analysis needed to become a leader in global business. GSMIT also offers course on practical research on Asian regional economy.

Economic Analysis

In "Economic Analysis" field, students will learn theories of economic activities and national and international economies as well as data analysis methods. With knowledge and skills acquired through course works, students will conduct their research on problems facing our politics, society and economy in which businesses are operated. Research topics include globalization, political, social and economic development of developing countries, and economic growth and income distribution in developed nations. "Economic Analysis" field is aimed at nurturing human resources with ability to explore appropriate balance between corporate activities and public welfare and the capacity to devise policies of national governments and international organizations.

Special Features of GSMIT

1. Integration of IT and Economics & Management

The Graduate School of Management & Information Technology (GSMIT) is composed of five fields of study, of which four are related to economics and business and another is "Information Technology". Students can develop their expertise in more than one field as they can select any courses of any fields. Through this educational program GSMIT strives to nurture business innovators adapted to the age of information technology (IT). Education and research in "Information Technology" field are centered on software development and program construction catering to business needs, and some students received prizes in national-level business plan contests. In the fields related to economics and management, emphasis in education and research is put on business application of information technology.

2. Education and Research on Tourism Business

Only few educational institutions in Japan are engaged in education and research on tourism business. With "Tourism Business" field, GSMIT is one of the few.
In recent years the tourism business has undergone transformation due to increase in inbound tourists in Japan and the expansion of industrial base of tourism due to rising income level in developing countries. The advancement of IT has expanded the potential of tourism industry. Human resources in tourism business therefore need to have the capacity to respond to these changes, which requires broad-range of knowledge and skills of IT as well as economics and business management. Providing education on the five fields, GSMIT offers opportunities for students to acquire those knowledge and skills.

3. Research on Cutting-edge Business Models

Demand for research on new models of service businesses has grown as the importance of service in business has increased in modern society. Several of the faculty members of GSMIT specialized in branding, tourism and Internet business have conducted research on new business models in the service sector, and those members as well as members of "Information Technology" field have been engaged in research and education activities which meet the new needs of the times.

4. Business-Academia Collaboration and Practical Science Research

Hannan University has collaboration agreements with many industry associations such as Society for Market & Technology (at Osaka Science & Technology Center). In collaboration with those associations GSMIT has organized special seminars, symposiums and business networking events. The business-academia collaboration has contributed to the development of GSMIT's research and education in practical-science.

5. Research and Business-Academia Collaboration based on Network with Asian Countries

Taking advantage of the international networks of its faculty members engaged in research and education activities on Asian and global economy, GSMIT has helped international business matching in corporation with member companies of industry associations which have collaboration agreement with Hannan University. In collaboration with a university in China with which Hannan University has cooperation agreement, GSMIT has also organized "Japan-China Entrepreneurs Forum" six times so far and supported local companies' overseas business.

6. Profound Learning Experience through Small-Group Instruction

GSMIT has twice as many teaching staff as its student quota (15 students per grade). Thanks to the low student-teacher ratio, fine-tuned instruction is provided in lecture courses as well as in seminars.

Curriculum

Field Subject Credit
Brand Marketing Marketing 2
Marketing Research 2
International Marketing 2
Special Topics in Brand Business 2
Consumer Behavior 2
Seminar 1 4
Seminar 2 4
Master's Thesis Guidance 4
Tourism Business Tourism Planning 2
Regional Research and Fieldwork 2
Advanced Tourism industries 2
Tourism Services Management 2
Seminar 1 4
Seminar 2 4
Master's Thesis Guidance 4
Information Technology Information Science 2
Multimedia 2
Computer Network 2
Perceptual Information Processing 2
Information System Design 2
Database 2
Information Law 2
Project 1 2
Project 2 2
Seminar 1 4
Seminar 2 4
Master's Thesis Guidance 4
International Management Human Resource & Organization Management 2
Business Analysis 2
Regional Management 2
International Business 2
Business Management 2
Financial Accounting 2
Asian Regional Economies 2
Administrative Accounting 2
Strategic Management 2
Seminar 1 4
Seminar 2 4
Master's Thesis Guidance 4
Economies Analysis Business Data Analysis 2
World Economy 2
Developmental Finance 2
Social Policy 2
Developing Economies 2
Applied Microeconomic Theory 2
Clusters in Regional Development 2
Applied Macroeconomic Theory 2
International Cooperation 2
Seminar 1 4
Seminar 2 4
Master's Thesis Guidance 4
Field commonness Introduction to the Application ofInformation Technology 2
Collaborations between Industry and Academia 2
English Technical book Reading 2

Teaching Staff