ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Academic Enterprise
Image: Business professionals learning at ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ MCC
ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Academic Enterprise (hereinafter referred to as the "Enterprise") is a stock corporation established on March 15, 1965, with capital raised from ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ and volunteers among ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni and faculty. The purpose and spirit of its establishment were deeply related to the fact that the university's financial situation at the time was quite tight and the introduction of a mandatory retirement system (implemented in April 1968) was imminent. The creation of the corporation (originally named ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Business Department) was decided as a measure to contribute financially, ensure the continuity of the university's operations after the introduction of the retirement system, and resolve labor issues for retirees (especially manual labor staff). Its Articles of Incorporation state that "the fundamental spirit is to help stabilize the welfare and post-retirement lives of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ staff through the businesses and profits defined in Article 2."
After its establishment, at the request of the university, the Enterprise sequentially took over operations previously performed by university staff, such as cafeteria operations, accounting for real estate donated to the university, the acquisition of land at the southwest corner of the Mita Campus, and facility management support for various campuses, schools, and hospitals (including Ise and Tsukigase), including "night/day shifts," "security," "pool management," "boilers," and "cleaning." The company name was changed to ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Shoji in August 1967, and then to ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Academic Enterprise in February 1996 to develop new academic businesses, which continues to this day. While adapting to the changes of the times, new businesses have been added according to the needs of the era, and it currently operates the following five businesses.
1. Property Management Business: Currently supports the university's Office of Facilities and Property Management as the person in charge of property management, focusing on facility management operations excluding the Shinanomachi and Fujisawa areas.
2. Insurance Business: Provides fire and casualty insurance for ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ buildings and general property, comprehensive student insurance (applicable 24 hours a day, domestically and internationally, during enrollment), and welfare insurance for faculty and staff.
3. ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Card Business: A credit card business started in January 1996 for ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni and faculty. Profits are returned to the university.
4. Adult Education Business: Since October 2000, in collaboration and cooperation with Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Marunouchi City Campus (ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ MCC) was opened in the Marunouchi area, providing adult education programs mainly for people engaged in business.
5. In December 2015, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Innovation Initiative (KII), a venture capital firm aimed at creating new businesses using the research results of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ and contributing to society and the development of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡'s research, was established (the Enterprise invested capital and is the largest shareholder).
The environment surrounding ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ has become a difficult era in which to determine what to do and how to do it in the future due to progress in science and technology such as IT, AI, and robotics, as well as environmental issues. I hope that the Enterprise will think as one with ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ and become an organization that also supports the core aspects of its operations.
(Yasuhiro Hirao, Honorary Trustee of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡, former Representative Director of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Academic Enterprise)
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.