The Sanbaku Seminar and the Owaki Seminar jointly conducted an entrepreneurship training program in Cambodia.

From Sunday, February 9th to Friday, February 21st, 2025, eight students from Associate Professor Kohei Mikami of Department of Business Administration Faculty of Economics Teikyo University, and Senior Assistant Professor Junichi Owaki of the Department of Department of Economics, visited Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in the Kingdom of Cambodia for an overseas training program aimed at fostering entrepreneurship. In addition to participating in the Kizuna Festival held at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, the students also studied history and culture at sites such as Angkor Wat, a World Heritage Site representing Cambodia. This marks the second time that students from our university have participated in the Kizuna Festival.

The Kizuna Festival is co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan in Cambodia, the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and others, and features a line-up of booths selling a variety of Japan-related products, attracting approximately 20,000 visitors every year.
This time, the Mikata and Owaki seminars, with the cooperation of Momoyama Gakuin University and Spice Up Academia Co., Ltd., experienced selling onigiri and crepes at the Kizuna Festival's mock store. The students interviewed Cambodian students at the cafeteria of the Royal University of Phnom Penh and other places to market their food preferences, then discussed and decided on these items among themselves. In producing the items for sale, the students procured ingredients at local supermarkets and conducted tasting sessions inviting Cambodian students to find out what flavors Cambodians would like, through repeated trial and error.
During the sales experience, many Cambodians who are interested in Japan visited the students' sales booth and picked up the rice balls, crepes, and sweet skewers that the students had made. They also took photos together and exchanged photos on social media, creating a heart-to-heart exchange that transcends borders.

The students also donated the profits from their sales experience to the Cambodia Love Center as donations. The Cambodia Love Center is a school that supports Cambodian children who are unable to receive an adequate education due to various circumstances, including economic reasons. During the program, the students visited the center several times and, in addition to donating donations, played soccer, volleyball, and colored pictures with the local children, deepening their connections with them.

This initiative aims to foster entrepreneurship and cultivate talent who can immediately contribute to the workforce after graduation by building on the knowledge they have gained through classroom learning. Students plan, develop, and sell products from scratch in Cambodia, an overseas field, through active learning. This hands-on experience in management fosters entrepreneurship and cultivates leadership skills that will enable them to succeed in their post-graduation careers. Shuya Matsumoto (3rd year, Faculty of Economics), a member of the Sankei seminar, participated in this overseas training program. He commented, "I still can't believe that I was able to successfully plan, develop, and sell products in Cambodia, my first time abroad, and that I made friends there. It was difficult, but I learned a lot." This program embodies Practical learning and International perspectives, fostering logical thinking through practice and learning and experiencing intercultural understanding. Through this program, students can engage with people from around the world and continue to cultivate globally minded individuals who can succeed in their post-graduation careers.

To the topic List