Reflections from the 2025-2026 National University Corporation International Student Guidance and Research Council Conference, University of Osaka, Japan

During the 2025-2026 National University Corporation International Student Guidance and Research Council Conference, held last February at the University of Osaka, participants gathered to explore innovative approaches to learning in a period of rapid digital transformation (called DX in Japan). A key focus of the day was the evolving needs of international students in Japan, whose learning experiences are increasingly shaped, both positively and negatively, by digital environments.

Rethinking Media Education Through the Lens of Well-Being

As digital transformation reshapes higher education, student well-being has become a critical foundation for meaningful, equitable learning. For this occasion, Prof. Barış Çoban, from Dogus University, Turkey, then Visiting Professor at Kyushu University, and Associate Prof. Charlène Clonts, from Kyushu University, Japan, jointly prepared to exchange about “Reimagining Media Education for Well-Being in the DX Era.”

Their contribution examined how media education can be redesigned to foster psychological safety, cultural inclusion, and creative confidence: three essential pillars for student flourishing in digital spaces. Throughout the day, they engaged in rich exchanges with colleagues from national universities across Japan, comparing experiences with international students and discussing ongoing WBA research projects in Japan and abroad related to well-being.

Challenges in the Digital Learning Environment

Nourished by research studies led at the heart of the WBA project, their discussions highlighted several recurring challenges:

Digital fatigue

Students increasingly face constant notifications, platform overload, and blurred boundaries between academic and personal life, factors known to erode mental clarity and motivation.

Language barriers and cultural uncertainties

International students often encounter linguistic challenges and unfamiliar academic norms that affect their confidence and participation. But these issues are not limited to international students—Japanese students similarly experience hesitations, particularly in multicultural digital settings.

Heightened visibility in digital spaces

The shift to video-based and online interaction, esp. since Covid crisis, creates new forms of performance anxiety. Many students worry about misrepresentation or making mistakes in an unfamiliar cultural-academic context.

Need for culturally responsive pedagogy

Culturally inclusive approaches (such as using multilingual examples, providing explicit rubrics or step-by-step guidance, and encouraging students to integrate elements of their own cultures in digital assignments) help reinforce a sense of belonging and self-expression.

When these elements are integrated, students participate more confidently and creatively, and the overall learning environment becomes more equitable.

The Contribution of the Well-Being with Arts Project

Within the Well-Being with Arts (WBA) project, we advocate for learning environments that centre well-being as a core pedagogical principle rather than an afterthought.

Through initiatives such as Art-Yoga lessons, we provide international and Japanese students with a safe, non-competitive space where they can unwind, meet new people, express emotions, and feel less isolated. This combination of artistic practice and mindful movement nurtures emotional release, social connection, and psychological safety, three elements that directly support academic engagement.

Our research and teaching experience consistently show that well-being is not a “bonus” in education: it is a prerequisite for meaningful learning, especially in the context of accelerating digitalisation.

Looking Ahead

While the Osaka conference reaffirmed the importance of prioritizing student well-being, it also highlighted disparities: some educators remain distant from considering well-being as part of their teaching practice in national Japanese universities. This gap motivates us to continue advocating for learning models that integrate care, creativity, and inclusion.

The DX era presents both challenges and opportunities, but one insight is clear:
Education that nurtures students’ well-being ultimately yields trust, deeper engagement, richer creativity, and more equitable participation.

The Well-Being with Arts project will continue promoting and developing approaches that place student flourishing at the heart of media education, because other ways of teaching are not only possible, but demonstrably more effective.