Panasonic - Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

A modern campus spread across the high plateau overlooking Beppu Bay, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is a new university founded on a clear concept, and established by the tradition-steeped mother school in Kyoto. In the university's classrooms and lecture halls, Panasonic DLP™ projectors are an essential part of classes, lectures, and student life.

Half of the students are exchange students from overseas. APU is a unique university, an ideal training ground for future citizens of the world.
As the name suggests, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is one where students from many different countries gather and help each other develop an international mindset, while developing their own knowledge and creative power. In the 2007 school year, there were students from 82 countries and regions outside Japan, with about half the student body being foreign. Strolling through campus, you hear many languages filling the air. "Students from Japan, Europe and North America are used to classes with video, etc., from their high school days, but for some students, it's a brand-new experience," says Mr. Kitamura. He hopes that by experiencing a new type of class, they will be able to raise their own academic performance to a new level.

Events, including talks by the heads of companies, are held in the Millennium Hall.
Entrance ceremonies, orientations, and lectures by guests such as company heads are held in the Millennium Hall.

Formerly, projectors made by another company were used, but they've been replaced with Panasonic PT-D7700s. Two units project onto two 300-inch screens, and the settings can be switched to project one wide image across both screens. "At our university, Japanese and English are the two 'official languages,' so school guidance and orientation are conducted in both languages. The ability to show the same information in two languages, one on each screen, and then switch over to one wide-screen image, is invaluable to us," says Mr. Kitamura. There are few leisure facilities in the vicinity of the university, so movies from a wide variety of countries are often shown in the hall for student entertainment. The hall and its equipment are not just for classes and lectures, but are also a vital part of student life at the university.

Crisp, vivid images are a highly valued part of practical lectures by the diverse teaching staff.
With a faculty ranging from lifelong professors to those who have spent most of their careers building experience in the business world, the university prides itself on its wide variety of lecture styles. According to Mr. Kitamura, "each class lasts 95 minutes, so in order to maintain the students' oncentration, we feel it's necessary to make effective use of the projectors." In addition, many professors from Europe and North America conduct discussion-based classes, so student concentration is maintained by skillfully blending images with discussion and writing on the blackboard.

All the projectors are Panasonic DLP™ projectors.
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University has been making use of large projections during lectures since the university opened in 1999. However, at first "we had to draw the curtains and make the room dark in order to see them." This problem was overcome when they began using Panasonic DLP™ projectors after the construction of the new campus in 2006.

Standard classrooms feature the PT-DW5100, suitable for wide-screen content. And in the nine large lecture halls, four PT-D5600 units are installed for the benefit of students who sit in the rear of the room. The picture is vivid and easily seen even in sunlit classrooms.

"Projectors require maintenance, but we've been happy with the follow-up," says Mr. Kitamura. Essentially, even after long hours of use, only the lamps need to be replaced, and the university is happy with the low running costs. "All kinds of costs pile up when you're putting together an ICT (Information & Communication Technology) environment, so we're very happy with Panasonic's low cost and excellent support system."

The eyes of the nation are on Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, as it cultivates a generation of "world citizens" and prepares them for participation in society.