On March 28, 2017, Gifu University Center for Collaborative Study with Community (CCSC) and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Citizen Support of Gifu Prefectural Government held a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Promotion of Collaborative Education in Statistical Survey. This MOU aims to jointly address student career education issues through cooperation and collaboration between the two institutions. Under this MOU, the new internship course for students called, "Municipal Government Collaborative Internship" is to be introduced at Gifu University from April 2017. Its goals are: human resource development for future leaders in tackling various regional problems, and personnel who have profound understanding about the meaning and mechanism of survey. Such personnel are expected to play crucial roles as experts and supporters in securing better environment for statistical surveys.

In the signing ceremony, Mr. Katsuragawa, Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Citizen Support of Gifu Prefectural Government made the following comment: "Statistical data is indispensable to the prefectural government in determining the future course of administration. Gifu Prefectural Government has been proactively promoting statistical surveys with regard to the prefecture for years. Such survey activities include delivery lectures and competitions at elemental and junior high schools. By introducing the new type of internship programs incorporating problem-solving workshops concerning prefectural data, we would like to closely work together with CCSC in fostering young leaders." In response, Professor Koichi Masukawa, Director of CCSC said, "Gifu University has been strongly pushing forward both COC^*1 and COC+^*2 projects with CCSC playing number of pivotal roles in an effort to become a core base for regional revitalization. The goal of these efforts is to cultivate "Gifu Next-Generation Regional Leaders." The conclusion of MOU with Gifu Prefecture is expected to produce more young regional leaders with intensive knowledge about the current status of the prefecture, and real contributors for regional revitalization through elaborate survey work concerning the prefectural data. We have been in close alliance with private companies within the prefecture in human resource development, and I believe that the new partnership with Gifu Prefectural Government will nurture more young leaders who are quite familiar with duties of public servants."

By way of facilitating educational collaboration on statistical surveys, both CCSC and Gifu Prefecture will continue to make utmost efforts in cultivating human resources that local communities truly pursue, and also strive to enhance employment rates and regional rebirth within the prefecture in the years to come.

^*1 COC (Center of Community) projects:
Projects of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Their objectives include reinforcing university functions to be a core of local communities where people, information and technology are brought together for problem-solving. To achieve these objectives, universities are expected to promote regional-based education, research and social contribution.
^*2 COC+ (Center of Community Program for Local Revitalization) projects:
Projects of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Their objectives include assembling people together to regions for revitalization by:
- offering attractive job opportunities to students in collaboration with universities, local governments and businesses and,
- supporting university's curriculum reform efforts necessary to cultivate personnel sought by regions.