The sticky campus in Japan: re-evaluating campus spaces

Abstract

ABSTRACT In response to a globalised education context that places increasing pressure on higher education institutions for pedagogical innovation and reform, universities are attempting to carve out more meaningful identities through reimagining campus design. As universities introduce more decentralised spaces, from strictly learning environments to a more collaborative organisation, the boundaries between these and other spaces become more fluid, redefining universities as learning environments. The concept of the Sticky Campus has been gaining currency recently. Emulating trends in ‘third places’ and popular urban co-working spaces, a Sticky Campus blurs the boundaries between study and living by incorporating areas for relaxation, social interaction, group learning, eating or study. Moreover, Sticky Campuses offer opportunities for shared meaning-making amongst faculty, students and the broader community. This paper introduces the contemporary concept of the Sticky Campus and explores its viability in Japanese institutional settings. Given the Sticky Campus concept has emerged from a predominantly Western lens, this paper provides a commentary on whether the concept is transferable into non-Western cultural settings such as Japan. Such a discussion is crucial for Japanese university transformations in the twenty-first century, as the higher education sector considers its options in transitioning to post-COVID conditions.