On June 19, a presentation of the initiatives awarded the 2023 Okayama University SDGs Promotion Award was held at the faculty and department liaison meeting. In FY2023, awards were given in four categories: "Education," "Research," "Other workplace contributions," and "Student group initiatives." The winning organizations in each category were selected through a nomination process. So far, presentations have been made in the "Education," "Other workplace contributions," and "Student group initiatives" categories, and with the "Research" category presentation this time, the annual presentations have concluded.

On the day of the event, Associate Professor KATAOKA Yuko from the Okayama University Hospital's Hearing Health Center presented the initiative "Efforts toward medical and educational collaboration for children with hearing impairments," which won an Excellent Award in the "Research" category.

This initiative involves the creation of a guidebook for teachers, which summarizes common issues and countermeasures that may arise in the school life of children with hearing impairments. This is designed to help educators engaged in inclusive education provide appropriate support and consideration. In recent years, more children with hearing impairments have been receiving inclusive education in local schools rather than special support schools, but they still face numerous challenges in their actual school lives. In response to this reality, Associate Professor Kataoka created the guidebook for teachers, which has already been downloaded more than 22,000 times and is being used across Japan. During her presentation, she also spoke about the importance of connecting with the world and her outlook on nurturing young talent, earning a loud round of applause from the audience.