Amid cuts in government subsidies for national universities, Nagoya University has turned to crowdfunding to support student activities and educational projects.

So far the university has raised roughly ¥5 million — more than the targeted amount — for five projects, including the development of a race car by a student team and the restoration and digitization of historical documents by its affiliated library.

The university hopes to expand crowdfunding to other projects so the method will offer an independent source of revenue, as well as a way of strengthening its brand image amid increasing competition to attract students.