Japanese universities need foreign students: U.K. scholar

By YUKA SHIMADA

Staff writer

Recruiting foreign students will be key if Japanese universities are to survive the competition expected as the population shrinks, according to British scholar Peter Mathias.
Peter Mathias

Japanese universities must establish an "international status" that will enable them to attract students from all over the world, said Mathias, an honorary fellow at Downing College, Cambridge, and former research supervisor to Crown Prince Naruhito at Oxford University.
Japanese universities "will be competing at an international level to provide the best (Japanese) students going overseas and acquire the best overseas students coming to Japan," the 78-year-old said.

Mathias, an authority on modern economic history, was in Tokyo recently to attend a meeting at Keio University. He is one of the advisers of the university's new International Advisory Committee, whose job it is to work out ways to internationalize the school.

Mathias has worked with other Japanese universities, including Waseda and Hitotsubashi, as a visiting professor or external adviser.

In November 2003, the government conferred on him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of his contributions to promoting academic exchanges between Japan and Britain.

Mathias said many Japanese universities are fighting to survive in the new supercompetitive environment. And the competition to attract good students will become tougher as universities try to maintain their academic standards by having good students as well as good faculties.

"Many universities will face financial difficulties. To overcome them, some institutions may cut departments that are highly respected or expensive. However, closing those departments would reduce the academic status of the universities," he said.

"One of the most important aspects of survival will be the ability of a university's international status to attract students worldwide."

The first thing some foreign students look for when choosing a school is the international status of its research or departments, he emphasized.

Having tieups with foreign universities and establishing international programs are two ways Mathias said would help to attract foreign students and maintain high academic standards.
Keio University has had an exchange program for students and faculty members with Downing College for more than 20 years and maintains alliances with nearly 200 academic institutions worldwide.

According to Mathias, to ensure the success of alliances, the partners should have equal and strong academic standards.

"The building of confidence and trust is very important when you are considering the creation of an international program," he said. "Without assurances of the academic standards of your international partners, it can be a disaster."

The Japan Times: March 11, 2006

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060311f2.html