Current 2006 Japan-Australia StudyLink Cup Match times (Please watch this space):
8/9 3pm Game 1 vs. RMIT Redbacks at Bob Jane Stadium
8/10 7pm Game 2 vs. University of Melbourne at the Darebin International Sports Centre
8/11 7pm Game 3 vs. Victoria Institute of Sport at the Darebin International Sports Centre.
Please send any questions to joshua.flannery@studylink.com
StudyLink scores a goal for cultural exchange
As World Cup fever takes hold, Japanese and Australian university students are preparing to go head to head on the soccer pitch to mark the Year of Exchange between the two countries. The StudyLink Cup will see a team of 23 Japanese university students, selected and sponsored by the Kansai Student Soccer Federation, fly to Melbourne for a soccer tour of several Australian universities. The event is to also celebrate the Osaka-Melbourne sister city relationship - the Kansai team players being based in and around Osaka city.
International student recruitment firm StudyLink organised the inaugural tournament to promote sport, language and cultural exchange. StudyLink CEO Jason Howard said: “We’re committed to bringing students together and promoting understanding through education. What better way to initiate this than through sport?”
The RMIT University will host the Japanese team during its August 8 to 12 stay. While in Melbourne the team will play the RMIT Redbacks, the University of Melbourne team, and the budding national team-members of the Victorian Institute of Sport.
RMIT will provide accommodation for the visitors and, with 200 of the university’s students learning Japanese, there will be no shortage of people to host, guide and socialise with the team. The school has also invited the team into their language class to enjoy a discussion about soccer and the World Cup.
Melbourne City International has organised a lunch at the Melbourne Town Hall on August 10 where the Japanese players and others involved in the StudyLink Cup will be met by the city’s councillors.
The StudyLink Cup has been endorsed by the 2006 Japan-Australia Year of Exchange Committee and its participants will by vying for a prize sponsored by the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
http://www.jufa-kansai.jp/about/06.07.14message.html (Japanese)
Friday, July 21, 2006
BUSINESS FRONT LINE / Broad worldview seen vital for MBA students
"If you're going to get an MBA, you had better have a global understanding. Otherwise, it's worthless...You've got to have significant knowledge about how the world works," says Clive Grafton, chair of the board of advisers at Anaheim University.
To achieve this end, many Japanese students have chosen to obtain their degrees at prestigious schools in countries such as the United States, the birthplace of the qualification. But for officials at Anaheim University, this line of thinking is a bit odd.
"The reason you're getting your MBA is to improve your career, so why would you take yourself out of the market for two or three years to improve your career? You have to start over, and sometimes the job you quit [to study abroad] is no longer available. It's a big risk," says Anaheim University Vice President Anthony Al-Jamie.
The California-based university offers an online MBA program, making it possible for students to receive the highly sought-after degree in just a year without having to go abroad or even set foot on campus.
"Online education is the fastest growing form of education in the world. It's becoming far more acceptable to traditional education, and it is just growing in leaps and bounds," says Grafton, who received his doctorate in education and master of science degree in management.
The Internet course, he continues, is a good way to achieve a global perspective as it allows students to study business in their own environment--i.e. their own country--while being encouraged to interact with other MBA candidates from around the world in a free exchange of ideas and cultural perspectives through e-mail.
In 1996, the university opened its Japanese campus, Anaheim University Akio Morita Learning Center. At about the same time the school opened, Grafton started to notice a significant change in the Japanese lifestyle. The Internet was becoming a popular communication tool, and every time he has visited Japan over the past decade he became more aware of just how rapidly communication technology was evolving.
Al-Jamie says there are many people who say, "Japanese don't want to study online, they want to study in a classroom."
"But that's changing quickly," he said.
This year, 100 people graduated from the Akio Morita School. Half of them were Japanese, with the remaining graduates mostly hailing from India and other English-speaking countries. Many of the students are already in leadership positions and are preparing to move up to more senior positions, he said.
In addition to benefiting from on-the-job experience, the two executives said, studying for an MBA online makes economic sense and provides an opportunity to acquire a global perspective.
Japanese companies used to send their employees abroad for their MBAs, which they would bring back to their firms, along with their newly acquired managerial skills, according to Al-Jamie.
This meant companies were responsible for paying tuition, living expenses, accommodation and salaries. But with years of recession bringing down the economy, it has become difficult for companies to continue the practice.
Even so, Al-Jamie says, it was not uncommon for new MBA holders to become more ambitious during their time overseas, choosing upon their return to move on to better companies or be headhunted by other firms.
"It actually costs a company out of pocket 25 million yen or 30 million yen to pay for the actual expenses. But when you [a company] get only half back, you have to double your cost. Every time you send 10 [employees]...and if only five come back, that means one person costs you 60 million yen," he said.
===
Learn the global way
The MBA qualification originated in the United States, but, according to Grafton, the knowledge gained through such programs should be applicable in any country in which an MBA candidate would choose to work.
If, for example, students opt to study in the United States, they will likely be assimilated into the American business style because they must set aside their own culture and way of thinking and attempt to learn how Americans do things--a way not always appreciated in other countries.
With Anaheim University's online class, international students can put business strategies learned in class into practice in their own environment and see how effective they are in the country where they do business, Grafton said.
He said he was surprised to see so few American cars in Tokyo.
"Some of the American automobile industries are in trouble because they lost the significant share, and they deserve it, because they did not approach the global market in an understanding way," said Grafton, saying U.S. carmakers were too confident their strategies would be effective outside the United States.
"Some people become arrogant...That is a fault of being too self-assured, of not really measuring what you're trying to accomplish," Grafton said. "A lot of MBAs...took their degree, but they did not have a global outlook."
Grafton says Japan has not being moving forward as quickly as it should have been compared to other Asian countries, such as South Korea or China. But, he says, it still controls a significant part of the market in some countries, although he added a warning that Japan should avoid the same pitfalls into which the United States blundered.
(Jul. 17, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20060717TDY08001.htm
To achieve this end, many Japanese students have chosen to obtain their degrees at prestigious schools in countries such as the United States, the birthplace of the qualification. But for officials at Anaheim University, this line of thinking is a bit odd.
"The reason you're getting your MBA is to improve your career, so why would you take yourself out of the market for two or three years to improve your career? You have to start over, and sometimes the job you quit [to study abroad] is no longer available. It's a big risk," says Anaheim University Vice President Anthony Al-Jamie.
The California-based university offers an online MBA program, making it possible for students to receive the highly sought-after degree in just a year without having to go abroad or even set foot on campus.
"Online education is the fastest growing form of education in the world. It's becoming far more acceptable to traditional education, and it is just growing in leaps and bounds," says Grafton, who received his doctorate in education and master of science degree in management.
The Internet course, he continues, is a good way to achieve a global perspective as it allows students to study business in their own environment--i.e. their own country--while being encouraged to interact with other MBA candidates from around the world in a free exchange of ideas and cultural perspectives through e-mail.
In 1996, the university opened its Japanese campus, Anaheim University Akio Morita Learning Center. At about the same time the school opened, Grafton started to notice a significant change in the Japanese lifestyle. The Internet was becoming a popular communication tool, and every time he has visited Japan over the past decade he became more aware of just how rapidly communication technology was evolving.
Al-Jamie says there are many people who say, "Japanese don't want to study online, they want to study in a classroom."
"But that's changing quickly," he said.
This year, 100 people graduated from the Akio Morita School. Half of them were Japanese, with the remaining graduates mostly hailing from India and other English-speaking countries. Many of the students are already in leadership positions and are preparing to move up to more senior positions, he said.
In addition to benefiting from on-the-job experience, the two executives said, studying for an MBA online makes economic sense and provides an opportunity to acquire a global perspective.
Japanese companies used to send their employees abroad for their MBAs, which they would bring back to their firms, along with their newly acquired managerial skills, according to Al-Jamie.
This meant companies were responsible for paying tuition, living expenses, accommodation and salaries. But with years of recession bringing down the economy, it has become difficult for companies to continue the practice.
Even so, Al-Jamie says, it was not uncommon for new MBA holders to become more ambitious during their time overseas, choosing upon their return to move on to better companies or be headhunted by other firms.
"It actually costs a company out of pocket 25 million yen or 30 million yen to pay for the actual expenses. But when you [a company] get only half back, you have to double your cost. Every time you send 10 [employees]...and if only five come back, that means one person costs you 60 million yen," he said.
===
Learn the global way
The MBA qualification originated in the United States, but, according to Grafton, the knowledge gained through such programs should be applicable in any country in which an MBA candidate would choose to work.
If, for example, students opt to study in the United States, they will likely be assimilated into the American business style because they must set aside their own culture and way of thinking and attempt to learn how Americans do things--a way not always appreciated in other countries.
With Anaheim University's online class, international students can put business strategies learned in class into practice in their own environment and see how effective they are in the country where they do business, Grafton said.
He said he was surprised to see so few American cars in Tokyo.
"Some of the American automobile industries are in trouble because they lost the significant share, and they deserve it, because they did not approach the global market in an understanding way," said Grafton, saying U.S. carmakers were too confident their strategies would be effective outside the United States.
"Some people become arrogant...That is a fault of being too self-assured, of not really measuring what you're trying to accomplish," Grafton said. "A lot of MBAs...took their degree, but they did not have a global outlook."
Grafton says Japan has not being moving forward as quickly as it should have been compared to other Asian countries, such as South Korea or China. But, he says, it still controls a significant part of the market in some countries, although he added a warning that Japan should avoid the same pitfalls into which the United States blundered.
(Jul. 17, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20060717TDY08001.htm
Britain to get new Japanese studies center in September
Efforts by Japan experts in Britain to boost Japanese studies in the country will bear fruit this September with the opening of the National Institute of Japanese Studies in the new White Rose East Asia Center.
"The subject is strategically important for our country," Glenn Hook, a professor at the University of Sheffield's School of East Asian Studies, said in a recent interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo. "We've often lost good students who decided to go overseas for postgraduate programs."
NIJS is part of WREAC together with the National Institute of Chinese Studies. The center will get £4 million from the government over the next five years. After it opens in September, WREAC will be managed jointly by the University of Sheffield and the University of Leeds.
Hook, who is the author of several books, including "Militarization and Demilitarization in Contemporary Japan," played a key role in getting the government funding to establish the institute.
The professor first became interested in Japan when studying the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their effects on international politics. He later studied at Osaka University of Foreign Studies and Chuo University.
He said Japanese studies in the U.K. have changed in recent years. Japanese studies reached their peak in popularity in Britain in the mid-1980s, with the robust economy in Japan leading Japanese companies to give money to academic institutions.
Japanese pop culture, including animation and video games, has lead to an interest in more traditional culture as well.
The University of Sheffield has 50 British students registered for its undergraduate Japanese studies course every year. However, at the postgraduate level, the majority of students are from overseas.
"What has tended to happen is that students finish their B.A. and go straight to the business world, because there wasn't enough funding to pursue an M.A. or Ph.D.," Hook said.
As money from Japanese companies has dried up, many universities began shutting down their East Asian studies departments, saying they were not cost efficient. Most recently, Durham University decided to close its department in 2007.
The £4 million for WREAC is a part of a £25 million British government-initiative to fund regional studies. The money is from the Higher Education Funding Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Scottish Funding Council.
The £25 million program is the the first time the British government has awarded academic funding through open competition.
Thirteen proposals from university groups were shortlisted for a final interview, and five groups were awarded the government funding in the end.
The initiative will also fund the British Interuniversity China Center, the University of Edinburgh's center of research for Arabic-speaking countries, University College London's center for East European and former Soviet Union language-based area studies, and a research center focused on Eastern Europe at the University of Glasgow.
Speaking about how the government gave combined funding to NICS and the British Interuniversity China Center, Hook said that while China has grown in importance, Japanese studies have not lost their significance.
"Japan is still the second-largest economy in the world and an extremely important partner to the U.K.," Hook said, noting the two nations share similar views. "People should recognize the continuing importance of Japan in the world.
"We were very keen to have a strong governance structure involving international advisory boards, and also include representatives of the community," Hook said of the funding proposal for NIJS. He also said the University of Sheffield, founded in the early 1960s, had the advantage of having "trained Ph.D. students for many years."
About four new students will be welcomed annually to WREAC. Applicants, restricted to European Union citizens, must have expertise in their areas of study as well applicable language abilities.
Participants in the program will be able to take advantage of the center's links with more than 30 universities in China and Japan, including the University of Tokyo.
"We've always lacked the ability to enable the students to continue their studies, but the new funding will be a great opportunity," Hook said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060715f1.html
"The subject is strategically important for our country," Glenn Hook, a professor at the University of Sheffield's School of East Asian Studies, said in a recent interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo. "We've often lost good students who decided to go overseas for postgraduate programs."
NIJS is part of WREAC together with the National Institute of Chinese Studies. The center will get £4 million from the government over the next five years. After it opens in September, WREAC will be managed jointly by the University of Sheffield and the University of Leeds.
Hook, who is the author of several books, including "Militarization and Demilitarization in Contemporary Japan," played a key role in getting the government funding to establish the institute.
The professor first became interested in Japan when studying the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their effects on international politics. He later studied at Osaka University of Foreign Studies and Chuo University.
He said Japanese studies in the U.K. have changed in recent years. Japanese studies reached their peak in popularity in Britain in the mid-1980s, with the robust economy in Japan leading Japanese companies to give money to academic institutions.
Japanese pop culture, including animation and video games, has lead to an interest in more traditional culture as well.
The University of Sheffield has 50 British students registered for its undergraduate Japanese studies course every year. However, at the postgraduate level, the majority of students are from overseas.
"What has tended to happen is that students finish their B.A. and go straight to the business world, because there wasn't enough funding to pursue an M.A. or Ph.D.," Hook said.
As money from Japanese companies has dried up, many universities began shutting down their East Asian studies departments, saying they were not cost efficient. Most recently, Durham University decided to close its department in 2007.
The £4 million for WREAC is a part of a £25 million British government-initiative to fund regional studies. The money is from the Higher Education Funding Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Scottish Funding Council.
The £25 million program is the the first time the British government has awarded academic funding through open competition.
Thirteen proposals from university groups were shortlisted for a final interview, and five groups were awarded the government funding in the end.
The initiative will also fund the British Interuniversity China Center, the University of Edinburgh's center of research for Arabic-speaking countries, University College London's center for East European and former Soviet Union language-based area studies, and a research center focused on Eastern Europe at the University of Glasgow.
Speaking about how the government gave combined funding to NICS and the British Interuniversity China Center, Hook said that while China has grown in importance, Japanese studies have not lost their significance.
"Japan is still the second-largest economy in the world and an extremely important partner to the U.K.," Hook said, noting the two nations share similar views. "People should recognize the continuing importance of Japan in the world.
"We were very keen to have a strong governance structure involving international advisory boards, and also include representatives of the community," Hook said of the funding proposal for NIJS. He also said the University of Sheffield, founded in the early 1960s, had the advantage of having "trained Ph.D. students for many years."
About four new students will be welcomed annually to WREAC. Applicants, restricted to European Union citizens, must have expertise in their areas of study as well applicable language abilities.
Participants in the program will be able to take advantage of the center's links with more than 30 universities in China and Japan, including the University of Tokyo.
"We've always lacked the ability to enable the students to continue their studies, but the new funding will be a great opportunity," Hook said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060715f1.html
Private universities tie up with high schools
Private universities are scrambling to form tie-ups with junior and senior high schools to secure future students--and survival--amid the falling birthrate, school officials said.
Some universities are tying up with schools other than their affiliates, including public schools, to make up for the shrinking enrollment, they said.
Under certain conditions, private universities will grant admission to students from affiliated schools without having them take admission exams, giving the students an easier route to a college education, the officials said.
Chuo University High School, a private school affiliated with Chuo University, and adjacent Daisan (No. 3) Junior High School, a public school run by Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, are working out a tie-up contract.
Under the plan, which would mark the first such contract between private and public schools, at least 10 or more students at the Daisan Junior High School can enroll at Chuo University High School without taking the entrance examination. The new system is expected to start from the 2009 school year.
Since almost all students at the private high school who meet the necessary conditions can enroll at Chuo University, the new system will give qualified students at Daisan Junior High School entry into Chuo University without any admission exams.
The junior high school has 95 students.
The tie-ups are more common in the Kansai region.
Kwansei Gakuin University, a private university based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, formed an affiliation with three junior and senior high schools in January.
Those secondary schools in the 2007 academic year will introduce classes designed for enrollment at the university. The students who pass those classes will, in principle, be allowed to attend the university.
Similar deals were struck with several other junior and senior high schools.
Kyoto Sangyo University reached agreement in March to make Kyoto Seian Junior and Senior High schools its affiliates starting next April.(IHT/Asahi: July 13,2006
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200607130149.html
Some universities are tying up with schools other than their affiliates, including public schools, to make up for the shrinking enrollment, they said.
Under certain conditions, private universities will grant admission to students from affiliated schools without having them take admission exams, giving the students an easier route to a college education, the officials said.
Chuo University High School, a private school affiliated with Chuo University, and adjacent Daisan (No. 3) Junior High School, a public school run by Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, are working out a tie-up contract.
Under the plan, which would mark the first such contract between private and public schools, at least 10 or more students at the Daisan Junior High School can enroll at Chuo University High School without taking the entrance examination. The new system is expected to start from the 2009 school year.
Since almost all students at the private high school who meet the necessary conditions can enroll at Chuo University, the new system will give qualified students at Daisan Junior High School entry into Chuo University without any admission exams.
The junior high school has 95 students.
The tie-ups are more common in the Kansai region.
Kwansei Gakuin University, a private university based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, formed an affiliation with three junior and senior high schools in January.
Those secondary schools in the 2007 academic year will introduce classes designed for enrollment at the university. The students who pass those classes will, in principle, be allowed to attend the university.
Similar deals were struck with several other junior and senior high schools.
Kyoto Sangyo University reached agreement in March to make Kyoto Seian Junior and Senior High schools its affiliates starting next April.(IHT/Asahi: July 13,2006
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200607130149.html
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
2006 Japan-Australia StudyLink Cup match times
Current 2006 Japan-Australia StudyLink Cup Match times (Please watch this space):
8/9 3pm Game 1 vs. RMIT Redbacks at Bob Jane Stadium
8/10 4pm Game 2 vs. University of Melbourne - location to be confirmed
8/11 7pm Game 3 vs. Victoria Institute of Sport at the Darebin International Sports Centre.
Please send any questions to joshua.flannery@studylink.com
StudyLink scores a goal for cultural exchange
As World Cup fever takes hold, Japanese and Australian university students are preparing to go head to head on the soccer pitch to mark the Year of Exchange between the two countries. The StudyLink Cup will see a team of 23 Japanese university students, selected and sponsored by the Kansai Student Soccer Federation, fly to Melbourne for a soccer tour of several Australian universities. The event is to also celebrate the Osaka-Melbourne sister city relationship - the Kansai team players being based in and around Osaka city.
International student recruitment firm StudyLink organised the inaugural tournament to promote sport, language and cultural exchange. StudyLink CEO Jason Howard said: “We’re committed to bringing students together and promoting understanding through education. What better way to initiate this than through sport?”
The RMIT University will host the Japanese team during its August 7 to 12 stay. While in Melbourne the team will play the RMIT Redbacks, the University of Melbourne team, and the budding national team-members of the Victorian Institute of Sport. RMIT will provide accommodation for the visitors and, with 200 of the university’s students learning Japanese, there will be no shortage of people to host, guide and socialise with the team. The school has also invited the team into their language class to enjoy a discussion about soccer and the World Cup.
Melbourne City International has organised a lunch at the Melbourne Town Hall on August 10 where the Japanese players and others involved in the StudyLink Cup will be met by the city’s councillors. The StudyLink Cup has been endorsed by the 2006 Japan-Australia Year of Exchange Committee and its participants will by vying for a prize sponsored by the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
8/9 3pm Game 1 vs. RMIT Redbacks at Bob Jane Stadium
8/10 4pm Game 2 vs. University of Melbourne - location to be confirmed
8/11 7pm Game 3 vs. Victoria Institute of Sport at the Darebin International Sports Centre.
Please send any questions to joshua.flannery@studylink.com
StudyLink scores a goal for cultural exchange
As World Cup fever takes hold, Japanese and Australian university students are preparing to go head to head on the soccer pitch to mark the Year of Exchange between the two countries. The StudyLink Cup will see a team of 23 Japanese university students, selected and sponsored by the Kansai Student Soccer Federation, fly to Melbourne for a soccer tour of several Australian universities. The event is to also celebrate the Osaka-Melbourne sister city relationship - the Kansai team players being based in and around Osaka city.
International student recruitment firm StudyLink organised the inaugural tournament to promote sport, language and cultural exchange. StudyLink CEO Jason Howard said: “We’re committed to bringing students together and promoting understanding through education. What better way to initiate this than through sport?”
The RMIT University will host the Japanese team during its August 7 to 12 stay. While in Melbourne the team will play the RMIT Redbacks, the University of Melbourne team, and the budding national team-members of the Victorian Institute of Sport. RMIT will provide accommodation for the visitors and, with 200 of the university’s students learning Japanese, there will be no shortage of people to host, guide and socialise with the team. The school has also invited the team into their language class to enjoy a discussion about soccer and the World Cup.
Melbourne City International has organised a lunch at the Melbourne Town Hall on August 10 where the Japanese players and others involved in the StudyLink Cup will be met by the city’s councillors. The StudyLink Cup has been endorsed by the 2006 Japan-Australia Year of Exchange Committee and its participants will by vying for a prize sponsored by the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
Japan offers scholarships to Indian students
Japan offers scholarships to Indian students
Mumbai, July 1 (UNI)
The Government of Japan is offering scholarships to Indian students for the academic year 2007 under the Japanese Government (Mombukagakusho:MEXT) scholarship programme.
Indian students, who wish to study in Japanese universities as undergraduate students, technology students or professional training college students, can avail the programme, a press release issued by the office of the Consulate General of Japan here said.
The scholarships for engineering students are for a period of four years, whereas professional training college students in the field of civil, electrical and electronics engineering including architecture, telecommunication, nutrition, infant education, secretarial studies, hotel management, tourism, fashion, dressmaking, design, and photography is for three years.
The candidates should be between 17-21 years of age as on April 1, 2007 and must have completed a 12-year course of school education with a minimum of 65 per cent marks in aggregate.
Applicants should also be willing to learn the Japanese language and to receive university education in it, the release said.The scholarship will be 134,000 yen per month, which is subject to change. The last date for applying is July 14, 2006. Further information can be accessed on www.in.emb-japan.go.jp.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG3_sub.asp?ccode=ENG3&newscode=142798
Mumbai, July 1 (UNI)
The Government of Japan is offering scholarships to Indian students for the academic year 2007 under the Japanese Government (Mombukagakusho:MEXT) scholarship programme.
Indian students, who wish to study in Japanese universities as undergraduate students, technology students or professional training college students, can avail the programme, a press release issued by the office of the Consulate General of Japan here said.
The scholarships for engineering students are for a period of four years, whereas professional training college students in the field of civil, electrical and electronics engineering including architecture, telecommunication, nutrition, infant education, secretarial studies, hotel management, tourism, fashion, dressmaking, design, and photography is for three years.
The candidates should be between 17-21 years of age as on April 1, 2007 and must have completed a 12-year course of school education with a minimum of 65 per cent marks in aggregate.
Applicants should also be willing to learn the Japanese language and to receive university education in it, the release said.The scholarship will be 134,000 yen per month, which is subject to change. The last date for applying is July 14, 2006. Further information can be accessed on www.in.emb-japan.go.jp.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG3_sub.asp?ccode=ENG3&newscode=142798
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