The government is set to introduce a new program that will encourage more students to study abroad by giving them financial assistance to stay overseas for a short period of time, it has been learned.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is launching what it has dubbed a "short visit" program from next fiscal year to boost the number of students who study abroad. It plans to dispatch 7,000 students overseas for a short stay in fiscal 2011. The ministry will include 1.7 billion yen for the program in its budget requests for next fiscal year.
According to the ministry, the number of university students studying abroad had been on the increase until around 1999, but has since declined to an annual 80,000 or so as students are said to be getting more "inward-looking." Even the United States, which is the most popular destination for Japanese students, hosted 30 percent fewer students from Japan in 2008 than in 2004.
While the ministry currently provides a one-year or longer study abroad program, it receives only three times the number of applications as seats available. In a bid to encourage more students to go abroad, the ministry will solicit students who are willing to stay overseas for a period of two weeks to three months so they can get a taste of what an overseas education is like.
Undergraduate students at certain universities -- which have student exchange programs with counterparts overseas and will offer students credits even for a short stay abroad -- will be given financial assistance of up to 80,000 yen for their living costs abroad per month and up to 80,000 yen for one-way airfares.
The ministry's latest white paper on science and technology has pointed out that researchers with overseas experience are more productive, conducting international joint research and coauthoring papers with foreign counterparts, and that the recent trend of Japanese youths becoming more "inward-looking" threatens to undermine Japan's competitiveness in the international community. The government has advocated introducing 300,000 Japanese students into international exchange programs by 2020.
Furthermore, the ministry plans to boost exchanges among universities in Japan, China and South Korea through credit transfers and joint diplomas, allocating about 2 billion yen for the "Campus Asia initiative" in its budget requests for next fiscal year.
Behind the trend of fewer students venturing abroad to study lies the widespread use of the Internet in getting overseas information easily and students' concerns that studying abroad could delay their job hunting activities.
"Some may say our new program is offering too much for students, but students won't be motivated to go abroad and study unless given financial assistance and credit transfers are provided as they face a tight job market," said an official with the ministry.
"Japanese youths lack ambition nowadays. We want to lift their spirits," said Senior Vice Minister of Education Masaharu Nakagawa.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20100906p2a00m0na014000c.html
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