Kindai University invites SPbU’ students and professors to Japan
A delegation from Kindai University (Osaka), one of the largest private universities in Japan, has paid an official visit to SPbU to discuss a bilateral agreement on joint research projects, internships, and academic mobility for students and professors.
Expanding international cooperation for Kindai University is a high priority, said the head of the delegation, Vice-President for International relations, Prof Yoshihiko Hosoi. Kindai University has made a list of twenty universities it would be interested in concerning cooperation issues with and St Petersburg University is among them.
Fruitful cooperation with Japan’s universities is vital for the University, said Deputy Rector for International Affairs Sergei Andrushin. “Our cooperation with our Japanese colleagues is gaining momentum. SPbU has agreements with all Japan’s top universities and we are immensely interested in expanding our academic collaborations”, — said Sergei Andrushin. Let us remind that in October last year SPbU’s Rector Nikolay Kropachev was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by the Japan’s Prime-Minister.
Each year, dozens of Japanese students come to the University under academic exchange programmes and vice versa. SPbU’ students in Oriental studies learn both modern and classical Japanese language, literature and culture. Today the University offers master’s educational programmes in Economics and International Management that combine study of Japanese language and principle subjects, which makes their graduates highly competitive in labour market. Moreover, research exchange between SPbU and Japan contributes to an increase in joint publications.
Our colleagues from Kindai University hope that our students will come to study in Kindai University. “We are sure that graduates who have a broad perspective in Japanese and Russian languages and cultures will lead the relations between our countries on a new level”, — said Prof Hosoi.
Japan supports practice-oriented education, said Prof Hosoi. That’s why the event was visited by Mr Kita and Ms Urao from Toyota Corporation. Sergei Andrushin offered Toyota Corporation to join SPbU as partners from Japan along with Mitsui, Shimadzu, Panasonic, and JTI. It will provide opportunities for students to have internships with the companies.
Kindai University is interested in SPbU’s research resources and potential: they are ready to start cooperation in scientific exchange and supervision on post-graduate level. “The University follows interdisciplinary approach both in education and research. Today, the University embraces all fields of science: from humanities to medicine and mathematics, — said the head of the Office for Research Aleksandr Streltsov. — SPbU carries out research projects together with its peers from all over the world, including Japan. We are glad to have scientific connections with new partners”.
Yoshihiko Hosoi prepared a draft of the memorandum on cooperation between SPbU and Kindai University. After the document is approved and signed, it can define the way how our universities will collaborate, for example, in making agreements on joint academic projects, said Sergei Andrushin.
For reference:
Kindai University is one of the top private universities in a number of students and applicants in Japan. Kindai University has 14 faculties and 13 schools, with 32,000 students and 10,000 staff. The university is distinctive in the way it offers practice-oriented education: it ranks the second among all the universities in Japan in a number of business partners.
Kindai University was founded by the Sekō family, and today the chairperson of the University’s Trustee Council is Hiroshige Sekō who is Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan and is interested in Japan-Russia relations.