The sixth annual KIT International Week 2018, an opportunity for students to learn about KIT’s international programs and ways to study abroad, was held October 22 to 26 this year. Events included KIT students fresh from academic pursuits abroad during the spring/summer break speaking about their experiences, a lecture and individual international career consulting sessions from a corporate employee, and a party thrown by a volunteer student group to welcome new KIT international students. Moreover, an Australia-Japan Innovation & Research Symposium was being held at KIT during this week and attending professors from both countries were discussing potential collaborative projects.

　International week got off to a practical and informative start with a Study Abroad Seminar. Many students who are willing to study abroad attended and learnt about conducting academic research outside Japan. KIT provides many pathways and some funding to enable students to widen their horizons. Participants were given advice on how to find suitable programs, obtain an invitation letter and other procedures. Students listened with great interest to Vice President, Prof. Giuseppe Pezzotti tell about his own experience as an international student in Japan. After the seminar, many students consulted KIT staff about which programs would best suit their needs.

Throughout the week, students who studied abroad gave presentations on the short-term programs held during spring or summer break such as the Polytech Orleans Summer Camp in France, the Kirirom Institute of Technology Drone Camp in Cambodia, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi Summer Camp in Thailand, and the Taiwan Tech Summer School. Creative presentations featured visuals and videos of student achievements and revealed the benefits they gained, challenges they faced and differences they encountered. At the end of each series of presentations, every team of presenters encouraged the attending students to participate in these programs next year and “experience what we experienced, firsthand.”

Students who studied abroad for extended periods also spoke about their time outside Japan. In fact, the ones who conducted research in overseas labs or interned at companies in other countries spoke in English when they told about what they did, saw and concluded. More than a few attendees said these presentations gave them important detail and a lot of insight into the realities of conducting research or interning abroad and they were interested to learn that scholarship funding is available.

At the “Overseas Safety Seminar,” an overseas crisis management specialist explained how to avoid crimes abroad based on past offenses involving Japanese students. International week also provided students with an opportunity to try out the weekly Lunchtime English Table (LET) that has been happening on campus for more than a year now. Students enjoyed conversing in English and experienced how important speaking English continuously, even broken English, was to getting used to it. Afterwards, students agreed not to speak anything but English while playing a detective game.

A speaker from Panasonic’s Cooperate Planning department talked about her experiences and shared her opinions with attentive students. This was a valuable opportunity for students to talk with the employee of a global corporation and find out about the realities of working in that environment. How often do employees actually use other languages? How good does their English need to be? In this session, Ms. Yui Koashi explained that she obtained her MBA in Australia and told how work changes when organizations change their structure. This talk inspired students to improve their practical English language skills and expand their career goals.

The last day of International Week, the student volunteer group, “KITICO,” who support KIT international students on a daily basis threw a welcoming party for international students who entered KIT this fall. Japanese students interacted with the new students through games and conversation, helping everyone make new friends beyond the borders of academic field or nationality.

KIT International Week, now in its 6th year, has become a campus tradition. The number of students motivated by these events who actually study abroad increases ever year. Five continuous days of opportunities to learn more about how to study or conduct research abroad is making a significant contribution to the internationalization of KIT.