VIII. Questionnaire(1) Purpose
The 1st batch of students at the Green Asia Program completed the curriculum to earn theirdoctoral degrees in March, 2017, and therefore, a questionnaire on the program targeting all of thestudents and professors related to the program was implemented. The purpose of this questionnaire
is to clarify the effectiveness of the program as follows: (1) whether the educational contents of theprogram contributed to increasing the (potential) degree recipients’ activities in non-academic fields(relative to basic design of the program), (2) whether the educational contents of the program
contributed to developing various abilities of the students, such as ability of objective appraisal,other than research skills (relative to a basic concept as an international education program combined
the sciences and humanities), and (3) whether the program impacted their departments in some way.
(2) Procedure
The procedures of the questionnaires targeting the students and faculty members are shown in
Table 8-1.

PeriodTargetRespondent

Table 8-1. Procedures of the Questionnaires
Student
Faculty Member
March and April, 2018
From March to June, 2018
71 Students including the degree
39 Mentors and research supervisors ofrecipientsthe Green Asia Program students
70 (99% response rate)
38 (97% response rate)(3) Questionnaire Targeting Studenta) Distribution of the Respondents
GenderNationality

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Grade (in AY 2017)

Department

ASEM: Applied Science for Electronics and Materials, MMS: Molecular and Materials Sciences,
EEE: Energy and Environmental Engineering, ERE: Earth Resource Engineeringb) Favorite Aspects of the Program
Q1. Give the following classes a usefulness score of development of critical thinking and creativity
from A to D.

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Q2. Select the numbers of the three MOST USEFUL classes.

Q3. Select the numbers of the three Least USEFUL classes.

Many students consider that Laboratory Rotation, Practice School, Domestic and International
Internships were beneficial. On the other hand, International Exercise A, International Forum forGreen Asia, and social science subjects do not seem to be quite useful.

122Q4. Please rate your level of financial concern regarding the cessation of funding by Ministry ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) after April, 2019.

Many students are concerned about the financial support after MEXT stops it. Many of thestudents who are not concerned will complete the program by March, 2019.
c) Ability Development
Q5. What were the key positive outcomes of being a Green Asia Program student?

123Q6. Select the numbers of the three MOST acquired abilities from the following twelve statements.

Many students think that they could acquire an enhanced critical thinking ability and creativity,
broad knowledge beyond own specialty, highly international environment, and an academic presentation
ability. The results seem to be attributed to the characteristic curriculum and the promotedinternationalization.
d) Building a Human Network and Future Career PlanQ7. How would you rate your communication and network building ability through the program activity?

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Many students including degree recipients answered that they could build various networks of
personal contacts and communicate with people from different countries. The results seem to be attributed
to the presence of the students from various countries in the program and their opportunities tocommunicate with people in other laboratories, e.g., a duration of Laboratory Rotation.
Q8. What WERE your career preferences after graduation when you FIRST ENROLLED in theGreen Asia Program? What are your CURRENT career preferences after graduation?
Japanese student:

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Overseas student:

Many of both Japanese and overseas students hope to be a researcher in a company, a university,or a public research institute. There are not a few students who hope to work in an internationalorganization or establish a company.
Q9. Which country DID you want to work in after graduation when you FIRST ENROLLED in theGreen Asia Program? Which country do you CURRENTLY want to work in after graduation?
Japanese student:126

Overseas student:

While most of the Japanese students hope to work in Japan, the Japanese students who hope to
get a job outside Japan also increased. On the other hand, there is an increased rate of overseas
students who hope to work in Japan.
Q10. How would you rate the impact of the following five classes on your chosen career path?

Many students consider that internship programs, Practice School and Domestic andInternational Internships, influenced their decision of career plans.

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(4) Questionnaire Targeting Mentor and Supervisor
Q1. Concerning Laboratory Rotation and (International) Internships in the Green Asia Program, did
you find any particularly good points that are helpful to consider future curriculums of yourdepartments?
Laboratory Rotation:• There were not only positive comments but also not a few negative ones.
• A positive comment: the system would contribute to expansion of the student’s view ormore transparent management of the laboratory• A negative comment: the burden of laboratories that accept the students increased.
(International) Internships:• Basically, the internships were highly acclaimed in that the students could gain an
opportunity conductive to not only enhancement of research skills but also personal growth.
• There was also dissatisfaction with cost reduction or brief period.
• A positive comment: the students could experience researches in companies.
• A negative comment: since the active research activity was left to the researcher who
accepted the student, it would be better to discuss contents and procedure of the activity
between both sides.
Q2. Did you see particularly good points for systems supervising students (Mentoring Care Unit,MCU) and reviewing doctoral theses? Was there something helpful for thinking about a mentoring
system in your graduate school?
• Their views on the system seem to be controversial.
• A positive comment: they would be conducive to equitable evaluation of the defense.
• A positive comment: a student has more than one professor to be supervised or advised.
• A negative comment: they were unbenefited systems.
Q3. Did you see particularly good points for implementation of lectures, reports, presentations, andmeetings in English? Was there something helpful for thinking about internationalization of yourgraduate school?
• There are many positive comments for the efforts to anglicize lectures and deliverables
because of necessity for internationalization.
• Some professors expressed concern at harmful effects on smooth communication because it
was difficult for both professors and students to describe and explain the details of various
things in English on the same level as in Japanese, while it has the advantage that Japanese
can make progress in their English proficiency.
• Some professors pointed a shortage of hardware or staffs who are native English or fluency
in English.

128Q4. Do you feel that your graduate school became more internationalized and/or interdisciplinary
through the Green Asia activities?
• Many professors expressed that the departments are becoming internationalized by theincrease of international students and the use of English.
• For interdisciplinary effects, there were some positive comments on spillover effects of a
recruiting system of international students on Web.
• Some professors threw doubt on what is realization of internationalization andinterdisciplinarity because they were subjectively based, or on the presentinternationalization weighted to particular countries.
Q5. Do you think that the whole activities of the Green Asia Program positively stimulate to yourgraduate school?
• Many professors described that the program was providing the stimulus to the involved
personnel. They also questioned spillover effect to others, particularly in Graduate School ofSciences.
(5) Conclusion
It can be said that the curriculum and activities in Green Asia Program are helpful to widen
doctoral degree recipients’ appeal in non-academic fields. In fact, more than half of them havegained employment with companies and public research institutions (V). The educational contents ofthe program may also be conducive to development of various abilities, such as that of objective
appraisal, other than research skills. Furthermore, it became clear that many professors think of theactivities as affecting the internationalization and interdisciplinarity of the graduate schools.
Hereafter systems in which the activities and curriculum of the program are incorporated into
graduate schools are necessary to spill over into personnel who are not concerned in the Green Asia
Program.

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