GIFU UNIVERSITYJAPANNEWS Letter 46
2019 MarchFor International Exchange
Gifu University

Start of Joint Master’s/PhD Degree Programs

G

ifu University will launch four international joint degree (JD) programs with the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG, India) andthe Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM, the National University of Malaysia) in April 2019 to further propel its internationalization andattain greater academic achievements. The three organizations have already been engaged in a wide range of collaborative activities to lay
the groundwork for a successful start of JD programs since 2015.

Joint PhD Degree Program with UKM

President’s Press Conference

October 22 - 23OAn the theme of Gifu University’s Future Vision Toward
2025, President Moriwaki spoke about the establishmentof the Graduate School of Engineering, Gifu University
International Joint Department of Integrated MechanicalEngineering between Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
and Gifu University (Joint PhD Degree Program) as well as theestablishment of the Graduate School of Engineering, Gifu
University International Joint Department of Materials Scienceand Engineering between the National University of Malaysia
and Gifu University (Joint PhD Degree Program). The
presentation was followed by an explanation from Dr. Suzuki
concerning the background and overview of the programs.
Professor Tetsuji Kume (IITG
coordinator) and Professor
Lim
Lee
Wah
(UKM
coordinator), both from theFacultyofEngineering,
introduced the missions of
the programs. Gifu University
continues to strive for social
responsibility through joint
research
activities
withoverseas partner universities.

signing ceremony for the JD Program Agreement between
UKM and Gifu University was held in Malaysia on October
22. With the conclusion of this agreement, a Joint PhD Program will
begin in April 2019 between UKM and Gifu University International
Joint Department of Materials Science and Engineering Program,
under Gifu University's Graduate School of Engineering. The
signing ceremony was attended by UKM members:
Vice-Chancellor Dr. Noor Azlan Ghazali; Prof. Mohammad Kassim,
Science and Technology Faculty Dean; and GU members:
President Hisataka Moriwaki; Dr. Fumiaki Suzuki, Executive
Director for International Affairs and Public Relations. On October
23, the Gifu University delegation visited the Embassy of Japan in
Malaysia and reported the signing and details of JD programs to
Deputy Chief of the Mission Hiroyuki Orikasa and First Secretary of
Education and Science Attache Sentaro Ishikawa.

Winter School

December 19

New

Spring Program

December 4 - 21

TG

he Gifu University Head Office for Glocalization(GHOGL) held the 4th Winter School from December 4
to 21. In light of introducing JD programs, Gifu University
accepted eight students from IITG and UKM in 2018. Under
the guidance of their supervisors and student monitors, theparticipants conducted experiments/research work in theirrespective laboratories in the faculties of Engineering andApplied Biological Sciences. The students also took part inJapanese language classes and a number of cultural events.
Their visits to major Japanese firms gave them a strong
impression about how these companies manage andoperate their cutting-edge technologies.

G I FU U N I V E RS IT Y

March 9 - 23, 2019

HOGL launched a new short-term outbound program to
IITG in AY 2018. The program was exclusively designed
to offer Gifu University students an opportunity to interact
with outstanding Indian counterparts from IITG and toexposethem
totheinnovative research andacademic environment. Five
first-year
undergraduatesfrom the Faculty of Applied
Biological Sciences arrived
in IITG on March 9 for a
two-week study program,
which
included
designthinking
workshop,laboratory work, visits to
localcompanies
andresearch institutes. While at
IITG, everyone enjoyed thebeautiful nature on campus
as well as benefited from avibrant, enriched learning
environment.

12019 MarchAigi Career Development Consortium for International StudentsT

he Aigi Career Development Consortium for International Students was established in September 2017 by the organizations assented to themissions of the Career Development Program for International Students of MEXT. Under the framework of this consortium, Nagoya University, Gifu
University, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Meijo University and Nanzan University, as well as local governments, economic bodies andenterprise-supporting associations within Aichi and Gifu prefectures collaborate in their support for international students’ job-seeking efforts in Japan.

Gifu Region Workshop

Exchange Meeting with Local Companies

October 31

T

November 14G

he Aigi Career Development Consortium for International
Students: Gifu Region Workshop 2018 was held at the Gifu
University Satellite Campus (Gifu City) with the attendance of
103 participants. Four relevant organizations within Gifu
Prefecture including Gifu University co-hosted the workshop formutual understanding between international students and local
enterprises. First, presentations were made by the staff on
job-seeking support programs implemented in Gifu region. Next,
the participants broke into
small groups consisting ofstudents and company
employees,
withtheuniversity
professors
facilitating
the
group
discussions.

HOGL, Asahi University and Gifu Shinkin Bank jointly
hosted an exchange meeting with local companies on
campus with the main objective to promote businessmatchmaking between international students looking for
employment in Japan, and local industries seeking global talent.
Sixteen companies set up booths to introduce their corporate
products. Students freely circulated among different booths tochat and share information withcompany employees. In thepremarketing sweets tasting
event, participants enjoyed
Japanese sweets and provided
personal
impressions
andconstructive feedback on theconfectioneries.

Japanese Speech Competition

Joint Workshop with Abe Nikko Kogyo

November 23

TG

he “17th Japanese Speech Competition by International
Students Residing in Gifu Prefecture” was held at Gifu
University Auditorium. Thirteen students including fiveinternational students from Gifu University demonstrated their oral
Japanese proficiency in 7-miniute speeches. The competition has
been organized by the Gifu Regional Council for the Promotion ofInternational Exchange since 2001 in order to raise interests inJapanese and enhance theJapaneseskillsofinternational students. Ms.
Supawadee Saokumkate(speech title: "Break a
Barrier") and Ms. Huang
Yuean ("Connections FriendshipWith
One
Chinese Learner") from Gifu
University won the award.

HOGL and the Central Japan Economic Federation
co-hosted the International Students & Abe Nikko Kogyo
Co., Ltd. Joint Workshop on November 28 for the purpose ofpromoting interchange between students and employees. After
self-introductions, an overview of the company and its overseas
strategies were presented to 23 international students and staff
which was followed by a company tour. Students commented thatthey have gained a broader perspective on Japanese firms andtheir approaches to work.
“We hope we could
strengthen our partnershipwith Gifu University andwork hard for better
performancesbyincorporating the students’opinions." said Abe Nikko
Kogyo representative.

International Month

November 1 - 30

International Exchange Party Hosted by the PresidentInternational Events
November 6:
International Exchange Party Hosted
by the President
November 14:
Exchange Meeting with Local
Companies

November 28

G

November 6

HOGL held the International Exchange Party Hosted by the President on campus on November
6. The social event was held to provide a venue for international students, researchers, teaching
and administrative staff, as well as Japanese students who are interested in international exchange
and studying abroad to socialize with each other. Speeches were given by various university staff who
took part in overseas training programs as well as students and researchers who studied or conducted
research in foreign countries. An introduction of the new JD programs was also given. During the party,
President Moriwaki mingled with participants. Traditional dance performance was offered by a groupof foreign students from Myanmar.

November 21:
English Circle of Friends
November 23:
The 17th Japanese SpeechCompetition by International Students
Residing in Gifu Prefecture
November 1 – 30:
World Cuisine Fair
(Gifu University Co-op)

G I FU U N I V E RS IT Y

22019 MarchTraditional Kimono Workshop

Study Abroad Report Session
December 19

December 12GT

he Center for Japanese Language and Culture held a Juni-Hitoe(twelve layered kimono) workshop at the center’s facility.
Approximately 40 people including international students, teaching andadministrative staff attended. People closely watchedwith great excitement as an international student was
dressed up in colorful kimonos with the help of
instructors. Explanations by the center’s Professor
Momoko Tsuchiya on the basics of Juni-Hitoe inJapanese and English helped attendees gain anunderstanding of the profundity of Japanese culture.
Students later took turns in putting on kimonos and felt
its actual weight. This
workshop offered thestudentsauniqueopportunity to get an
up-closefirsthandexperience of a traditional
Japanese culture.

HOGL hosted a Study Abroad Report Session under thetheme "Why not study abroad?" with ten presentations by
students who took part in various study abroad programs ranging
from two weeks to one year such as short-term summer programs,
student exchange programs and the government/private
scholarship programs (TOBITATE! Young Ambassador Program;
Valor
and
V-DrugScholarship). They sharedinteresting
anecdotes
about their host countries,
language learning andcross-cultural experiences,and personal thrills ofstudying abroad.

Courtesy Call on
Gifu City Mayor

January 29, 2019

Ski Excursion

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r. Mark Tetsumi Suzukawa from the University of Campinas(Brazil), Gifu University’s oldest overseas partner institution), Mr.
Goki Shibata (from the Graduate School of Natural Science andTechnology) and Mr. Mirai Yoshida (from the Faculty of Engineering)
paid a courtesy call on Gifu City Mayor Masanao Shibahashi. Under abilateral inbound program, Mr. Suzukawa studied at Gifu University’s
Faculty of Engineering in January, 2019. Correspondingly, Mr. Shibata
and Mr. Yoshida studied at the University of Campinas from August to
October, 2018 also under the bilateral outbound program. Gifu City andCampinas have had a sister city relationship since 1982 and to
reinforce the friendship, Mayor
Shibahashi visited Campinas inJuly 2018. In the meeting, three
students
reportedtheirexperiences and exchanged theirviews on the importance ofinternational exchange.

February 19 - 20, 2019E

very winter, a ski excursion program is offered to international
students for the promotion of friendship. Thirty-four students
enjoyed skiing in Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture on February 19 and 20.
With the help of ski instructors and multiple runs on the slope, everyone
even those with no previous skiing experiences, got a knack of skiing
on the second day. Aftertrying their hardest, they
developed self-confidencewith their skiing technique.
Memories of this two-day
excursion will stay with thestudents for many years tocome.

road Experiences
Study Ab
Studying at West Virginia
University Now!

Do Your Best andNo Regrets!

Looking Back On
My First Six Months

H

ThailandSupawadee Saokumkate
Center for Japanese Language and CultureM

Yui Osawa Faculty of Education

y name is Supawadee Saokumkate or Jane, forshort. I came to Gifu in October 2018 as an
International Student in Japanese Language and Culture Studies
Course. This is not the first time I had been abroad as an exchange
student, but this time, I must live on my own and face everything by
myself. Therefore, this experience makes me grow mentally.

alf a year has passed since I came to West Virginia University tolearn about American culture and elementary education. I
would like to share with you about my daily life and classes. Throughactively participating in different activities, I had many goodexperiences! I made a lot of friends by joining badminton, film, andvolunteer clubs to communicate with students here! I had awonderful time at basketball games, baseball games, and having
lunch together with my friends.

The reason why I chose Gifu University is that Gifu University issurrounded by nature and this kind of environment is suitable forlearning Japanese language and culture. The teachers here are very
kind, as well as the classmates are helpful. If I have any problems, I
can feel free to talk to them. Moreover, I have got a lot ofopportunities to socialize with Japanese students. This makes myJapanese skill better and I can also learn about Japanese culture andcustom by communicating with Japanese people. This is the valuable
experience that you can find during your stayabroad.

One course on high school education offered at WVU made me very
curious about how to teach English, which is exactly what I wanted
to learn. This course was open to juniors and seniors and, as you canimagine, those courses were literally killing me. I had to spend muchtime preparing for class discussions and homework. Also, I went to
the WVU Nursery School every
week and taught Japanese tochildren
which
was
an
absolutely precious time forme.

I have been in Gifu for four months now. I havemade a lot of good friends, and I enjoy my life
here. Going abroad is not all about only studying
but also doing things we want, making friends,
and solving the problems with your own
strength. Get out of your comfort zone, do things
you want in order not to have any regrets later!

Thanks to my friends in
America and other countries,
every second, minute, and day
was filled with excitement.

G I FU U N I V E RS IT Y

32019 March

Conclusion of Agreement with Overseas Partner Universities
Hue University
November 12

Assam University
November 20

The University of Salamanca
November 26

P

S

P

resident Moriwaki visited ThừaThiên-Huế Province, Vietnam on
November 11-14 to attend the signingceremony of the agreement with Hue
University in the presence of Gifu
Prefectural Governor. "Hue University is
focusing on the development ofagriculture and tourism, and thepartnership with Gifu University will pave
the way for our successful collaboration in
the fields," said Hue University President
Nguyen Quang Linh. President Moriwaki
remarked that he has high hopes forvigorous exchanges among students andresearchers, which could potentiallydevelop into friendly relations between
Gifu and Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, andalso a solid partnership between Japan
and Vietnam in the foreseeable future.

ince the signing of faculty-levelagreement between the United
Graduate School of Agricultural Science(UGSAS) and the School of Life Scienceof Assam University in 2012, the two
universities have been maintaining a solid
partnership, which culminated in thesigning of university-level agreement on
November 20. Since 2012, the School ofLife Science of Assam University is also amember of Gifu University’s International
Consortium of Universities in South andSoutheast Asia for the Doctoral
Education in Agricultural Science andBiotechnology (IC-GU12, comprising of
18 universities from eight South andSoutheast Asian countries). The new
university-level agreement is expected topromote both institutions’ productive,
fruitful partnership especially in the fields
of life sciences and utilization of biologicalresources in the years to come.

Staff Development
Program at Guangxi
University

UGSAS-GURoundtable & Symposium
2018

October 17 - November 6T

wo Gifu University administrative
staff
members
attendedathree-week staff development program at
Guangxi University (Gifu University’s
partner university since 1986), China.
During their stay, they organized a Gifu
University Study-Abroad Fair and offeredadvice to Chinese students intending tostudy abroad in the future. The students
were pleased to welcome the GU staff at
the opening of Japanese culture classes.
Despite some language barriers andlifestyle and cultural differences, the staff
resolved to communicate with the
Chinese students and staff hoping theirpresence could strengthen ties between
Gifu University and Guangxi University.
They later expressed their appreciation
for the opportunity of professional
development through this program.

resident Moriwaki and Dr. Suzuki
visited Spain to attend the signingceremony of the agreement between Gifu
University and the University of
Salamanca. "We already have a strong
bond with Gifu Prefecture and I am
honored to sign the agreements with Gifu
University at this juncture of the 800th
anniversary of the University of
Salamanca," said Rector Ricardo Rivero
Ortega. President Moriwaki stated that heexpects diverse, multifaceted exchanges
among students and faculty in medicine
and pharmaceutical sciences.

Dr. Aurelijus Zykas
Special Seminar

October 16 - 18

U

GSAS held the 6th UGSAS-GU
Roundtable & Symposium on
October 16-18, attended by IC-GU12
overseas members. The following eventsand activities were conducted during thethree-daysymposium:
signing
ceremonies for two universities accepted
into IC-GU12; opinion exchanges
regardingthecurrent
stateofinternational collaboration; researchpresentations on animal production andconservationforsustainable
development; and a poster session
co-hosted
by
UGSAS
and
the
participants of Rearing Program for Basin
Water Environmental Leaders.

Published by the Gifu University Head Office for Glocalization (GHOGL)
General International Affairs OfficeE-mail : int_exch@gifu-u.ac.jp
Inbound and Outbound Student Affairs Office E-mail : direcent@gifu-u.ac.jp

November 9T

he Faculty of Engineering hosted a
special seminar, “Lithuania, Kaunas,
and VMU: Connected by the ties of
Sugihara Chiune.” Dr. Aurelijus Zykas, theHead of the Center for Asian Studies of
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), wasinvited as guest speaker. Gifu University
and VMU have enjoyed active exchanges
since the signing of an agreement inJanuary 2012. In his speech, Dr. Zykas
introduced the attractions of VMU andmentioned Sugihara Chiune (1900-1986),
the famous ex-vice consul for the Empireof Japan in Lithuania, who saved over
6,000 Jews during WWII. Dr. Zykas said
Sugihara is well known to the people of
Kaunas and his ultimate act ofself-sacrifice keeps on inspiring people tovisit Japan.

Newsletter for International Exchange Gifu University Vol.46
https://www.gifu-u.ac.jp/en/international/newsletter/newsletter.html