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“Consideration of International Exchange in the Age of Educational Globalization―Global Mobility of Students―” Symposium

On Friday, June 26, the symposium “Consideration of International Exchange in the Age of Educational Globalization—Global Mobility of Students—” was held as part of the Top Global University Project. Organized by the Keio University International Center, the symposium was held in the South School Building Hall on Keio’s Mita Campus.

The opening speech was delivered by Mr. Hideto Matsumoto, Director of the Office for International Planning, Higher Education Policy Planning Division of the Higher Education Bureau at MEXT, which was then followed by Prof. Jiro Kokuryo, Vice-President for International Collaboration, who introduced the various international education programs offered at Keio University. Prof. Kokuryo then moderated a panel discussion on global student mobility and competition and cooperation among universities.

The panel included representatives of Keio’s partner universities: Prof. Jongryn Mo, the Vice President for International Affairs at Yonsei University (Korea); Dr. Jonathan S. Noble, Assistant Provost for Internationalization—Asia from the University of Notre Dame (United States); and Mr. Tom Atterson, Head of Study Abroad at King’s College London (UK); as well as Keio’s own Prof. Masato Yasui of the School of Medicine.

In the afternoon, experts were invited to a panel discussion on the issue of quality assurance in short-term programs, which are now increasing in global demand. Panelists included Dr. Jonathan S. Noble, Assistant Provost for Internationalization—Asia from the University of Notre Dame (United States) and Dr. Susanna Pavloska, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Global Regional Studies at Doishisha University, as well as Dr. Tomoko Tokunaga, Project Assistant Professor of the Keio University International Center. The panelists raised specific examples from their experiences making for a lively discussion.

Ms. Kazune Funato Hallgren, CEMS Program Manager at the Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden), then talked about the current situation of higher education in Europe and how programs that have been developed in Europe such as Erasmus and CEMS MIM—a double-degree program for master’s students studying business in one of the CEMS member institutions including Keio University—have contributed to the international student mobility trend.

Despite the typically murky weather of the early summer rainy season, the symposium attracted as many as 100 people, including representatives of embassies, faculty and staff members of universities around Japan, and the general public. Members of the audience later commented that they were able to gain a better understanding of the future of globalization of higher education in Japan through the many questions asked and issues raised from the audience, which sparked lively discussions and debates.

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