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 For many years, universities in Japan were out of reach of most international students owing to the language barrier and high costs. Now, things are changing. More and more universities are offering programs taught in English, while a lower yen and significant financial support programs are making Japan an increasingly cost-effective option for international students.
The next step is for Japanese universities to provide more relevant and attractive educational and support programs for their students. In recent years, the Japanese Government has set up a variety of new funding schemes to encourage universities to do this: one of the major initiatives is the ‘Good Practice’ (GP) scheme awarded to universities which have developed innovative programs across a variety of areas from curriculum reform to career support.
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) is one university which the government has consistently recognized as leading the way in innovation. In 2003, APU received GP funding for its Bilingual Education System on a Multicultural Campus, followed in 2004 by the Contemporary GP for Promoting Student Mobility and the Contemporary GP for Global Active Learning in 2005.
In 2006, APU has once again been awarded Contemporary GP funding, this time for its project on Career Education for Global Human Resources Development. APU already has an enviable reputation for career development and support, consistently recording job placement rates of over 95% for its graduates – including international students. Unlike many universities in other countries, APU actively encourages its international students to stay on and work in Japan after graduation, providing intensive training for the job application and interview process as well as help in converting to a working visa.
The program selected for GP this year takes these initiatives even further, developing an integrated career education system around three pillars:
- Promoting global human resources development by designing structured career education systems that integrate language ability, intercultural communication and specialized knowledge;
- Supporting career education endeavors through integrated individual counseling on study, student life and career development;
- Taking measures to show students how the specialized knowledge they have obtained is put to use in the real world via internships and cooperative lectures developed with a variety of external partners.
 APU President Monte Cassim offered the following remarks on this year's GP award:
‘I am very pleased that APU has been selected for this award, because this means that our endeavors have been recognized for their contributions to society. This recognition depends not only on our efforts, but also on the cooperation of the local community and our Advisory Committee and through the support of countless individuals in every sector.
‘By receiving this award, we at APU shall strive to contribute to making higher education in Japan even more internationally viable. We shall continue working to strengthen our programs in order to achieve our goals and to uphold our ideals.’
Another award recently received by APU was under the ‘Cooperative Establishment Project based on the Next Generation Educational Contents’, a National Institute of Informatics initiative to encourage dissemination of educational and research output from universities. This initiative recognized the APU Library’s innovative strategies. APU aims to develop a ‘Hybrid Library’, offering its full information services through data bases and e-journals.
Awards such as these show that APU’s innovative efforts are strongly supported by the government and other sectors. International students interested in studying in Japan and seeking a university of high quality would certainly do well to consider APU as an option.
Want to know more about APU?
Visit APU’s website: www.apu.ac.jp/admissions
Or contact the university directly:
Admissions Office, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
1 - 1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu, Oita 874-8577 JAPAN
welcome@apu.ac.jp
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