Student Life

Club Activities and Regional Exchange

Multicultural Camp

Multicultural Camps are held in Beppu City and welcome international and domestic students for a two-day one-night camp involving games, hiking, cooking and much more. Set up as a way to promote intercultural exchange, students at these camps are typically 50% international and 50% domestic. Held every year in the spring semester, Multicultural Camps offer participants the opportunity to make new discoveries and build new friendships with students from different cultural backgrounds.

Multicultural Weeks

Every year during the spring (May-July) and fall semesters (November-January), APU hosts a series of Multicultural Weeks. During each week the spotlight is put on one of the many countries and regions represented on campus and that country’s culture and language are introduced and celebrated through a range of student-led events and activities.
Between 100 and 150 students take a central role and work together to create each of the Multicultural Weeks. A feature of these Weeks is the fact that approximately a third of Week participants are not native to the Week’s featured country or region. These non-native students work under the guidance of native students to become expert ambassadors for their culture. Through this event students learn how to develop a greater sense of pride in their native culture and a greater respect for others, while also acquiring the kinds of skills sought in global human resources including mutual understanding and decision making skills, initiative and the ability to work well as part of a diverse team.

Tenku Campus Festival

The APU campus festival, Tenkusai, began in 2003 – the first year the University had students in each college year. Featuring ethnic food stalls, traditional dances, colourful performing arts, displays by student volunteer circles, and much more, the Tenkusai festival always manages to draw a massive crowd. Held over two days in the fall semester.

Extracurricular Activity (Clubs and Circles)

The APU campus offers endless opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of different cultures. A prime example is the array of club and circle activities students can choose from. Working together on a project with friends of different culture, values and language backgrounds is an integral part of the APU learning style. APU has an enormous range of clubs and circles to get involved with including language and intercultural awareness clubs, and globally-minded student organisations engaged in international problem solving initiatives in Japan and around the world. Sharing a common dream and working together with fellow students of different nationalities could be your first step towards becoming the kind of graduate who can make a real contribution to international society.

Community Exchange

Contributing to regional internationalization and revitalization are central to the APU mission. Our students, faculty and staff members continue to play an important role in this process by actively engaging with the local community. Current projects include research by seminar groups into local revitalization projects and student participation in local festivals and town development initiatives. By engaging with the community, APU aims to nurture an even stronger sense of unity and partnership with the region.

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