NEWS

On Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 20, APU held the 27th Annual Conference of the Japan Association for International Student Education. The theme was “Thinking about ‘the back of the world’ at APU.” The conference was held face-to-face (though online participation was also possible) for the first time since the 24th tournament held at Nippori Sunny Hall and Akamonkai Japanese Language School in the summer of 2019.

In his opening remarks, Sachihiko Kondo, President of the Japan Society for International Education, expressed hopes for the conference, saying, "I would like you to have a discussion to revive study abroad education, which has been damaged by the impact of COVID-19." Next, on behalf of the host school, APU Vice President Hiroshi Yoneyama stated, "I am grateful that you have chosen us as the venue for this important conference. APU is a university with many international students, but it also has its weaknesses. I hope that you will get a sense of how APU balances out that weakness at the tournament. Please enjoy APU.”

The first day of the conference was held in three parts. The first part was a keynote speech, in which Yukiko Shimooka, Director of the International Student Exchange Office, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, spoke on "The current status and future prospects of international student exchange," before Takahiro Matsui, Researcher for Japanese Language Education, Japanese Language Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs, lectured on, "Direction of measures for the Japanese Language Division in the future.” In the second part, the APU faculty members gave sessions on educational program implementation, introducing APU's multicultural learning class design as well as APU's Japanese language education. In the third part, a campus tour was held upon request, and a session on student recruitment titled "APU Admissions - Secrets of Success and Scholarships" was held in parallel.

On the second day of the conference, research presentations were conducted in a hybrid format; presenters and audience could either participate online or in person. At the same time, Professor Kazuko Suematsu of Tohoku University held a special workshop titled "International Co-education from the Perspective of Learning Results: What Are Students Learning?" Together with the participants, we discussed what students learn and how they grow through international co-learning, which incorporates mutual learning among students with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds into educational practice.

Over the 2 days of the conference, a total of 150 participated, including close to 100 participated in person and the rest joining online. APU students also participated in the running of the event, making the venue lively and providing an opportunity for the participants to feel the fruits of APU's international student education. The next competition will be held at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

Conference Program Outline

Friday, August 19
Part 1 13:00～
Greeting from the President
Greeting from the venue school
Outstanding Paper Award, etc.
Keynote speech 1
"The current status and future prospects of international student exchange”
Yukiko Shimooka, President of the Japan Society for International Education, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Keynote speech 2
"Direction of measures for the Japanese Language Division in the future.”
Takahiro Matsui, Researcher for Japanese Language Education, Japanese Language Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs
Part 2 15:00～ *events running concurrently
① APU's multicultural learning class design（KONDO Yuichi・HIRAI Tatsuya）
② Japanese language at APU（HONDA Akiko・SUMIDA Tamaki)
Part 3 16:40～ *events running concurrently
② APU Campus Tour（in-person only）
③ APU Admission: The Secret to Success and Scholarships (APU Admissions Office (International))

Saturday, August 20
General Meeting 09:20～
Special Workshop 10:30～12:00 *ran concurrently with research presentations
"International Co-education from the Perspective of Learning Results: What Are Students Learning?"
Professor Kazuko Suematsu, Tohoku University
Research Presentations: Morning Half 10:00～12:00
A hybrid method that can be presented and viewed online or on-site
Poster Presentations Open11:00～12:30／12:30～14:00
Research Presentations: Afternoon Half 13:00～15:30
A hybrid method that can be presented and viewed online or on-site