2015 Activity Report
January Activity Report
January 2016
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Kameda Yuuko
This month we had a few extra queries from students that participated in the Office Open & Casual Conversation Day last month so we received the answers from the International Central Office and delivered them to the necessary students. After the event had finished, we also received such queries as “May we come and chat in Japanese again?”
Office Open & Casual Conversation Day (2016.1)
Comments from Students who Participated
The contents of the questions varied from the prices of renting apartments to short term study abroad programs and studying abroad through the Japanese government however the impression I got was that there was very little exchange of information occurring between fellow students. Last year we held a study abroad guidance meeting for the students but this year due to the Japanese conversation practice and the office open day, it became individual guidance meetings. When the previously mentioned study abroad guidance meetings are held multiple times over one year I personally think that they aid the construction of networking between students. I felt that both individual counseling at the office (Japanese conversation practice and consultations regarding studying abroad) and the study abroad meeting (regarding studying abroad as a whole) were both necessary. Also from next month, following from the appointment of the new project coordinator we conducted the handover takeover preparations. From now on at the London office, we are hoping to achieve further development as a place for students to come and discuss any issues they may have.
December Activity Report
December 2015
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Kameda Yuuko
The Global Japan Office (GJO) has begun plans and preparations for a Japanese conversational get-together titled “Open Office & Casual Conversation Day”. The main aim of this event is to allow students to get to know more about the GJO. It will be held for 4 hours on both January 19th and January 26th. Fliers (pictured right) have been made that detail the plan for the event which will be plastered on doors and notice boards. The help of head teachers within the Japanese language department, as well as those in charge at the Japan Year Abroad Support, is also being called for.
The event offers the chance to use Japanese within a real environment while teaching the students about the existence of the office. PowerPoint presentations and pamphlets are being prepared by TUFS staff about the TUFS Informal Meeting that was held in September for exchange students, so students will have the opportunity to ask questions relating to studying abroad. We want to hear each student’s stories on times they have become flustered or embarrassed when speaking Japanese, so we will have 2 people per session (each session 30 mins-1 hour), for which they will need to reserve a place prior to the event by sending an e-mail. We would also like to document the name, position, school year and reason for attending of those visiting the office to strengthen the network between the office and the students.
Graduates from TUFS have been active this January in the UK, and were invited to SOAS where the events “London Global Business Lecture/TUFS Global Community Meeting” and “Foreign Exchange New Year’s Party” were held. Many TUFS students and graduates who are residing in the UK participated in the events where they were able to hear valuable stories regarding career building from their seniors, and where they could deepen their amity. Two members from the TUFS Global Administrative Exchange Programme also attended the events and held a lecture on shadowing as part of the English Summer Course at SOAS. Moreover, the GJO held their first ever event in September titled “TUFS Informal Meeting”.
August Activity Report
August 2015
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Kameda Yuuko
After the establishment of the GJO, the first event “TUFS Informal Meeting” was held. The purpose of this event was to establish an opportunity for SOAS students who are approaching their year abroad to directly discuss their questions and doubts. The focus of this event was not solely students who will study abroad at TUFS, but also students who will come to a variety of regions of Japan as well as students who are interested in studying abroad in Japan.
When the event was held we asked the Japanese principal lecturer who is also year abroad coordinator for their cooperation, to distribute the advertisement created in the office to all students who are studying Japanese and to put the information on the noticeboard. We also asked two administrative staff from TUFS who are taking part in international training at SOAS for their cooperation, and on the day of the event 8 students took part which exceeded the number of people we contacted prior to the event. Due to it being summer vacation many students are away from London so to have 8 students gather was incredibly fortunate.
The schedule from hereafter will be to gather feedback from questionnaires filled out by the participants of this event and whilst cooperating with the Japanese principal lecturer and year abroad coordinator of SOAS, we are looking to expand our activities in the future.
