The British Council Japan would like to send a delegation of 15 to 20 staff from Japanese universities to visit UK universities in November 2016. The Japanese participants will be accompanied by staff from the British Council Japan. We are now looking for approximately four UK universities who would like to be considered to host a visit.

Purpose of the mission

One of the key aims of the mission is to provide Japanese universities with the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the UK higher education system and its international strategies. We hope to demonstrate the diversity of the UK higher education sector by visiting different types of universities. With government support through initiatives to enhance the international profile of the Japanese university sector, the demand for new partnerships with UK institutions in terms of student and academic/non-academic exchanges as well as research collaborations has never been higher among Japanese universities. Japanese universities are also keen to learn from UK universities expertise on raising international profile through branding and reputation management. Through this programme we ultimately aim to facilitate networking which will lead to the development of new partnerships between universities in Japan and the UK.

Proposed programme

We would like host UK institutions to provide an overview of the topics below either in a briefing session or interactive workshop with relevant staff from the host institution as well as through visits to relevant facilities.

[Required topics and activities]

• Development and implementation of corporate international strategy
• Development and management of overseas partners: student exchange, credit transfer, double degrees/joint degrees
• Recruitment and support for international students: recruitment strategy, accommodation, learning support, and career support
• University branding, reputation management and PR
• Campus tour
• Networking opportunities with staff interested in partnership building

[Optional topics]

• International research partnerships
• Summer programmes
• Initiatives to increase outbound mobility
• Alumni networks

English will be the main language and there will be no translation.

Timing

We plan to hold the mission between Monday 14 and Thursday 17 November 2016. We hope to visit four institutions. At each institution, we would like to participate in a full day visit programme, starting at around 10:00 and finishing at around 16:00 (subject to discussion).

Proposed schedule:

• Sunday 13 November - Arrival
• Monday 14 November – University visit
• Tuesday 15 November – University visit
• Wednesday 16 November – University visit
• Thursday 17 November – University visit

Costs

• We would like each host institution to provide lunch for the delegation during the visit.
• We may also ask host institution to provide transport for the group either by taxi or coach between the nearest train station/local accommodation and the campus.

Institutions which can offer on-campus accommodation with internet access will be preferred. The maximum cost per night is shown below. The cost will be covered by the delegates.

• Edinburgh £70
• London £120
• Elsewhere £60

*Prices include breakfast and tax.

Selection methodology

We will select host institutions taking the following aspects into consideration:

a) Host institutions should be a general university offering a range of subject areas including arts, humanities and sciences.
b) Commitment to developing partnerships with Japanese universities
c) Topics to be covered and relevance to the interests of Japanese universities. Institutions that can showcase strong corporate international strategy, recruitment and partnership development strategies as well as branding/reputation management case studies will be preferred.
d) Geographical location in relation to other host institutions.
e) Overall balance of the types of universities (teaching/research universities, strength in arts and humanities/science subjects).
f) Institutions which have not participated in this programme within the last three years will be given preference. However, institutions which have participated within the last three years will not be excluded from consideration.

Japanese university participants

We will start inviting applications from Japanese universities at the beginning of July on the basis of:

a) Commitment to developing links with UK institutions including student and academic exchanges as well as research collaboration.
b) Commitment to the Japanese government’s agenda of internationalising universities.
c) Participation in ‘Experience Japan Exhibition 2016’, which is scheduled to be held in London on 19 November to promote study and work opportunities in Japan.

For your reference, the following universities took part in the mission last year:

Ibaraki University, Keio University, Kobe University, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, Nagasaki University, Nagoya University, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Tohoku University, Tokai University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

How to apply

If you would like to be considered to host a visit, please complete the following on-line form (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZJL76L) by Monday 6 June 2016. We will notify you of the results by the end of June.

Background

According to the latest official statistics published by the Japan Student Services Organisation, there was a 68% increase in the number of Japanese university students studying in the UK as visiting and exchange students between 2010 (4,084) and 2014 (6,864). This growth has resulted from a series of Japanese government initiatives to enhance the internationalisation of Japanese universities since 2009. The ‘Global 30’ project, which ran between 2009 and 2014, funded 13 top universities to act as “hubs” of internationalisation. Meanwhile, the ‘Go Global Japan’ initiative, which was launched in 2012 and is scheduled to run until 2016, provides grants to 42 universities with the multiple aims of overcoming the ‘inward-looking’ tendency of the Japanese, nurturing global talent, and internationalising university education.

Furthermore, a new government initiative called the ‘Top Global University Project’ was launched in 2014 to enhance Japanese Universities’ global competitiveness. It aims to position 10 Japanese universities within the top 100 of the world university rankings within the next decade through building strong international partnerships for student and academic exchanges and research collaboration. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s strategy towards education, often dubbed as “Abeducation”, aims to double inbound and outbound student mobility by 2020 (to 300,000 and 120,000 respectively). In order to reach this goal, the number of government scholarships for short term study abroad has significantly risen.

As many universities in Japan struggle to meet their targets for internationalisation, there is an increased demand for staff development in order to successfully internationalise universities and for opportunities to build new partnerships. Over the past seven years the British Council in Japan has successfully organised a series of Inward Missions, providing opportunities for nearly 120 staff representing 45 Japanese universities to learn about the internationalisation strategies and best practices of UK universities. The Inward Missions to date have resulted in the establishment of new partnerships between participating institutions.

Contact

Ayako Towatari
Project Manager (Education) British Council Japan
T +81 (0)3 3235 8043
F +81 (0)3 3235 8040
ayako.towatari@britishcouncil.or.jp

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