Gap year symposium introduces UK angle on an ongoing debate

Interest in gap years has been strong in Japan ever since the University of Tokyo, followed by other leading universities, announced that they were considering moving to an autumn start to align with the Western academic calendar. This would leave their students with a gap of six months between high school and university – a profound change in a system which has valued progressing at the same rate as one’s peers above individual choices. Please refer to the article, Plans to move to autumn enrolment gather steam.

Japanese universities are seen to be responsible for their students during their “gap term”, and so they are thinking hard about what options to offer them. Study, internships or volunteering abroad are widely considered to be among the most appropriate, given the urgent need to develop personnel with global skills.

The British Council, Meiji University and STA Travel hosted a symposium on “The future of gap years in Japan: learning from overseas experiences” on 4 June 2012, using the UK’s acknowledged expertise as the originator of gap years to introduce UK options for “gap terms”, as well as to contribute to the debate about a system that will work in the Japanese context. Over a hundred university staff, industry representatives and government officials discussed tricky questions such as how “gap terms” can foster independence if they are compulsory and structured. Participants expressed a desire to hear more about UK examples, as well as to set up a forum to take forward the discussion. We will continue to be closely involved in this process in order to identify all the opportunities for UK involvement.

Photos:

1. Prof Hirose of Kyushu University shares the results of his international comparative research into gap years
2. Yu Aoki, a student of Meiji University, talks of his gap year experiences travelling the world
3. The presentations generated a wide range of questions for the panel