The Career Development Program for Foreign Students from Asia began in 2007. It is a very useful program for foreign students from Asia, etc. who would like to work for Japanese companies. Comprised of two frameworks (Foreign Students' High Specialty Practice Operation and Foreign Students' High Achievement Practice Operation), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) are collaborating to increase the number of talented individuals coming to Japan to study as well as to expand opportunities for foreign students to play active roles in Japanese and Japan-affiliated companies. Industry and academia are working as one to provide a consistent human resources development program, from the recruitment and selection of foreign students and the provision of specialized and Japanese language training to support in job placement.

The Foreign Students' High Specialty Practice Operation is available only to full-time students who have preliminarily been accepted to enroll in a department or graduate course at a university designated by METI and MEXT. Of them, students who participate in this program are those who have been chosen to by a university selected to participate in the program. At the same time, they must have also been accepted to receive the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship. Students who participate in the program not only study the courses that are ordinarily related to acquiring a degree but also a curriculum related to this program. It includes an industry-academia collaborative educational program that is executed by the university in a respective field of specialty and an educational program consisting of business-level Japanese, etc. An example of industry-academia collaborative specialized education of is the Automotive Industry Super Engineer Development Program that is introduced in this issue. Here, students acquire specialized knowledge related to automobiles and the automotive industry. The programs might require more work than that for other students, but we believe that participants will be able to experience a fulfilled life as a student.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Students' High Achievement Practice Operation is for foreign students from Asia, etc. who are currently enrolled in a Japanese university at the undergraduate or graduate level and aim to join a Japanese company. It is executed on a regional basis by a university and companies in the region. The educational program provided includes business level Japanese language training and is carried out throughout Japan by region. For example, WIL, a non-profit organization, acts as the secretariat for the Kanto region. (See the inaugural issue of the email magazine for current foreign students distributed on November 15, 2007 for details. http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/mm/Nov-2007/en/index.html.)

Details such as conditions for eligibility and application procedures are scheduled to be provided some time after January at the Career Development for Foreign Students from Asia Project Support Center website.

The URL of the official website of the Career Development Program for Foreign Students from Asia Project Support Center is
http://www.ajinzai-sc.jp/index_e.html.

"Career Gateway to Asia"
Keiko Saito
President, NPO Japan Forum for Work Integrated Learning (WIL)

Program for Education in a Specialized Field through Industry-Academia Collaboration
Ken Nishina
Professor, Nagoya Institute of Technology

Program for Learning Business Japanese and Japanese Business
Izumi Yamamoto
Associate Professor, Nagoya Institute of Technology