The open seminar will be held as follows:
■Date
Monday, 1 March 2021, 18:30-21:00 (JST/GMT+9)
■Venue
Online seminar via Zoom ※We will inform you of the participation URL by the day before
■Theme
Transformation of International University Education under/post Covid-19 Pandemic: Dialogue between Europe and Japan
■Language
English/Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
■co-hosted by
International Strategy Office, Tohoku University
■ Abstract
The impact of Covid-19 Pandemic towards university education is enormous and still ongoing. Especially, the internationalization of higher education is facing fundamental challenges under the suspension of physical student mobility. Instead, the digitalization of university education is accelerated, and many interactions and co-learning beyond the national border and geographical distance are rapidly expanding. The contexts of international university education are highly diverse in respective higher education systems. In the UK and anglophone countries, the degree of damage from the pandemic and geopolitics as well as the financial affordability of the international students are becoming crucial factors for international student marketing. Also, various types of transnational education services including MOOCs are becoming active and an inseparable component of the mainstream university education. In Europe, the international student mobility is still maintained even under the pandemic, while the physical mobility is becoming less important. At the same time, the digitalization and the still serious challenges of the pandemic is certainly accelerating the transformation of the university internationalization. In Japan and East Asia, the impact of Covid-19 infection is relatively smaller compared with North America and Europe. Having said so, the international student mobility is still strictly controlled. Also, the rapidly ongoing digitalization of the society is posing a fundamental question if we could continue to attract international students through our current university education deeply embedded in the Japanese society, culture and language. In Japan, the online-based international learnings are mostly pursued non-commercial based, while the outsourcing of, for example, the language education toward the overseas providers through online is widely spreading.
In this seminar, we will discuss the following questions from the perspectives of Japan, Europe and Anglophone systems.
– What transformation the Covid+19 epidemic and countermeasures bringing about to the internationalization of university education?
– What data and evidence are available or relevant for archiving and analyzing the current situation and future prospects?
■ Program
Chair: Sae Shimauchi (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
(Time: JST)
18:30-18:40 Introduction Akiyoshi Yonezawa (Tohoku University)
18:40-19:20 Internationalization of the Curriculum at Home in a Global Context
Elspeth Jones (Leeds Beckett University)
Jos Beelen (The Hague University of Applied Sciences)
19:20-19:30 Q&A
(10 min break)
19.40-19:50 Intercultural Collaborative Learning at Universities in Japan under/post Pandemic
Kazuko Suematsu (Tohoku University)
19:50-20:05 Case study 1: Kansai University COIL project
Keiko Ikeda (Kansai University)
20:05-20:20 Case study 2: Tohoku University Be Global Project
Yukako Yonezawa (Tohoku University)
20:20-20:50 Discussion
Discussant: Hiroshi Ota (Hitotsubashi University)
20:50-21:00 Concluding Remarks Futao Huang (Hiroshima University)
■Note
・This open seminar is being held with RIHE International Joint Research Programs (B02003: PI-Akiyoshi Yonezawa, Transformation of International University Education under/post Covid-19 Pandemic).
・Participation fee is free (maximum number: 50)⇒capacity has been increased to 250 people
・This seminar will be held online (through Zoom) . You need an internet access, device with camera and microphone.
・Using your full name (in alphabet) for your personal meeting ID is required when you enter the meeting room. You may not receive a permission to enter the room if the ID is different from the name registered.
・As a participant, you are not allowed to record the seminar or take a screenshot at your own.
・Organizing seminar through Zoom is a new attempt for us. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you, and thank you for your understanding.
・We will inform you of the participation URL by the day before. Please contact us at the following address if you do not receive the email.
k-kokyo(at)office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
*Replace (at) with @
[Simultaneous interpretation between Japanese and English]
・The interpretation will be provided by using the Language Interpretation Feature in Zoom.
・Click “Interpretation” in the toolbar and select “English” if you would like to listen to the translated audio during lectures given in Japanese.
・Select “Off” to listen to the original audio.
・In the event that the “Interpretation” icon does not appear in the toolbar, please update Zoom to the latest version and try again.
・Select the audio channel either “English” or “Japanese” when you speak during the discussion session. If the channel was set “off”, Your voice may be transmitted at a low volume and it could be difficult to be heard by attendees.
・The Zoom meeting room are available from 15 minutes before the seminar. If you are unclear about the settings, log in earlier to check if all functions are operational on your computer.
Please note that the registration is available until 16:30, March 1 (JST), two hours before the seminar.