KYUSHU UNIVERSITY CAMPUS MAGAZINE Spring 2014 No.25

Kyushu University Beijing Office

This year marks the eighth anniversary of the establishment of Kyushu University's Beijing Office in April 2006. The Beijing Office was set up with the objective of strengthening Kyushu University’s relationship with leading research and educational institutions in China to mutually enhance education and research activities and to promote greater understanding between the peoples of Japan and China to help build a society in which they can coexist in peace and prosperity.

The Beijing Office's services can be divided into the following three categories: (i) supporting academic exchanges; (ii) building alumni networks; and (iii) assisting students in studying abroad.

Through its website, email newsletter, and alumni blog, the Beijing Office provides researchers in both countries with the latest research and educational information and promotes exchanges between them. Also, with the aim of developing interactions between individual researchers into a sustainable network involving research teams at Kyushu University and its partner universities in China, the office arranges tours and events to facilitate communication with Chinese universities.

In December 2005, the Kyushu University Alumni Association in China was established to promote friendship and interactions with more than 3,000 Chinese Kyushu University alumni. As the secretariat of this association, the Beijing Office set up blogs and a bulletin board to facilitate communication between Chinese alumni and sends a monthly email newsletter to more than 1,000 of them. Furthermore, it holds various gatherings to keep Chinese alumni abreast of happenings at Kyushu University and to reunite them with their former teachers and old friends.

For Chinese students who wish to study at Kyushu University, the Beijing Office holds briefings to provide useful information and offers online support for the submission of the various applications necessary to study in Japan. Kyushu University’s efforts to invite talented students from China have earned it a ranking as one of the top three Japanese universities in terms of number of students accepted under the China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholarship for six consecutive years. At the same time, the Beijing Office also supports Kyushu University students studying in China by setting up a system enabling them to receive advice about the universities in China where they wish to study directly from Kyushu University's Chinese alumni. Through its network with local alumni, the office also reassures students that assistance will be provided in the event that an unexpected situation arises during their studies.