The Japan-UK Higher Education Symposium, hosted by JSPS and the British Council, was held in London from 11 to 13 February 2009.

'How university education and research can respond to society's various needs?' To answer this question and seek solutions for common issues affecting higher education in the UK and Japan, university presidents from the two countries gathered in London with the intention of creating strong partnerships.

Thirty-four universities (16 from Japan and 18 from the UK) participated in this first symposium. Among them were university presidents and vice-presidents and other academic administrators, adding up to 90 participants. Three themes were discussed: The contribution of higher education to regional development; developing an appropriate curriculum for the workplace of the 21st century, and internationalisation of research. In addition, nine Japanese universities visited UK counterpart universities to promote future academic cooperation.

The symposium comprised two parts: a plenary session and parallel discussion sessions.
In the plenary session, Dr. Tsutomu Kimura, President of National Institute for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation, gave a presentation titled Japanese Challenges for Higher Education Reform in Recent Years. He introduced Japan's vision for university reform, much of which he said is modelled upon the British system. He also introduced Japan's plan for accepting 300,000 overseas students, which is aimed at internationalising Japanese universities and enhancing their international competitiveness by attracting foreign students to their campuses. Furthermore, to solve the problems that Japanese higher education is facing in the 21 century, Prof. Kimura reported that the following measures are being advanced in Japan:

• Enhancement of higher education quality
• Internationalisation of Japanese universities
• Better established international exchange students programs
• Enriched information dissemination
• Receiving short-term visiting students
• Strengthening support for overseas students at all levels: academic institutions, vocational schools and language schools

Prof. Kimura's lecture provided insights on how to approach the above-mentioned three main topics of the symposium.

As the lecturer of the UK side, Prof. David Eastwood, Chief Executive of Higher Education and Funding Council of England, delivered a presentation titled Higher Education's Contribution to the Knowledge Economy. He outlined the UK higher education system and explained how its budget reflects current trends, such as the economic depression and demographic changes. He described initiatives being taken by the UK government:

• Support for excellent scientific research and also to promote innovation
• Expansion of higher education opportunities geographically
• Improvement the skills and qualifications of the nation's workforce
• Emphasis on the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) subjects
• Enrichment of university education

He also introduced the recent situation in UK higher education as related to the themes of the three parallel sessions.

In the parallel sessions, lively discussions were held on their three respective topics.

Session 1: The Contribution of HE to Regional Development
The participants discussed the meaning of universities' roles, such as engaging in cooperation with local companies in a way that yields benefits for the local community through applied research. This discussion highlighted the need for universities to conduct research that elucidates the unique characteristics of their regions. Local vitalization, both societal and economic, is an important theme for universities, as it also has application in solving global issues. Regional outreach depends to large degree on how much funding universities are able to obtain. Though they seek to play a significant role in this area, many suffer from limited funding. Therefore, the discussion evolved to the importance of obtaining research funds to implement tangible programs.

Session 2: Developing an Appropriate Curriculum for the Workplace of the 21st Century
In this session, differences in the development of university curriculums between Japan and the UK came into focus. In the UK, new universities, especially those founded after 1992, promote the development of curriculums aimed at strengthening linkage between the university and employers. On the other hand, universities founded before 1992 continue to focus on teaching traditional liberal arts subjects. In the Japanese HE environment, it was reported that students tend to worry about employment after graduation at the expense of their studies. This is particularly the case as the Japanese job-hunting environment is becoming increasingly stringent. Both the Japanese and UK participants recognized the need for striking a balance between providing conventional university education and developing abilities and skills demanded in the workplace. They reconfirmed that, to possess the capacities required by today's society, students will need to acquire and have their innovative and creative abilities. To do this, the importance of communication was emphasized between universities and companies that will become the students' employers.

Session 3: The Internationalisation of Research
In this session, it was pointed out that international collaboration has mostly been carried out based on formal memoranda or agreements. The need was discussed for more flexible exchanges on the individual level. Furthermore, discussion also pointed to the need for universities to make efforts in providing a wide range of language programs and in enhancing the societal mobility of their students.

These discussions in the symposium spawned a desire by the universities to continue their dialogue toward realizing tangible frameworks for exchange.

To download the summary of this symposium, please click the following link.
Executive Summary (PDF)

British Council's web site
http://www.britishcouncil.org/japan-education-reform-higer-education-symposium2009.htm