Closer co-operation with Japan

 

Sandrine Lacombe, Vice President for International Relations, visited Japan in February to strengthen and develop new co-operation in education and research with several top universities and research institutes, in particular the University of Tokyo and Osaka University, as well as Tokyo Tech*, one of Japan’s leading universities in science and technology.

A renewed commitment to consolidate close co-operation

Meeting our partners at Osaka University, helped to further the implementation of the framework agreement recently signed with Paris-Saclay (a MoU was signed in May 2017) and to identify possible joint fields of study and actions particularly in law, chemistry and physics.

The visit to the University of Tokyo was intended to initiate new co-operation with this institution. There was promising contact at Vice President level, and international relations representatives, as well as many professors have supported the mutual benefit of signing an agreement, hence consolidating the approach previously taken by Paris-Saclay.

The meeting with Tokyo Tech helped to initiate a discussion for signing a new agreement on Materials Sciences.

It augurs well for extensive co-operation, such as the organisation of summer schools or even the development of Masters’ Double Degrees and thesis co-supervision, many opportunities which will benefit our students, our lecturer-researchers and more broadly the influence of Paris-Sud.

New mobility opportunities for Paris-Sud students in Japan

This mission will greatly develop opportunities for our students who wish to go on an exchange to Japan and future Japanese interns from our partner universities.

It should be noted: to actively develop co-operation with these partners, 1/2 grants for co-supervised theses are offered by Paris-Sud. For any information about this, you can contact Sandrine Lacombe, Vice President for International Relations.

*ranked respectively 1st, 6th and 4th Japanese universities according to the THE (Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2017)

More than 20 students, mainly from UFR Sciences and IUT d’Orsay, have benefited from an exchange to Japan in the last 3 years, to Tokyo, Nagoya or even Osaka. Let’s look at Walter’s trip to Nagoya last year, a source of fulfilment for him, both professionally as well as personally:

“This internship turned out to be an invaluable experience of encounters and discoveries. Surrounded by people who were unusually open and kind, […]

I was finally able to discover this culture which has fascinated me for so long, […] by making Japanese friends that I’m already looking forward to seeing again as quickly as possible.

Being invited into a Japanese family, trying the sentō (public baths) or even tasting the delights of the local cuisine are all ways of discovering this country […]

It was also an opportunity for me to improve my Japanese, to deepen and expand my knowledge of cosmology, and to make professional contacts abroad who will remain potential partners in the long term. I also learnt to work in a team, despite the cultural differences that sometimes existed, and to adapt to unfamiliar situations and work methods.

If you asked me for one piece of advice, it would be do not hesitate and go for it. There is so much to learn and experience! Three months seems to pass in two weeks. Personally, I know that I will return there as soon as possible and probably for longer!”

Are you tempted by such an experience? Contact the International Relations Department (DRI) at outoing.international @ u-psud.fr to prepare for your future internship or studies in Japan.