Welcome to the launch of the e-magazine from the International
University of Japan, gE-Campus IUJ.h In this inaugural edition, we
hope to introduce the magazinefs contents and topics to you. The
August edition will be the first content edition.
gE-Campus IUJh is the name we chose for this publication. The name
is a play on words as the sound gEh in Japanese means ggoodh, and
indeed IUJ is a good, well, great, campus for your graduate studies.
We send this publication gEhlectronically as well. The main
audience for E-Campus IUJ is those considering IUJ for their graduate
studies (MBA, MA in International Relations, MA in International
Development, or a 1-year Masters of E-business Development), or
executive training. Alumni, friends of IUJ and corporate HR officers
also make use of this online publication to keep in touch with
developments on our small, and dynamic campus.
E-Campus IUJ contains the following feature sections:
News and Topics
Find out what recently happened at IUJ. Short reports on special
academic lectures, corporate presentations, student life and
activities, and Alumni event reports
Upcoming Event Information
Discover what will happen in the upcoming weeks on campus, in Tokyo
and around the world. Campus activities, as well as IUJ information
sessions, and more
Campus Personalities
IUJ attracts a diverse and very interesting group of students. In
this section, we introduce you to an individual on campus: their
thoughts, opinions, experiences and advice to those considering IUJ
for their graduate studies.
Academic Spotlight: Curriculum and Professors
What interesting courses have just been added to the IUJ Curriculum?
Who are the exciting professors, and what are their research
interests? What kind of courses can you look forward to at IUJ?
This section will give you a good idea and help you plan your IUJ
experience.
gAfter IUJh: Alumni spotlights
As diverse and rich in talent as our campus is, our alumni paint an
even more amazing picture of where an IUJ education can take you.
Learn about what the alumni are doing in business, academics, UN or
world organizations, and a combination of all. Find out how one alum
in corporate Japan is helping the people of Cambodia bring power to
remote villages, or experience first hand what the IUJ alumni witness
in Palestine. What is it like to manage a global company outside
your own homeland? These stories and more will give you a taste of
what you can do after IUJ, and the quality people you will be
associated with as an IUJ alumni!
IUJ Rankings
Get a feel for IUJ through stats and comparative numbers. For
example, discover the top 10 countries represented on campus, or in
the alumni association.
Career Counseling One Point Advice
Many MA, MBA and E-business candidates want to use their IUJ
experience to launch them into new and exciting careers. Get a head
start by learning from the IUJ Career Counselor about how to prepare
yourself for a job hunt. This section gives you a glimpse of the
services and information provided to IUJ students by the Career
Counseling and Services office.
Other feature stories:
E-Campus IUJ also offers timely columns that our readers find of
interest. During application period to our programs, we offer
application form advice, for example. If an IUJ alumni hits the news
with an exciting achievement, we may ask them to write to
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Welcome to the brand-new e-magazine from the International
University of Japan! We hope that "E-Campus IUJ" will be your long-
lasting reading companion and guide to your future graduate studies.
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
August 2003
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlight: <IRP Curriculum>
-- "After IUJ": Alumni Spotlights
-- IUJ Rankings
-- Career Counseling One Point Advice
-- Editor's Note
-- Announcement for Next Issue
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News and Topics
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<<IUJ Made Top 15 Asian Business Schools!>>
In the MBA feature of The Japan Times on July 16, it was reported
that IUJ was chosen by the World MBA Tour as one of the top 15
Asian business schools that were included in the global top 100.
In the article entitled, "15 Asian business schools make it to
global 100," IUJ was described as "an attractive alternative for
both sponsorship or recruitment" as companies sponsor fewer
students to study in the U.S.
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/Top15%20Asian%20Schools%20E.cfm
<<Admissions Schedule for 2004 Finalized!>>
The admissions schedule for the academic year 2004-05 has been
finalized. You can view the schedule at the following URL:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/Adm%20Schedule%20E.cfm
<<IUJ Alumni Association-EC Launches "IUJ First Fridays">>
On August 1, the Alumni Association Executive Committee will launch
"IUJ First Fridays" - this is a monthly gathering on the First
Friday of every month for alumni from all classes. Faculty, staff
and current students will be invited as well. (Also, prospective
applicants are welcome to join. RSVP at alumni@....) The
purpose is simple: Get to know each other better, reunite with
classmates, make new friends, enjoy a Friday evening, and network
for social and professional benefits.
<<IEP (Intensive English Program) Student Profile>>
The IEP 2003 began on July 14. The 41 participants, who are taking
this 8-week program in preparation for their formal graduate
studies starting in September, come from 6 countries and 1 region;
i.e., Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myamnar, and
Palestine. Thirteen out of 41 are women, making up 31.7% of the
total. Eighteen will join the Graduate School of International
Relations, and 23 the Graduate School of International Management.
<<Professor Seki Attended Accounting Forum As Panelist>>
An accounting forum was held on July 1, 2003 at JICPA Hall, and IUJ
Professor Masahiro Seki was a panelist. The corporate collapses
including Enron and WorldCom that have occurred around the world in
recent years have highlighted the need for improved accounting,
auditing, and corporate governance. Corrective actions started
immediately in the major sectors of the world capital markets.
Major subjects discussed at the Forum included:
* Review and assessment of accounting reform, called "the
accounting big bang", implemented in Japan during the past decade.
* The Revised CPA Law and its effect on the confidence of the
public interest over financial disclosures.
* U.S.-type vs. Japanese-type corporate governances - From the per-
spective of maintaining high confidence in the public interest.
Prof. Seki pointed out during discussions that the Western
Civilization currently dominates the global accounting world and
predicted that its structure will not be changed in the foreseeable
future considering the West's political, economic and language
powers.
Other reporters were Akio Okuyama, president of the Japanese
Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Hideo Hatoh, Deputy
Commissioner of Financial Services Agency, Aki Fujinuma, former
president of the International Federation of Accountants, Shinji
Hatta, Prof. of Aoyama Gakuin University, and Kazuo Hiramatsu,
President of Kwansei Gakuin University.
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Upcoming Event Information
August-September 2003
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(Events at IUJ)
<<Graduation Ceremony for E-Biz Class of 2003 Scheduled for August
29>>
Students in the second graduating class of the Masters E-Business
Management Program are about to graduate. The 16 students from 9
countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Nigeria, Peru, and Thailand) have studied in this intensive one-
year Master's program and will receive their degree on Friday,
August 29.
<<Entrance Ceremony>>
Date: Thursday, September 25, 10:30-11:30am
Venue: Community Hall SAWARABI (Urasa 5175, Yamato-machi, Niigata)
The total number of new enrollees is 145: 13 for IRP, 49 for IDP,
55 for MBA, and 28 for E-biz.
(Other venues)
<<IUJ Will Participate in The MBA Tour in Asia>>
Dr. Jay R. Rajasekera, Dean of the Graduate School of International
Management, will represent the IUJ-MBA Program at The MBA Tour in
Asia in September. He will visit Singapore (Sept. 15), Bangkok
(Sept. 18), Hong Kong (Sept. 20), and Tokyo (Sept. 29). In each
city, IUJ alumni will sit in at the IUJ booth to answer questions
prospective applicants might have. Those living in these cities
are welcome to visit the booth.
For more information, please visit the MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.thembatour.com
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Campus Personalities
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During the summer, many students go on internships to experience the
real world and to obtain hands-on skills and knowledge. One of the
interns, Mr. Desh Wasu (U.S.A.) from the MBA Program, shares his
experience:
-*-
I landed the job at Zexel Valeo through a friend and classmate at
IUJ, Goto-san. Early in the term we were talking about jobs and
internships and Goto-san offered to pass on my CV to the HR
department at Bosch. I followed up with him earnestly and revised
my cover letter and resume numerous times to adapt it to the style
Goto-san recommended. In fact, this turned out to be a 3 page
resume, with a detailed goal, a cover letter, and comprehensive
background information. The CV was passed around to many depart-
ments within the Bosch group of companies and we decided to focus
on an import/export trading division within Bosch, based in
Yokohama. Eventually we found out that there were no open positions
at any of the Bosch companies I had applied to, and I got a reply
that said that I would have to wait a few months for an answer.
For your information, I had heard about opportunities at Bosch in
November when Goto-San and I first discussed the topic. I started
the application process in January and heard of no availability in
February. In March I got the good news that I had been accepted at
a Bosch-Valeo joint subsidiary called Zexel Valeo Climate Control
Systems. The company was essentially a Japanese company, that became
a multinational when the joint venture was established in 2000. The
company provides OEM car manufacturers such as Nissan, Honda, Isuzu,
Volkswagen AG, Volvo and a host of other car companies. They supply
climate control systems which they will begin to sell in modules.
Selling of car parts in 'integrated modules' seems to be an industry
trend and essentially leads to two things: 1) Reduction of Assembly
Cost, and 2) Parts integration reduces materials cost.
Thus far I have spent 10 days at Zexel Valeo Climate Control Systems
so far and have done the following:
I will be working on a marketing/strategic planning project. The
project will entail creating a data base of information on all cars
(in Japan and some specific markets) and figure out who supplies them
their HVAC unit and Compressor Unit. This project will be specific
to the 2005 model year (when the new vehicles come out). By
compiling all this data and analysing it, we will be able to develop
a sales forecast, and devise the future marketing strategy.
I will also be providing further assistance in the sales and
logistics departments. The internship is for a little over 2 months,
thus it gives me enough time to grasp a vision of the automotive
market and to use some quantitative skills to do some analysis and
compile valuable market data. Also, the language spoken at the
company is Japanese, thus this is the perfect opportunity for me to
improve my Japanese language ability. I have been enjoying the
experience thus far, and hope to get busier over the next few weeks.
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Academic Spotlight
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Each academic program at IUJ reviews its curriculum every year to
meet the needs of students and keep up with the current issues. For
this edition, Professor Welfield, the Director of the International
Relations Program, describes the IRP Curriculum for the academic
year 2003-04.
-*-
The International Relations Program (IRP) at IUJ is designed to
provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary understanding of major
trends in contemporary international politics, economics and
society.
Special emphasis is placed on developments in the Asian Pacific area
and on Japan in particular.
IRP has proved extremely useful for people who either work in, or who
intend to take up careers in national or regional governments, in
international organizations, in business, or in the media.
It also offers a valuable stepping stone to those who wish to pursue
further studies in a Ph.D. program and enter the academic world.
The Program is based on the twin pillars of coursework and thesis.
Courses focus on international relations theory, on the historical
development of international society, both global and regional, on
contemporary international political and security problems, on
international political economy, on international organizations, on
the domestic politics and foreign policies of particular Asian
Pacific countries and on other issues, such as regionalism, environ-
mental protection, energy and agriculture. All lectures are in
English, the official language of the Graduate School of
International Relations.
Very great importance is attached to thesis writing. Producing a
substantial MA thesis, of publishable quality, has been, and remains,
one of the most rewarding experiences for students in our program.
Thesis preparation and defense strengthen the student's ability to
conduct empirical research, to analyze large bodies of complex data,
to develop sustained and logical arguments and to write clear,
succinct professional prose. These skills have proved invaluable to
our students in advancing their subsequent careers.
The two-year IRP at IUJ, as already noted, has both coursework and
thesis components. The Program is designed to provide a structured,
systematic approach to understanding international political,
strategic, economic, social and cultural issues in the Asian Pacific,
to train students to conduct large scale research projects, to
develop sustained, logical lines of argument, to defend their
positions orally before highly critical audiences and to cultivate
a sympathetic interest in other peoples, other civilizations and
other ways of life.
The Program has been constructed in such a way as to give students
the maximum freedom to pursue their own interests, within the limits
of the specializations offered by the School. Indeed, cross-
registeration into courses offered in the other 3 degree programs at
IUJ allows a great deal of customization for each individual's
academic and career preparation needs.
Course work is exacting and the highest possible standards are
expected of theses. Students are encouraged to read extensively, to
think deeply, to discuss their ideas both with members of the
academic staff and with their colleagues, and to be constantly aware
of the practical policy applications of their work.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"After IUJ": Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni are one of IUJ's biggest assets. This column introduces
alumni members who are putting their specialized knowledge and skills
earned at IUJ to practical use in the international arena.
This month, we are happy to introduce Mr. Gopi Pradhan (MBA
Class of 2002, Bhutan).
-*-
I graduated in June 2002 from the IM School. It was a hectic two-
years at IUJ and I decided to take a rest for sometime after I came
back to Bhutan. This was indeed a great excuse to sleep and pick up
the Bhutan that I left behind. As if like a bolt from blue, I
realized in August that I needed to work. Luckily, the International
Develop-ment Research Centre, of Canada (www.idrc.ca) for which I
had done some work in summer 2001 asked me to write the Bhutan
Chapter of "Digital Review", an ICT (Information and Communication
Technologies) regional publication. I went to Malaysia to present
the chapter where I met Izumi-san of GLOCOM (an IUJ Research
Institute) who was contributing the Japan chapter. We established
a good working relation as a result of which I was selected as a
Research Associate for ICT at GLOCOM. I was also invited by ORBICOM,
the UNESCO's Chairs in Communication based in Canada to be an
Associate Member of their network. I became an active member in both
these institutions.
Under UNDP/ADB funding, I attended the Asian Regional Conference in
Tokyo in January. This was in preparation to the World Summit on
Information Society and was attended by 28 Ministers from Asia
including the Japanese Prime Minister. I participated and substantial-
ly contributed towards the ICT for Development Panel recommendations
to the Tokyo Declaration. This event became the window to my career
development. Besides the scores of personalities, I also had an intro-
duction with a World Bank delegate who asked me after a month to
contribute Bhutan's ICT information to the World Bank site. I did so
and by March I was 'promoted' as an Advisor to the WB's Development
Gateway (www.developmentgateway.org) on ICT.
The UNDP HQ had also interviewed me for an ICT related work that
might come along. While hanging on with the World Bank work, the
Ministry of Communication in Bhutan hired me to prepare the E-Readi-
ness Assessment of Bhutan. In due course, I was also discussing with
Professor Jay (Dean of the IUJ MBA school) whether we could work
together on ICT Policy research in the Asia-Pacific. In early May,
the UNDP came back asking me to take up the position of an ICT Policy
Specialist in their Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme
office (www.apdip.net) based in Malaysia. I joined this office from
the beginning of June.
I am now settled with some very challenging work. I research on ICT
Policies and E-Strategies in 25 countries of the region and will be
building up a network of ICT Policy Makers, advocates and
consultants. Mobilization of resources for APDIP policy activities
keeps me in contact with prominent people in various fields.
One advantage of the IUJ education is the network that you can
develop. This lies on you. Professors and friends keep in touch or at
least you do on your part. I was in constant touch with Professor Jay
and Professor Watanabe (IUJ e-Business professor) who were
instrumental in providing me constant encouragement and guidance. Our
idea of working on some regional ICT Policy research has not died and
we may work together in the future.
I now live in Kuala Lumpur. I will be traveling a lot but when I am
in Kuala Lumpur I am always available to provide any help and
assistance IUJers would seek. But when you visit, bring some
Midorikawa or Hakkai-san Osake.
###
Please view the photo of his family taken by the lake near IUJ.
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/ecampus/Gopi.cfm
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IUJ Rankings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Top 10 Employment Industries for Japanese Nationals>>
What industry to find a job in is one of the biggest concerns for
students. The following stats show the ranking of top 10 employment
industries for Japanese nationals. (International graduates' stats
will be presented in the next issue.)
Graduate School of International Relations
==========================================
1. Banks, Miscellaneous Finance 98
2. Electrical machinery, Machinery 55
3. Mining industry, Oil & Coal product, Electric Power, Gas 48
4. Education & Research Organizations 32
5. Insurance, Non-life insurance 30
6. Government and International Organizations 23
7. Construction, Real estate 22
8. IT/Internet/Computer related 20
9. Fishery, Agriculture, Forestry, Foods, Pharmaceuticals 18
10. Securities 17
Graduate School of International Management
===========================================
1. Banks, Miscellaneous Finance 60
2. Insurance, Non-life insurance 40
3. Mining industry, Oil & Coal product, Electric Power, Gas 34
4. Electrical machinery, Machinery 33
6. Car, Transport equipment 17
6. Fishery, Agriculture, Forestry, Foods, Pharmaceuticals 17
7. Securities 14
8. Consulting 10
11. Education & Research Organizations 10
11. Textiles, Apparel, Pulp & paper, Chemicals,
Rubber products, Glass & Ceramics 10
11. Wholesale, Retail 10
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Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the advice column from IUJ's Career Counselor. My name is
Gretchen Shinoda. I am from the west coast of the United States, and
have lived and worked in Japan for 14 years now. I graduated from IUJ
in 1989, returned to Washington DC for 5 years before having the
wonderful chance to join the staff of IUJ. I very much enjoy my job:
helping IUJ students identify what they want to do after IUJ, helping
them prepare to pursue their professional goals, and watching their
success. I offer a complete workshop series and one-on-one guidance
to those in the internship and job hunt in Japan or around the
world. I think I am a pioneer in Japan as I have found no other
service like mine in this country. From me, you can count on
personalized help, resources and services comparable to those in
the United States. Come work with me here on our campus. But even
before you arrive, please use this monthly column to get a head start
on your job hunt with some of my advice highlights. Let me know if
you have questions or concerns anytime: gretchen@...
Step 1: Who are you?
Before you can find what you want to do after your IUJ education, you
need to really know who you are. What are your strengths and weak-
nesses,what do you value in life inside and outside of the work
place, and whatcan you do now? Based on these factors, you can begin
to identify types of work you best fit, and then think how to plan
your time at IUJ toposition yourself to get into that type of work.
After all, you will spend more time in the office at work than in any
other single place or activity. It is best to be happy and satisfied
there. Once on campus, I will help you discover yourself. But it is
not too early to investigate. Try CareerLeader.com or the other
personality indicators available online. Links are provided on the
IUJ homepages in the career section "getting started."
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
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Editor's Note
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We hope you enjoyed this inaugural edition of English version of
"E-Campus IUJ." We welcome your questions, suggestions for
information to include, or anything else that will help you
understand the special qualities of IUJ: our diversity, globalness,
and advantage in helping you become world-class professional in your
chosen field. It is our aim to attract your application and we hope
to welcome you to our family in the near future.
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Annoucement for Next Issue
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The next edition will be published on September 1, 2003.
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We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan, All Rights
Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
September 2003
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlight
-- "After IUJ": Alumni Spotlights
-- IUJ Rankings
-- Career Counseling One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Online Application System for the 2004 Admissions Now in Operation>>
Applications for 2004 Admissions are now being accepted online.
Please access the following:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<Success of IUJ-MBA Women>>
There seems to be some criticism in Asia that women are earning
MBA qualifications but are not going far enough in transferring the
skills to the workplace. In order to know what can be said about
IUJ-MBA graduates who are women, we asked a few questions to
several IUJ-MBA women;
1) How has the MBA helped you in your career?
2) Do you feel a discrepancy between your salary and that of your
male counterparts?
To view responses from five IUJ-MBA women, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/Successful%20Women%20MBA%20E.cfm
<<TV Conference With Nissan President To Be Held>>
A TV conference is scheduled for September 25, 2003, between Mr.
Carlos Ghosn, President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and students
from business schools in Japan, France, and Spain. Those who will
have this opportunity to participate in the conference with Mr.
Ghosn are students from IUJ, HEC in Paris, and ESADE in Barcelona.
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/News/TV%20Conference%20E.cfm
<<IDP Offers Intensive Math-Review Sessions>>
To help students prepare for regular classes, which start in
October, the International Development Program will offer Intensive
Math-Review Sessions. These sessions aim not only to improve
students' quantitative analytical skills but also to build a firm
basis for better understanding of economic policies and development
policies. The sessions will be taught by Prof. Yoshida and a new
faculty member, Prof. Taniguchi, on September 27 through 29.
<<IUJ Alumni in Consulting Professions Offer Panel Lectures>>
On October 17, four IUJ Alumni in the consulting profession in
Tokyo will return to campus for two panel lectures. The first is
for new students to help launch their 1-year consulting team
project. The IUJ alumni will help them learn what companies expect
of outside consultants, how they should formulate their plan and
work as a team, and share with them how demanding, exciting and
rewarding a career as a consultant can be.
Later in the day, the alumni will meet with job hunting IUJ
students to help them learn HOW to get a job as a consultant:
skills they need to perfect while at IUJ, how to network, and how
to present themselves on paper and in an interview. The invited
alumni represent 4 well-established and respected consulting firms:
IBM Business Consulting Services, PRTM, Deloitte Tohmatsu
Consulting and Socio-Tech, and all work in Tokyo.
<<First "IUJ First Friday" Held Successfully>>
IUJ's "First Friday" program, launched in August 2003, was a great
success. Thanks to everyone who came to the events on August 1.
See http://www.iuj.ac.jp/alumni/events for a slide show (includes
Hong Kong, Singapore and Tashkent gatherings), and info on the next
IUJ First Friday in Tokyo September 5, and upcoming events
worldwide.
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Upcoming Event Information
September-October 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Entrance Ceremony>>
Date: Thursday, September 25, 10:30-11:30am
Venue: Community Hall SAWARABI (Urasa 5175, Yamato-machi, Niigata)
The total number of new enrollees is 145: 13 for IRP, 49 for IDP,
55 for MBA, and 28 for E-biz.
(Other venues)
<<IUJ Will Participate in The MBA Tour in Asia>>
Dr. Jay R. Rajasekera, Dean of the Graduate School of International
Management, will represent the IUJ-MBA Program at The MBA Tour in
Asia in September. He will visit Singapore (Sept. 15), Bangkok
(Sept. 18), Hong Kong (Sept. 20), and Tokyo (Sept. 29). In each
city, IUJ alumni will sit in at the IUJ booth to answer questions
prospective applicants might have. Those living in these cities
are welcome to visit the booth.
For more information, please visit the MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.thembatour.com
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Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of New Faculty Member>>
The Graduate School of International Management welcomes a new
faculty member effective September 1, 2003. Professor Chet Borucki
is a professor of Management and received his Ph.D. in
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from the
University of Michigan Business School in 1989. He will teach
Human Resource Management, International Business Management, and
Business Policy for the academic year 2003-04.
Here are highlights of an interview with him:
-*-
Q. How did you know about IUJ? And how did you decide to apply for
this position?
A. I recall reading about IUJ when it was launched in the 1980's
and knew that the Tuck School at Dartmouth, which has the oldest
MBA Program in the U.S., was involved in the design of the
curriculum of the program. James Brian Quinn who is an emeritus
faculty member at Dartmouth now, and is highly respected, was
the first Dean of IUJ-MBA. It was a new model, distinctly
different from existing Japanese business schools in terms of
program design and the fact that all courses were taught in
English and I thought it was quite interesting. I also had a
colleague at New York University, Prof. Suresh Kotha, who had
visited here for two terms in 1993 and he came back with very
positive feelings and experiences, as did Professor Bill Guth at
NYU who has also visited here several times. Those memories
were implanted in my mind in terms of recollections about IUJ.
Thus, when I saw an advertisement for the faculty position in
Management at IUJ back in February, I became quite interested as
it looked like there was a potential fit between what IUJ's
needs were for staffing specific courses and for new program
development and my personal background, qualifications,
interests and experiences. So, that prompted me to apply for
the position here and I am pleased to be joining the IUJ
faculty. I have been serving as a visiting professor at Seoul
National University this past year, and I have a one-year
renewable contract there. Accepting this position at IUJ gave
me an opportunity to be set in one place for a longer period of
time where I could demonstrably add value as a full-time faculty
member who could also assist with various institution-building
initiatives. Those were the compelling reasons why I found the
faculty position here attractive.
Q. IUJ is believed to be a very unique graduate school with a truly
international setting with diverse student and faculty bodies.
What was your first impression about IUJ and its people?
A. Everybody from President Sugihara, Dean Rajasekera and Associate
Dean Ito, to the faculty and staff has been very gracious and
very welcoming and has treated me with respect. I've had very
positive feelings about IUJ since I first came on campus a few
months ago. This is, so to speak, a "honeymoon period" when
things are great but that does not mean that there may not be
storms or difficulties, and so forth, afterwards, which is not
unusual anywhere! Nonetheless, my first impressions and
experiences have been very positive. When I came here for an
interview in April, I informally met with some students who were
candid in their comments about the school in terms of the things
they liked and the things they wished could be changed. Their
openness and friendliness was welcomed and appreciated. I don't
know very much about the students yet, but I heard that there
are over 80 incoming students representing 50 different
nationalities. I very much enjoy working with students from
many different countries. In the classroom, the challenge of
getting folks to communicate, to share what they have learned
and to develop an understanding about each other's backgrounds
and beliefs, value systems, etc. is one that I enjoy. In
addition, there are many, many opportunities for so much
learning to occur outside the classroom in informal social
settings, team work, and sports activities, and I find that to
be very rewarding as well. As such, I expect to learn a lot
from the students about how business is conducted in their own
countries just as I hope that they may learn from me - it should
be a two-way process!
Q. What do you think you can bring to this campus?
A. For many years I have served as an academic, a teacher, a
scholar, a consultant, and a citizen of different universities
and I hope to share with my students the experiences and wisdom
I have gained. I view my mission as helping educate the next
generation of leaders and managers whether they come from Japan,
the U.S., Ukraine, South Africa, or elsewhere. Today's students
are tomorrow's leaders and managers. I hope to expose them to
the latest management thinking and cutting-edge research, and I
will challenge them, question them, and help them develop not
only technical skills, which are often the selection criteria
for entry level positions in companies, but also their inter-
personal skills, including an understanding of the importance of
communicating with others from different cultures, ways of
dealing with conflicts, how to be a good team player and when to
lead and when to allow others to lead. I also plan to help
them further develop their conceptual skills, or the "helicopter
view" regarding how organizations function in society, how they
interact with one another, how they compete with one another,
how they collaborate with one another, and how they deal with
government and different problems that emerge. If I were to try
to simplify my own philosophy, I would have to say that it is
derived from something I have read and have been exposed to
elsewhere along the road of my personal and professional career
development: "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a
man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." If I am successful here,
I will have taught IUJ students how to fish!
Prof. Borucki's Brief Bio
Education
- Ph.D., University of Michigan Business School, 1989
- M.A. in Organizational Psychology, University of Michigan,
1984
- MBA, University of Massachusetts, 1978
- BA in Psychology, University of Massachusetts, 1975
Academic positions
- Seoul National University
- Nyenrode University
- New York University
- He is also a consultant, speaker, writer, and facilitator
who specializes in organizational analysis and change
management.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<A Student's Perspective>>
Mr. Mark Holley (Ireland) from the International Relations Program
introduces the uniqueness of IUJ:
-*-
IUJ is only an hour and a half from Tokyo by shinkansen, however
the two settings are a world apart. Residents of Urasa see many a
bemused foreigner alight at the station for the first time,
wondering where amongst the scenic mountains and tranquil rice
paddies they are going to find IUJ. Upon arriving at IUJ, the
bemusement continues as one realizes that one has at one's disposal
all the facilities, resources, and amenities that one would expect
in any metropolitan university, in a much more idyllic location.
As the name suggests, IUJ is a very international campus, however
nothing quite prepares one for the unique experience of living and
studying here. When discussing issues from various countries around
the globe, you are more than likely to be doing so with someone who
is actually from that country. The cultural interaction is by no
means limited to the classroom; one might dine with a Southeast
Asian student and go on to play tennis with a European student.
Initially, the prospect of communicating with people from so many
countries other than one's own might seem intimidating, but in fact
quite the opposite is the case. In learning from others you are
likely to learn more about yourself. The experience of communicat-
ing with people of different nationalities, from every conceivable
background on a daily basis, is one which is sure to stand any
aspirant professional in good stead. Many people claim to have
good communication skills; IUJ graduates need make no such claim,
graduating from IUJ speaks for itself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlight
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IDP Curriculum>>
Professor Shinichi Watanabe, the Director of the International
Development Program, describes the IDP Curriculum for the academic
year 2003-04.
-*-
1. Characteristics of IDP
The program provides an interactive academic environment which
enables
students:
(1) to study a variety of practical policy issues and problems for
socio-economic development in the framework of international co-
operation
(2) to acquire the basic skills of economic analysis through
systematic course work
(3) to acquire facility with a number of computer software packages
for database management, statistical analysis, quantitative
analysis, and communication and presentation
(4) to build a capacity to identify important policy problems for
development and analyze them by writing a Master's thesis of high
quality
(5) to learn from other students with a diverse background in job
experience and academic training from more than 50 countries in
the world and from dedicated multi-national faculty members
(6) to reexamine various issues of development by studying the
experience of Japan and other Asian countries, such as China, the
ASEAN countries and the NIES (newly industrializing economies).
IDP endeavors to help students acquire the skills and knowledge that
enable them upon graduation to work and cooperate effectively with
various international organizations, governments, business firms,
NGOs
and individuals.
2. Course Requirements
Total number of credits required for the two-year program is 48.
(1) Required Courses (18 credits)
Students must take 9 required courses (including 2 preparatory
courses). These required courses are designed to strengthen
student's basic analytical and computer skills.
(Students who come with exceptionally strong background in
economic analysis and who are NOT sponsored by JICA, World Bank,
IMF, and JBIC (Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia) may be
allowed to substitute other advanced courses for two preparatory
courses after consultation with their academic supervisors.)
(2) Advanced Seminars (6 credits)
Students develop their capacity to carry out independent
research to identify and analyze important policy issues by
participating Advanced Seminars (required) managed by their
academic supervisors. Advanced Seminars are the main mechanism
for preparing and writing a Master's thesis in addition to
consolidating basic skills and knowledge in economic analysis.
(3) Elective Required Courses (more than 16 credits)
Students must take more than 6 courses (12 credits) from elective
required 'disciplinary' courses and more than 2 courses (4
credits) from elective required 'regional/country' courses. In
the first year spring term, students must take at least 2 courses
(4 credits) from the following six elective required
'disciplinary' courses: International Trade, International
Finance, Public Economics, Quantitative Analysis of Economic
Policies, Development Planning and Macroeconometric Analysis of
Developing Economies.
(4) Elective Courses (more than 8 credits)
Students must take more than 8 credits from among all courses as
elective courses, including language courses.
All the students whose TOEFL scores are less than 600 must take
an English language test offered by the English Language Program
before the start of the regular academic year. Whether or not
students need to take English language courses in the first year
must be decided upon consultation with their academic supervisors
and the English Program. If students fail to clear the minimum
required English level by the end of the first year, their
scholarship support may not be extended to the second year.
All non-Japanese IDP students are strongly encouraged to take
Japanese language courses in the first year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"After IUJ": Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This month, we are happy to introduce Mr. Atsushi Tanimura (MBA
Class of 2001, Japan).
-*-
In June 2001, I graduated from the Graduate School of International
Management at IUJ and returned to my company, Osaka Gas. I was
assigned to the Human Resource Development Team. It might have been
a legitimate decision for my company as I was engaged in personnel
affairs-general affairs tasks before they sent me to IUJ, but,
frankly, I was a little disappointed. I had a desire to be involved
in overseas-related jobs such as a raw procurement. My assignment,
however, turned out to be very challenging with so many management-
related problems to be solved. My main responsibilities were human
resource development and recruiting. The biggest task at that time
was to train future managers and I was in charge of the design and
implementation of a training program.
IUJ was established with a mission of training future global leaders
and what I learned there proved to be very useful in various
occasions; at policy-making time and when selecting programs or
trainers, forexample. I had an opportunity to visit universities
and NPOs in the U.S., one of the most advanced countries for develop-
ment of leaders, and I believe this visit came about because of the
confidence I gained at IUJ interacting with students from many
different countries. And the human network is more important than
anything! This has been my belief since my IUJ days, and I used to
participate in almost all events, compromising my studies if I had
to, and became a member of the MBA Council. As soon as I returned to
my company and started my new job, I took advantage of the IUJ
network and visited my classmates' companies to conduct hearings.
(Thank you, guys!)
Later on, I was sent on loan to "i-support," a group company of Osaka
Gas, to engage in a task of getting personnel services in operation.
As many of you might know, Japanese corporations have a trend of
outsourcing general affairs and accounting operations in order to
reinforce their own core competence. Within that trend, "i-support"
designs and provides personnel service systems taking most advantage
of IT. In addition, I was given a special mission of creating a
business of human resource development programs and I am currently
involved in a school project as part of an MOT (Management of
Technology). This attempts to merge technology and management
together, and here again my experiences at IUJ have become very
useful directly and indirectly. In establishing a new business,
managerial concepts such as the 4Ps and 3Cs are essential. Also,
since it is an educational program we are trying to launch, my own
experience as a student at IUJ can provide a good role model for our
new business. In addition to a school in Osaka, we are planning to
found a school in Tokyo as well. I make business trips to Tokyo so
often that my classmates in Tokyo tell me they feel as if I live
right next door!
As I mentioned above repeatedly, my experiences at IUJ have been very
helpful, but it goes beyond my professional life. In my personal
life as well, the IUJ experience proves to be very rewarding. I have
obtained a worldwide network of friends, which is my life-long
treasure. I like traveling and go abroad quite often. Last year, I
visited Northern Europe and had a chance to meet one of the exchange
students in Helsinki to renew our friendship. This year, I had an
opportunity to attend my classmate's wedding in Bandung, Indonesia.
Salim was one of my best friends at IUJ and I had to fly to Indonesia
at all costs. Mr. Sonoda (Sono-p) of Mizuho Corporate Bank also flew
from Japan, and an American friend, Bjorn, attended from Singapore,
where he works. Presents arrived from Germany, where Salim spent a
term on an exchange program. It was truly an international wedding!
On Saturday, we were accepted to his family ceremony, and it was so
moving to see our friend share his joy and happiness with his family
and relatives. On the following Sunday, the reception was held at a
university auditorium (!) with more than 1,000 guests (!!!)
celebrating the occasion.
Speaking of a wedding, I attended another wedding the other day
between one of my classmates from the MBA Class of 2001, Mr.
Matsushita (Ted), and Ms. Iwayama, a former staff member of IUJ.
There came so many IUJ friends from all over the country to a
reception in Tokyo to celebrate Ted's biggest fruit obtained at IUJ.
Indonesian classmates also celebrated with messages on video. We
knew there were celebrating groups all over the world.
As such, at IUJ you can make friends and build a network that cannot
be obtained anywhere else. What makes it possible, I believe, is
that the campus environment is small and people treat each other like
family members. I sincerely hope that those who look to IUJ as a
place for their future studies will experience these unique and
wonderful IUJ features. Allow me to give a piece of advice, though.
Do not just wait. You take initiative. You break the ice.
I look forward to seeing IUJ alumni, students, and future students!
-*-
Please view photos of the weddings Mr. Tanimura attended.
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/ecampus/WeddingsE.cfm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Rankings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Top 10 Employment Industries for International Guraduates>>
What industry to find a job in is one of the biggest concerns for
students. The following stats show the ranking of top 10 employment
industries for IUJ international graduates.
Graduate School of International Relations
==========================================
1. Government & Municipal offices, International organizations 125
2. Education & Research Organizations 54
3. Banks, Miscellaneous Finance 43
4. Construction, Real estate 40
5. IT/Internet/Computer related 20
6. Media, Communications, Service 8
7. Wholesale, Retail 7
8. Securities 6
10. Car, Transport equipment 5
10. Fishery, Agriculture, Forestry, Foods, Pharmaceuticals 5
Graduate School of International Management
===========================================
1. Banks, Miscellaneous Finance 72
2. Government & Municipal offices, International organizations 49
5. Securities 38
5. Consulting, Advertising, Marketing 38
5. Other products 38
6. IT/Internet/Computer related 17
7. Education & Research Organizations 14
9. Fishery, Agriculture, Forestry, Foods, Pharmaceuticals 11
9. Media, Communications, Service 11
10. Wholesale, Retail 8
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Two: What can you do?
After you learn who you are (see Step One article) you should have a
good idea of what you are able to do. If not, try writing down all
the jobs, assignments, volunteer positions you have done and then
write Action Verbs beside them (wrote, reported, talked, carried).
Do this for each role you have played and notice which verbs you keep
writing down. The repeated activities you can do well. Those you
can sell to employers. Then use your IUJ education to supplement
your skills sets for the job you really want. IUJ is a great place to
do this and with careful planning your 2 years will well prepare you
for your career goal.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on October 6, 2003.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
October 2003
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- IUJ Rankings
-- Career Counseling One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Entrance Ceremony 2003 was held>>
On September 25, the IUJ entrance ceremony for 2003 was held.
144 new students, coming from 34 countries and 2 areas,
received Presidential welcome and the good wishes from Mr. Masayuki
Matsushita, Vice Chairman of the Board, Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co., Ltd. The ceremony was followed by a reception at
the IUJ MLIC Hall.
Please view photos of the ceremony here:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/News/Entrance2003E.cfm
<<Orientation Report>>
To welcome new students and to help them make their life at IUJ
as fruitful and enjoyable as possible, various orientations
were held as follows:
Campus Life Orientation
Career Workshops
MLIC (Matsushita Library and Information Center) Orientation
Academic Orientations
Pre-enrollment Programs
Snapshots of those orientations can be viewed here:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/ecampus/OrientationsE.cfm
<<New President Inaugurated>>
As of September 16, 2003, a new IUJ President has taken office.
Dr. Ippei Yamazawa gave the following message to "e-campus IUJ"
readers:
Hi, I am the new IUJ President, Dr. Yamazawa. I have 32 years
of teaching experience at Hitotsubashi University and 3.5 years
at Waseda University. I have not previously been involved in
administrative tasks, but I take the IUJ presidency as my big
challenge and will make every effort to help improve this
institution. As you know, IUJ is very unique; although in Japan,
all the courses are taught entirely in English, education only at
the graduate level is offered, students from more than 50 different
countries live together in student dormitories, etc. IUJ students
are exposed to cross-cultural experiences for 24 hours a day,
enabling them to understand and respect people from different
cultures and backgrounds. If you study here for two years, I can
assure you that at the time of graduation, you will be a person
with skills and knowledge critical to work effectively in a global
arena.
President Yamazawa's brief bio can be viewed here:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/YamazawaE.cfm
<<New Library System Introduced>>
Aiming to offer state-of-the-art services, IUJ's Library has
introduced a new library system called, "LVZ." One of the biggest
strengths of this system is OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog)
Search. Catalogs are in conformity with Japan's National
Insitute of Informatics and have become more powerful compared to
the conventional search system; 1) more user-friendly searches by
keywords, items, and cross-references, 2) any student can obtain
information about course reserve materials, and 3) individual
information on book loans can be securely accessed by passwords.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
October-November 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview
IRP&IDP October 9 October 27
October 30 November 18
MBA&E-biz November 14 November 28
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Internship Experience at Daimler Chrysler Japan Holding Co. Ltd.>>
Many students had internship positions during the summer. Mr.
Amitabh Kumar from India, MBA Class of 2004, shares his experiences
with us.
-*-
Year 2003 started with a dismal note for the Job and Internship
hunters of IUJ. Many big companies, who earlier promised to come
to campus and were regular recruiters of IUJ graduates, either
canceled or postponed their visits due to hiring freezes and staff
cutbacks caused by the continuing slow-down in the Japanese
economy. However, at the same time many new companies did show
some interest for hiring IUJ graduates for internships and full
time jobs. Prominent among those were Sanyo and continued interest
from DaimlerChrysler. My interests matched with Daimler and
Capital Services (recruiting at IUJ for several years now). Hence,
I applied both companies. However, I got the first call for
an interview from DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler has recently
merged its four big subsidiaries and some minor companies in Japan
into one single entity, but this merger resulted in operational
difficulties in the area of treasury operation and other managerial
problems related with control and compliance. Hence, they were
looking for people with extensive knowledge of the banking sector
particularly in the area of control and compliance, credit analysis
and treasury operation. Many of us applied for this internship.
They selected Ms. Cuc and me for interviews. We both went through
Telephone interviews. The interviewer was the General Manager
(Treasury operation) from Germany. Both of us did well during the
interview and the manager was so pleased with the performance that
he immediately offered us positions. Both of us accepted the
offers. They were the first two internships offered for the summer
of 2003. We both were very happy, as opportunities for good intern-
ship were comparatively limited this year.
Mrs. Gretchen Shinoda of Career Counseling & Services offered us
all excellent help in drafting our suitable resumes for the
internship search and preparation for interviews.
During internship at DaimlerChrysler office at Roppongi, Tokyo, I
was assigned to work for their Treasury section. I was reporting
directly to the General Manager. I was involved with a number of
projects ranging from new trade plans to process description for
ISO certification and was talking and participating in all the
major business meetings of the DaimlerChrysler.
I think the General Manager was pleased with my performance to a
great extent. He organized a dinner and a lunch party with us and
told us that he will be more than happy to see me as employee of
his company. He encouraged us to apply next year for a full time
Job. Particularly he had very good impression about the quality of
students at IUJ.
It was a nice experience to work in a German company with mostly
Japanese staff. Though I did not use Japanese during my work I
felt that a good knowledge of spoken Japanese and the ability to
read Japanese would have been much better for working in this type
of company.
I hope to improve my Japanese by next year. I will strongly
recommend this internship to this year internship hunters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<MBA and E-biz Curriculum>>
Professor Jay R. Rajasekera, Dean of the IUJ Business School,
describes the Curriculum of the MBA Program and the E-Business
Management Program for the academic year 2003-04.
-*-
Every year the MBA and E-Biz curriculum are reviewed by a review
committee consisting of about 6 professors. The committee's main
functions include:
1) Considering the students comments and industry needs
2) Keeping a balance of course offerings over the fall, winter,
spring
3) The needs of visiting faculty, including industry experts
MBA Curriculum:
---------------
The MBA program at IUJ is designed to give students a wide range of
experience and knowledge suitable for their future career.
The first-year curriculum consists of required basic core courses, a
management communication course, and Introduction to Management
Practice (IMP). The 1st year courses will teach the very basic
training required to be a business manager.
In second-year curriculum, the MBA research report is the only core
requirement, thus giving MBA students the time to "concentrate" on
areas of individual interest. To declare a "concentration area"
student must take at least 12 credits from the area. The focus areas
include: Finance, IT, Marketing, and Strategic Management. If a
student does not choose any one of the above as his/her focus area,
beyond the single core requirement, they will be free to choose their
second year courses. We also offer two support areas: International
Business Law and International Accounting.
Total credit needed for graduation is:
45 (course credit) + 3 (Thesis)
E-Biz Curriculum:
-----------------
While many people think E-Business is just the Internet, our thinking
is much broader. Our E-Biz curriculum has been developed to develop
managers who would create IT based strategies and integrate them with
overall business to create value. A business can be anything from IT
to financial services, sales, manufacturing, travel, government,
services etc.; but, what we teach is how to create value in that
business.
After carefully studying current business needs, we have selected
five most demanding areas of business that need such managers for the
foreseeable future:
- Systems Development
- E-Solutions Consulting
- Project Management
- Strategy and Policy Planning
- New-Business Development
Within one year, students can select an area and learn the very
essential material covered by E-Biz courses. They can also enrich
their learning by carefully selecting classes from our MBA courses.
Total credit needed for graduation is:
24 (course credit) + 6 (Thesis)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
This month and next month, we are happy to introduce Dr. Aamir
Arain (IR Class of 1999, Cambodia). Please note that the following
interview was conducted in March this year:
-*-
Q. What are your current professional responsibilities?
A. Since my graduation from IUJ in 1999, I have been involved in the
area of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations with emphasis on
the following three aspects related to post-conflict environments:
1. Policy making and implementation of capacity building
programmes required to put in place a democratization process
after the conflict has ended.
2. Electoral Training, Civic Education, and Monitoring of the
post-conflict democratization process.
3. Coordination and Project management in post conflict societies.
Currently I am working as United Nations Governance Adviser to the
Cambodian Government.
My current professional responsibilities are:
* Advising and preparing policy guidelines for the Cambodian
Government on all aspects of the capacity development programme
for good governance and Electoral Management in Cambodia.
* Preparing and presenting reports as required for consideration
by the Cambodian Government, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and donor groups which include large
contributors of Overseas Development Aids (ODA) such as the
Japanese government and European Commission and others.
* Providing technical assistance to Cambodian National and
Regional authorities in relation to capacity development
programs being implemented in the area of Governance.
* Conducting monitoring and evaluation of decentralization and
democratization processes currently being carried out in
Cambodia.
* Offering technical advice and guidance concerning all Training
and Civic Educational programmes required leading up to the July
2003 national Elections.
Q. How did you come into that job after you left IUJ? What was your
career path?
A. Prior to joining IUJ I was working in the International Planning
Division of Kobe Steel Limited, a Japanese multi-national.
It was my interest in International Relations which
brought me to IUJ. My keen interest in the United Nations work
led me to write thesis on UN Peacekeeping Operations and the
Japanese Perspective. Before graduating from IUJ I put forward my
name to the UN for their roster of UN Volunteers. In August 1999,
I was called upon by the UN to join the United Nations Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) as Civil Affairs Officer in the area of Governance
and Capacity Building.
On my arrival in Kosovo, I was seconded to the Organization of
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which is tasked by the
UN to implement a democratic governance programme in Kosovo. In
view of my considerable work experience gained in Japan I was
appointed as the OSCE Head of Training and Capacity Building in
Kosovo. This was a very challenging assignment. In this position I
advised the Director of Elections on overall training and capacity
building program strategies for the Civil/Voter registration of
1.5 million Kosovars. I managed and supervised all aspects of
capacity building programmes which resulted in successful training
of 2000 International and 15000 domestic staff for the first ever
election in Kosovo which was held in October 2000.
After successful conduct of Kosovo Elections I was appointed as
Senior Policy Adviser in UNMIK. My extended responsibilities
included mainly providing advice and policy guidelines to the
various departments tasked with the implementation of UN mandate
in the areas of:
a) Protection of minorities and their access to civil services
in Kosovo.
b) Continuous Civil/Voter registration of habitual residents of
Kosovo.
c) Issuance of UNMIK Identity cards and UNMIK Travel Documents to
the people of Kosovo.
d) Training and capacity building of domestic staff in 31
Municipalities of Kosovo.
One of the most interesting aspects of working in Kosovo: I was
able to extend the opportunity of working with the UNMIK to 3 of
my IUJ colleagues and one local friend from Urasa. Those IUJ
colleagues were Veera Krishnan (IR Class of 1999), Lito Nayan (IR
Class of 1999), and Manuela Andreea Popovici (IR Class of 1999).
After working for the UN in Kosovo for 2 years my next assignment
was in Africa. I worked for a year in Sierra Leone with USAID as
Governance Adviser to the Government of Sierra Leone. My
responsibilities in Sierra Leone included:
a) Advised & prepared policy guidelines on all aspects of
capacity building programmes, Identification of training
requirements, coordination of technical and logistical aspects,
voter registration and elections.
b) Supervised and coordinated training of 45,000 election
personnel.
c) Implemented professional development strategy for the
staff of Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission.
d) Facilitated information flow between UN agencies (UNHCR,
UNOCHA,and UNAMSIL) and the Sierra Leone Government on
governance related issues.
Currently, I am working as United Nations Governance Adviser to
the Cambodian Government.
Q. How has the IUJ educational experience helped you in your
professional career?
A. IUJ has played a significant role in my professional advancement.
Apart from completing my Master's programme in International
Relations, IUJ provided me an opportunity to explore my leadership
and management potentials. As the president of the International
Relations Council (IRC) I was able to introduce a new dynamism in
addressing the issues faced by GSIR students. Because of its
unique surrounding IUJ also enabled me to establish very close
personal links with the local community which I am very proud of
and still continuing. IUJ also provided me an opportunity to
institute the first ever IUJ Ambassador Lectures Series during
which Ambassadors from various countries came to IUJ and gave
their views on the pressing issues being faced by the world. This
all would have never been possible without the help of IUJ faculty
and staff members who whole-heartedly helped and prepare me to
face the global challenges. Indeed I am thankful to IUJ for
accomplishments of my professional life.
Q. What recommendations would you give to those considering IUJ for
their master's degree?
A. If you decide to spend 2 years at IUJ for your master's degree,
remember it is a place where apart from conventional education
there are great opportunities to sharpen your inter-cultural
skills. With over 50 countries on campus you are in Japan but not
in Japan as well. Meeting with different people, experiencing
interactions with other cultures, IUJ provides a small global
community before you embark on solving the issues of the larger
world. Indeed IUJ prepares you for the global challenges with the
right environment coupled with excellent educational experience.
IUJ is also a place where Japanese students have an opportunity to
meet and exchange ideas and share life in a relatively informal
environment far away from the daily hectic life. Breathtaking
natural beauty, mountainous surrounding coupled with state of the
art communications and educational facilities will make your stay
the most memorable part of your life. One thing do not forget to
bring your skies.
-*-
Please view photos Dr. Arain shares with us.
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/ecampus/ArainE.cfm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Why Choose IUJ?>>
IUJ Alumnus, Dr. Ahmad Rashid Malik (IR Class of 1987, Pakistan),
wrote to us recently. We are happy to share his message with you.
-*-
I think that I owe a lot to IUJ. It is high time to repay my debt
and say something about the real strength of IUJ. Although IUJ is
relatively young, it is a great school of learning not only for the
Japanese but for many students across our globe who wish to
discover the "secret of success" of Japan. IUJ has its own global
traditions with a very acceptable mixture of Japanese values. Here
views are respected, not damaged. You will be most unlucky if you
could not complete your degree at IUJ with its highly forward-
looking faculty. Students of IUJ are very confident people no
matter where they come from; "developed" or "developing"
countries or continents; and religious background and so on. At IUJ
they get the "approval" of their knowledge and skills from the
people who are running one of the world's finest economies, Japan.
This is the main reason that so many IUJers have done their PhDs
and are excelling in world class corporations, policy-making, and
in the private sector. If you go to any leading university in the
developed world via IUJ, you are going to complete your degree not
only successfully but with fewer difficulties than others. Credit
goes to the people who have created such an exemplary environment
at IUJ right at the beginning when the foundation for the
establishment of the university was formed in 1976.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Rankings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Top 10 Undergraduate Majors of Current IUJ Students>>
IUJ welcomes applicants with enthusiasm and visions about their own
future no matter what their majors were in their undergraduate
education. We thought it might be interesting for you to know how
diversified the students' academic backgrounds are.
Graduate School of International Relations (125 students)
==========================================
1. Economics 33
2. Business and Commerce 26
3. International Relations 21
4. Linguistics 6
5. Other humanities 5
6. Political Sciences 4
7. Agriculture 3
7. Other Social Sciences 3
9. English 2
9. Computer Sciences 2
9. Engineering, Civil 2
9. Engineering, Electrical 2
9. Mathematics 2
9. Communications 2
9. History 2
Graduate School of International Management (107 students, MBA only)
===========================================
1. Business and Commerce 25
2. Economics 18
3. English 10
4. Engineering, Electrical 7
5. Engineering, Mechanical 5
6. Computer Sciences 4
6. Other humanities 4
8. Architecture 3
8. Engineering, Civil 3
8. Engineering, other 3
8. International Relations 3
8. Other foreign languages 3
8. Other social sciences 3
8. Physics 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Three: What do you want to do next?
As you prepare to come to IUJ, please know why. That sounds easy,
but hopefully you are ready to use your IUJ education to launch your-
self into your career goal. So what is that career goal? Knowing it
before you come can help you plan your education, choose good
research topics, and elective courses to best prepare yourself. Your
education will be more meaningful to you, and far more rewarding.
Then, with the help of Career Services we can network you to get your-
self positioned to achieve that career goal. IUJ is a great tool and
with some coaching from Career Services . . . the world awaits you.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on November 4, 2003.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
November 2003
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- IUJ Rankings
-- Career Counseling One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<The Economist Ranks IUJ 82nd in the World!>>
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) announced its 2003 MBA Global
Ranking on October 3. IUJ was ranked 82nd among the 100 best MBA
Programs in the world. IUJ is the first and only Japanese school
that made the ranking and is among only 11 business schools listed
from Asia and Australia.
For further details, please go to the EIU homepage:
http://mba.eiu.com/
<<Open Seminar on North Korean Issues Held>>
IUJ Research Institute holds an open seminar annually to take up
current hot issues in Japan and in the world. This year's open
seminar was held on October 28 entitled, "Evolution of North Korean
Issues," by Mr. Hideshi Takesada, Chief Researcher from the
National Institute for Defense Studies of the Japan's Defense
Agency. The seminar hall was packed with the audience, listening
carefully to Mr. Takesada's talk on the country's nuclear facility
and deadlocked abduction issues.
<<GSIM Lunch Time Seminars Launched>>
The Graduate School of International Management (GSIM) launched
informal but informative Lunch-time Seminars (LTS) on October 7.
This is to promote active discussions and productivity in research
and education of management and e-biz among the faculty and the
students. The first session was led by Prof. Kushchu. Prof.
Kushchu delivered a speech, "What Can Managers Learn From the
Ants?" where he introduced a recent management paradigm called
"complexity management" by presenting a simulation where an ant
colony solves problems by means of simple rules and how they are
so adaptive. Many students and faculty members filled the seminar
hall and had a very active discussion after his talk.
<<IDP Faculty Seminar Started>>
The faculty of the International Development Program started a
monthly "IDP Faculty Seminar" in October with the aim of providing
a forum for presenting their research outcomes as well as promoting
interaction between faculty and students. The first seminar was
held on October 15 and Associate Professor Yuqing Xing gave a
seminar on "Why is China so Attractive for FDI? The Role of
Exchange Rates." More than 40 faculty members and students
participated in the seminar and their intellectual appetite was
thoroughly satisfied after a challenging Q&A session.
<<Internship Program Overview Session by Sanyo Electric>>
As part of "Career Week," many corporations visit IUJ to give
"Internship Program Overview Sessions." The sessions are for
companies to give presentations about themselves before the
application process and subsequent campus interviews are started.
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. is one of the few Japanese companies with
a great devotion to internships that lead to career positions
within the company; they look to bring bright students into their
company for 3-6 month internships, and then assess them for long-
term careers with them, possibly in leadership positions within
Sanyo in their home countries. Students are allowed to suggest
how they best fit within Sanyo and what they can contribute. This
is called the "Sanyo model" at IUJ and many students are interested
in getting an opportunity. It is expected that there will be
a lot of IUJ students attending the Sanyo Session on November 4.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
November-December 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Open Day>>
This is IUJ's biggest annual social activity. Students from
more than 50 countries provide special cuisines, perform dancing
in national costumes, exhibit cultural connotations, and many
many more. The event is open to everyone.
Date: Saturday, November 22
Time: 17:30-
Venue: IUJ Gymnasium
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/about/location/
Fee: 500 yen
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written tests
IRP&IDP November 20 December 4 n/a
December 19 January 16 n/a
MBA&E-biz November 14 November 28 November 29
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<IUJ will participate in World MBA Tour>>
Date: Friday, November 7
Time: 17:00-21:00
Venue: Chinzanso (10-8, Sekiguchi 2-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo)
http://www.chinzanso.com/
IUJ-MBA faculty and alum members will be there to give participants
first-hand information. We look forward to welcoming you at the
IUJ booth!
<<IUJ will participate in World Grad School Tour>>
Date: Friday, November 7
Time: 17:00-21:00
Venue: Chinzanso (10-8, Sekiguchi 2-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo)
http://www.chinzanso.com/
Faculty members from the Graduate School of International Relations
will be there to give participants first-hand information. We look
forward to welcoming you at the IUJ booth!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Freshman's Voice>>
It has been a month since new students joined IUJ. You must be
interested to know what they have to say about their new life.
Let's hear "fresh" voices from new students. This month,
Ms. Fumiko Ikegaya, an IDP student from Japan, shared her
thoughts.
-*-
Q. Please give your academic and professional background.
A. I received a BA in agro-biology, with a focus on the growth and
development of plants, more specifically on the salt tolerance
of plants in areas with progressing desertification. After
graduation, I had a job as a systems engineer.
Q. What was your motivation to study at IUJ?
A. While being involved in a completely different area
professionally, I grew interested in world affairs and different
cultures. I quit my job in 1999 to spend about 20 months
traveling around the world, visiting about 40 countries and
regions, mainly developing countries. I observed the beauty and
severity of nature, diversified life styles, various religions
and cultures, etc. and these experiences have been proved
extremely valuable in my life. I became interested in searching
for answers to questions I had during my journey, and thus, I
decided to enter a graduate school.
I would like to focus on my studies for two short years, and IUJ
provides an ideal environment, with courses taught entirely in
English, a high ratio of international students, with little
disturbance from the hustle and bustle of big cities.
A few of the things that caught me with surprise were globaliz-
ation and IT in these countries, which were far more advanced
than I previously thought. Any travelers can access the
Internet in most of the countries I visited. There is a tribe
called "Tuaregs," who form a caravan and roam around Sahara
Desert for 2-3 weeks one way, led by the location of stars and
the sun. I encountered them and one young man of the tribe
gave me his email address saying, "If you wish to participate in
our camelback caravan, just send me an email." I thought that
was a very symbolic incident.
Q. What would you like to achieve here?
A. At IUJ, I would like to study the effect that IT gives to
diversified cultures and remote areas in developing countries.
I wish to improve my communication skills in English, to attain
related expertise, and to make good friends during my studies.
Q. What was your first impression of IUJ?
A. I first visited IUJ in January this year at an Open Campus. I
was enchanted by the grand nature and the beauty of the campus
in the snow. Then, I was successfully admitted and joined the
Intensive English Program in July. In September when the
academic year started, I was amazed to see all these people
arriving; new students, second-year students, and exchange
students coming from more than 50 different countries, not just
in Asia but also in Africa, Europe, North America, Latin
America, and Middle East! At the entrance ceremony on September
25, students were called upon by school and by country to be
recognized. Not just differences in colors of skin and hair,
but the way students greeted to the audience was so different,
which made me really think that I was having "the IUJ
experience."
It has been about a month since classes started, and I have had
opportunities to have discussions about the class content with
students with different backgrounds, to take time out of our
busy schedule to play basketball, and to cook dinner together.
They will all help me improve my communication skills, which I
believe I could not gain anywhere else.
Q. Any comments to the emag readers?
A. IUJ is a very unique institution. Compared to other graduate
schools, it is relatively young and there is a lot of room to
work on name recognition, but one can obtain knowledge from and
share experiences with students with such diversity at IUJ. I
strongly recommend that you visit IUJ to meet with the students
and see if IUJ is the place for you to share your interest and
dreams with other students.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Newly Elected Student Leaders>>
It is our great pleasure to introduce newly elected IUJ student
leaders.
GSO-EC
======
President -- Yohei Umeda (IDP 2nd-year, Japan), formerly in charge
of External Affairs
Secretary General -- Sheetu Sehgal (MBA 2nd-year, India), former
Treasurer
Treasurer -- Roongkarn Vongthanasunthorn (IRP 2nd-year, Thailand),
formerly in charge of Social Affairs
Campus Affairs -- Anushalakshmi Jayaraj (MBA 1st-year, India),
a new member
External Affairs -- Yuusuke Sugawara (MBA 1st-year, Japan), a
new member
Social Affairs -- Mohamed Zubairu Wai (IRP 1st-year, Sierra
Leone), a new member, and
Ahmad Farshid Gyasi (E-biz, Afghanistan), a
new member
Dormitory Affairs -- Andy Pangestu (MBA 1st-year, Indonesia),
a new member, and
Deshdeep Wasu (MBA 2nd-year, USA), on
exchange in Fall 2003
Sport Affairs -- Vee Chansa Ngavej (IRP 2nd-year, Thailand), on
exchange in Fall 2003
IR Council new members
==========
Muna Hamad Moh'd Al Tarawneh (IDP 1st-year, Jordan)
Eiei Han (IRP 1st-year, Myanmar)
Mihai Catalin Isacovici (IDP 1st-year, Romania)
Samantha Kui Jayasuriya (IRP 1st-year, Sri Lanka)
Alis Bwembya Kambobe (IDP 1st-year, Zambia)
Danura Damith Miriyagalla (IDP 1st-year, Sri Lanka)
IM Council new members
==========
Esel Seda Arat (MBA 1st-year, Turkey)
Reliza Arifiani Kodri (MBA 1st-year, Indonesia)
Felix Langenbach (E-biz, Germany/France)
Ratri Setyorini (E-biz, Indonesia)
Asheesh Sharma (MBA 1st-year, Canada)
Satoshi Tsuji (MBA 1st-year, Japan)
Messages from Student Leaders
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> Yuusuke from GSO-EC
Hi, my name is Yuusuke Sugawara from Japan. I'm a 1st year MBA
student, and in GSO-EC, I'm in charge of External Affairs (and
Dorm Affairs in the fall on behalf of Desh). I feel very
fortunate to have been elected as a GSO-EC member. I'd like to
support students' enjoyable IUJ life, and also to communicate
with a lot of students and feed them in with a lot of
information about what's happening off campus as well as on
campus. I'll do my best to provide good IUJ life as a student
from the host country.
>> Roongkarn from GSO-EC
My name is Roongkarn Vongthasunthorn from Thailand. Please
call me Jubbie. My present responsibility as Treasurer is to
take care of GSO's financial matters. I was in charge of
Social Affairs in Spring term, organizing many IUJ events and
parties. I'm very proud to be a part to make everyone enjoy
and smile after hard studies. Moreover, being a part of GSO-EC
gives me a chance to work with fabulous people who are both my
friends and family at IUJ.
>> Andy from GSO-EC
I am Andy Pangestu from Indonesia. I am one of the GSO-EC
members, in charge of Dormitory Affairs. Basically, my
responsibility is to assist in the smooth running of the
dormitories. I will be the students' link to the faculty and
administration, especially in case there are aspects that need
to be improved. Why GSO-EC? I just want to contribute some
time of my life to this IUJ community, to try my best to
represent or fulfill the students' needs or wants.
>> Felix from IM Council
I am Felix Langenbach from Germany/France. I joined IUJ's
E-Business Management Program because I believe that it offers
all I expect from a school to prepare me in the best conditions
for a great career. I strongly value the international aspect
of this school; the contact with different people and different
cultures is especially in light of the globalisation of markets
and the growing exchange between countries.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Professor Richard Smith from the UK and
the English language courses/programs he teaches. At IUJ, all
courses are taught entirely in English, and the English language
education here is of high quality and intensity. Here is the
interview with Prof. Smith.
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. I come from London, England, but I have been living and working
in Japan for the last twenty years.
I was initially trained as a social scientist and my first real
job was a social research position for the Institute of
Community Studies in London, where I visited hundreds of
households and interviewed thousands of people. This experience
changed my life. Before doing this work I had been a very shy
person, but because of my interviewing work realized that people
were just as interesting as ideas. It was during this time that
I was persuaded to help teach English to some of the immigrants
I had tried to interview.
When the government withdrew its funding from this kind of
social research, it seemed natural to switch to teaching English
as a foreign language on a full-time basis.
Q. Please summarize your course.
A. I teach two types of course. During the summer Intensive
English Program (IEP) I both manage and teach either a writing
and reading course or a speaking and listening course. The
classes in these courses meet almost every day for three hours a
day, which is very intensive. Each Fall and Winter Term of the
regular academic year, I teach two classes of English which
focus on academic writing and vocabulary development. These
Fall and Winter Term courses are much less intensive than the
IEP because the students have to devote most of their time and
energy to their content studies.
Q. How do you contrive your courses so students can learn better?
A. I would like to think that the students in my classes learn with
an effectiveness and an efficiency that is above the average,
but whether this is due to the teacher or due to the students is
impossible to say. Language learning is such a complex process
that there is no way one can prove that any particular factor is
responsible for a positive outcome.
Like most professional academic English teachers, I am aware of
the importance of creating a relaxed atmosphere in class and or
using interactive teaching approaches rather than lecture-based
approaches. As for aspects of my teaching approach which I
could claim to be specific to my classes, I like to construct
class activities as problems which the students have to solve.
My belief is that intelligent adult students are question-askers
who learn best when they have an emotional as well as an
intellectual need to figure out answers to questions. In my
experience, the keys to success in this approach are (1) to
choose problems which are significant and which are frustrating
the students on a regular basis and (2) to break down large
problems into smaller pieces which are solvable. I teach
vocabulary this way. I don't teach it from a textbook.
Instead, I document the vocabulary problems which IUJ students
have had over the years, select the really significant ones and
design activities which remind students of the problems
frustrations and, at the same time, offer the promise of
solutions. The vocabulary issues which arise out of students'
real-time writing are fed back into the same process.
I started developing this approach to vocabulary teaching when
in my early days at IUJ my students expressed intense
frustration that their dictionaries offered no systematic help
in choosing the right words. To choose a simple example, their
dictionaries did not explain why we say "he did the homework"
and, on the other hand, why we don't say "he did the strategy."
Q. How will students benefit from the courses in their career
development?
A. I trust that they will benefit in two ways. First of all, they
can benefit from the specific skills modules which I manage and
teach. During the summer, for example, I have been managing and
teaching an oral presentation skills module which has an obvious
practical value for students who plan after graduation to be
involved in international business or in advanced academic
work. During my English for International Management course
during the regular terms, I teach a negotiation module which
helps the students figure out how they can say "NO" without
really offending anyone. The second benefit, which is perhaps
even more significant, is the increase in the students' English
confidence level. I see this when the MBA students come back
from their second year exchange programs and report that they
did better than they expected in terms of their academic English
communication ability. And I see it when alumni return to
campus and complain that the native speaker staff members in
their overseas branch office can't write business reports or
give presentations as well as they can. More generally, I see
an increase in students' confidence in their problem-solving
abilities when they realize that, although English is a complex
system, it is not impossibly complex and can be mastered to a
considerable degree.
Q. Any difficulties in teaching the course?
A. First of all, I want to say that the students at IUJ are usually
highly motivated and eager to learn. So long as I am well
prepared, the courses usually run smoothly. During the regular
terms, the difficulties are usually difficulties which the
students face because they have such a heavy content course
workload. This means that students are not able to spend as
much time on their English studies as they (and I) would like.
The difficulties which I face almost always occur during the
summer IEP, when I have to manage a group of two or three
visiting teachers to teach the same course across several class
sections. Like other academics, professional academic English
teachers have been trained to operate independently, so they
don't always adapt well to the ready-made framework of the IEP.
We've learned the hard way that we have to recruit the right
kind of visiting faculty members and I think we've been fairly
successful in doing this over the last three or four summers.
Nonetheless, you feel a tremendous responsibility when the
fortunes of several classes are seen to rest on your shoulders.
Like the other full-time faculty members of the IEP, I am
totally exhausted when the summer program is over!
Q. Please give readers of "E-campus IUJ" your message.
A. Here at IUJ, and I and my full-time academic English-teaching
faculty colleagues are proud of the programs we have developed
and the services we provide. We are starting to receive
recognition for this work. The Japan International Cooperation
Agency, for example, has used our program designs as blueprints
for academic English programs it runs or supervises both within
Japan and in aid-recipient countries.
If you are an alumnus who has been through one of our programs/
courses, we look forward to meeting you again, and if you are a
prospective IUJ student, we look forward to the pleasure of your
company in one of our classrooms.
-*-
Prof. Smith has a webpage you can view:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/faculty/smith/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Rankings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Top 10 Most Accessed IUJ News>>
One of the most popular websites on IUJ Homepage is the News page.
The following shows which news pages were viewed most during the
period between September 20 and October 20.
1. 2003 IUJ Entrance Ceremony 114 accesses
2. Economist Ranks IUJ 82nd in the World! 112
2. IUJ Made Top 15 Asian Business Schools! 112
4. Dr. Yamazawa Appointed as New IUJ President 48
5. Success of IUJ-MBA Women 42
6. Introducing IUJ's Moslem Student Association 40
7. TV Conference with Nissan President - Big Success! 39
8. Two Faculty Members To Join IUJ 32
9. New Graduate Student Organization-EC 31
10. IUJ-MBA Ranked #4 in East Asia by Asia-Inc! 26
There are more news article on this page:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Four: Building your Career Tools
When you first arrive at IUJ, I will be ready to help you build your
career tools. Your education is of course one of the ways to build
your professional skills set. But that is not all you will need.
Other tools include: resumes, and if you are looking for positions
in Japan, a Japanese rirekisho; cover letters, networking skills,
job hunting skills, interviewing skills and salary negotiations
skills. Of course don't forget your English and Japanese skills
that are essential to you. I cannot help you with Japanese, but am
ready to help with the other tools you will need. Read the coming
month's e-campus IUJ to learn more about each tool.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on December 1, 2003.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
December 2003
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- IUJ Rankings
-- Career Counseling One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<NEW WEBSITE: "IUJ Business School" Opens on December 5!>>
In addition to the "Graduate School of International Management"
website, a new site, "IUJ Business School," will open on December
5, 2003. The creators of this page are confident that it is
more user-friendly and gives easy access to the "big picture" of
the business school. Please do take a look and let us know what
you think (at ecampus@...). You can either access the page
from the top page of the IUJ Home (http://www.iuj.ac.jp/), or enter
the following URL directly:
http://ibs.iuj.ac.jp/
<<"Internet Marketing" Students Visit Walt Disney Tokyo HQ>>
On Friday, November 21, the students of "Internet Marketing," an
MBA elective course, visited the Tokyo Headquarters of the Walt
Disney Interactive Group. For details, please see the "Academic
Spotlights" column.
<<"Contemporary Japanese Politics" Students Visit Central Gov't>>
On Friday, November 28, the students of "Contemporary Japanese
Politics" had a field trip to Tokyo. The sites visited included
the National Defence Agency's Maritime Staff Office, the Diet,
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. They also joined a tour of Fuji Television and
had a meeting with Mr. Taro Kimura, a member of the Japanese House
of Representatives.
<<Exchange Students for Fall 2003>>
IUJ-MBA welcomes 22 exchange students in this fall term. Here is
the list of their home schools:
((Asian Institutions)) - 6 students
China Europe International Business School (China, 1 student)
Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia, 1 student)
National Chengchi University (Taiwan, 2 students)
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, 1 student)
Yonsei University (Korea, 1 student)
((European Institutions)) - 13 students
Aarhus School of Business (Denmark, 2 students)
Bocconi University of Milan (Italy, 3 students)
E.M. Lyon (France, 2 students)
ESADE (Spain, 2 students)
Koc University (Turkey, 2 students)
The University of Warwick (UK, 1 student)
University of St. Gallen (Switzerland, 1 student)
((North American Institutions)) - 3 students
New York University (USA, 1 student)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA, 1 student)
University of Rochester (USA, 1 student)
<<IUJ First Fridays>>
"IUJ First Fridays" welcomes not only IUJ alumni but also those
interested in IUJ. This month's IUJ First Friday will be held on
December 5 at "Trading Places" in Roppongi with President Yamazawa
as a special guest! For registration, please contact the IUJ
Alumni Association (alumni@...).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
December 2003 - January 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written tests
IRP&IDP December 19 January 16 N/A
January 29 February 16 N/A
MBA&E-biz February 6 February 20 February 21
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<1st Application Deadline for International Applicants>>
IRP&IDP February 27
MBA&E-biz January 30
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Freshman Voices>>
Mr. Chadwick Smith (USA)
International Relations Program
-*-
Q. Please give your academic and professional background.
A. Although my undergraduate degree was in International Studies, I
worked for 8 years as a meteorologist/oceanographer for the US
Navy. During that time, I was responsible for forecasting
weather conditions to ensure the safe navigation of aircraft and
ships.
Q. What was your motivation to study at IUJ and what would you like
to achieve here?
A. After 8 years of working for the Navy, I felt that I had
plateaued in my career. I had become deeply interested in
international affairs and politics and was looking to make a
career change in that direction. I chose IUJ because of the
diverse cultural atmosphere and the fact that is was located in
Japan. During my time at IUJ, I would like to attain the know-
ledge and skills that will allow me to make a positive contribu-
tion to global society. I hope to work in international business
and trade, or for the US State Department.
Q. What was your first impression of IUJ?
A. When I first arrived at the train station, I met IUJ students
from five different countries while waiting for the bus; I knew
at that point that this is truly an international university.
The spectacular scenery that surrounds the campus amazed me the
most.
Q. Any comments to the emag readers?
A. I think IUJ is a unique experience for anyone wishing to broaden
their cultural horizons.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Assistant Prof. Philip Sidel from the
IUJ Business School (Graduate School of International Management)
and his "Internet Marketing" course.
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. In the Spring of 2002, I joined the Marketing Faculty here at
IUJ. In addition to teaching the Strategic Brand Management,
New Product Development, Internet Marketing and Mobile Market-
ing, I also have the pleasure of working with a number of
students on their final thesis projects which cover a wide
range of technology and marketing-related concepts. My
research is specifically focused on Mobile Consumer Behavior,
which I hope will help further both the academic and corporate
perspectives on the key drivers for consumer behavior with
emerging and developing technologies.
Prior to IUJ, I've worked in both the non-profit and for-profit
sectors, in a number of executive-level roles, at companies
including American Express, Muze, Inc., Lightningcast Inc., the
Greenwich Odeum, and Advantage Marketing, Inc.
Q. Could you summarize your "Internet Marketing" course and tell
us what its ultimate goal is?
A. I have three basic goals for this year's Internet Marketing
course. They are to provide students with:
1. A clear understanding of how to successfully utilize the
Internet for Marketing purposes,
2. The ability to develop effective marketing strategies that
utilize the Internet as a strategic marketing channel,
3. A general understanding of best (and current) practices in
Internet Marketing
In addition to our class lectures and case work, one of the
required assignments each week is for students to post to our
Internet Marketing class weblog, or "blog", which can be found
at (http://iuj.blogspot.com). During the beginning of class
each week, we discuss the latest events related to Internet
Marketing, and their impact and relevance to our class
lectures. Through this exercise, students get the opportunity
to focus on areas that personally interest them, while also
making the lecture and case materials more relevant. By
showing the direct connection between what we're learning and
what is happening in the real world, it is my hope that
students truly learn why the Internet is a critical channel
for businesses to leverage effectively.
Q. How did you plan a field trip to Walt Disney in this course and
what would you expect your students to learn from this
experience?
A. One of the things that I truly admire about many of my
colleagues here at IUJ is their commitment to bringing in
outside lecturers and speakers to further the education of our
students. I don't think that I can remember a month in which
one respected industry or government leader wasn't speaking or
presenting here at IUJ.
In this same spirit, I try to keep close relationships with
executives in Japan, so that they can add their personal
insights and experiences to the lecture materials that I am
providing the students. I had invited two guest speakers from
the Walt Disney Interactive Group to come speak on campus during
the month of November. But after a number of conversations with
them, we agreed that it would be better both for the students
and for Disney to hold these presentations in at their head-
quarters in Tokyo.
Because we will now have the opportunity to meet with the
General Manager of the Walt Disney Interactive Group, and
executives from four functional areas including broadband
content, mobile content, mobile strategy and legal affairs, I
feel that the students will be able to get an understanding of
the many important considerations needed for running an
effective online content business.
Walt Disney is one of the world's leading companies with respect
to online content, and if students can gain even a basic
understanding of those factors that continue to drive their
success, I feel that they will have gained a level of knowledge
that they could never have gained from lecture materials alone.
Q. Your ongoing joint research with Prof. Mayhew on mobile
consumer behavior has been receiving a lot of recognition.
Could you explain brifly about the research and tell us what
can be derived from it?
A. The work that Professor Mayhew and I are doing is focused
specifically on mobile consumer behavior. Although a great deal
of work has been done in defining consumer behavior in a number
of different markets and industries, very little research has
been done to date on the mobile platform. This is mostly due to
the fact that Japan leads the world in Mobile Internet access
and usage, with more than 70 million people connecting wire-
lessly to Internet content and services. At last count, this
was more than the rest of the world combined. So because of
this, Professor Mayhew and I are in the unique position of being
able to explore an area of Marketing that few other researchers
can currently access.
Our results are being recognized because they have started to
dispel many of the myths that surround the success of Japan's
mobile Internet. For example, we've found that although many
have suggested that the long commute times in Japan are the
reason that mobile Internet usage is so high, we've actually
found that usage occurs most often in "non-mobile" locations
such as home, work or school. Additionally we've found that
contrary to popular opinion, where a person is at any certain
time of day does not necessarily explain their usage of the
Mobile Internet. This suggests that many businesses focused on
Location Based Services (LBS) may not be as successful as some
industry analysts have suggested.
We're currently in the process of defining the fundamental
drivers for consumer behavior on the mobile platform, and then
showing how each of these factors impact overall Mobile Internet
usage. Additionally, in partnership with some IUJ research
assistants, I'm in the process of finalizing a series of cross-
cultural studies, in which we're trying to determine if there
are any major cultural differences in how the Mobile Internet
is perceived and used in markets outside of Japan. Although
it's still too early to say with certainty at this point, the
early indications are that there are far fewer cultural
differences than many would believe.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
The first IUJ-MBA Class graduated in 1990, 13 years ago. We had
an opportunity to have 2 members of the MBA Class of 1990 tell us
about themselves. Let's see how their career has developed in
13 years.
-*-
Mr. Theodor Lo (USA)
MBA Class of 1990, Morgan Stanley
Q. What are your current professional responsibilities?
A. I currently trade US and European fixed income credit products
for Morgan Stanley in Tokyo and have been in credit trading for
13 years.
Q. How did you come into that job after you left IUJ? What was
your career path?
A. I had a summer internship at Chemical Bank (now JPMorgan Chase)
in Tokyo in their Foreign Exchange group. The experience in
sales and trading led me to seek a career in trading. I joined
Shearson Lehman Hutton (now Lehman Brothers) after graduation in
1990. I was sent to New York, London and Tokyo for the first
two years to experience international corporate bond trading in
the various trading centers and was transferred to Lehman
Brothers Tokyo at the end of 1992 to trade US corporate bonds.
I remained at Lehman until 1994 when I joined Morgan Stanley
Tokyo to trade both US and European corporate bonds. I spent
the following 7 years at Morgan Stanley marketing new issues and
trading secondary bonds until I left for Deutsche Bank Tokyo in
the summer of 2001. Deutsche Bank asked me to build their US
and European credit business in Tokyo. After a short stint of
less than two years, I rejoined Morgan Stanley in Tokyo in the
spring of 2003.
Q. How has the IUJ educational experience helped you in your
professional career?
A. IUJ was a very unique experience. I went to IUJ in the fall of
1988 because I felt that an MBA based on a US program in Japan
would help my job search. Back in the mid-to-late 1980's there
was a big MBA boom in the US. This happened to coincide with
"boom" times in Japan. I thought a combination of both would at
least distinguish me from the thousands of MBA graduates that
companies could choose from.
Being part of the inaugural MBA class meant that we had a chance
to shape the program at the very beginning. Given that it was a
joint venture with Amos Tuck in the early years, the program had
a US flavor but also had Japanese business practices added to
the program. Japan, back in the late-80's, was the envy of most
industrial countries so naturally we were all trying to find out
what Japan was doing right. What a difference a decade makes.
Naturally, the best part was my classmates. My class had only
25 students...19 Japanese and 6 Americans so we were all pretty
close. I learned a lot from my classmates. I went to IUJ
without any work experience and all my colleagues, with the
exception of one other, had work experience. Everyone helped
each other and that was the best part. I was able to seek out
the right career by asking my classmates for their wisdom. For
those of us around Tokyo, we still go out about 3-4 times a
year and talk about the "old days".
Finally, dealing with people is a big part of my job. At IUJ,
you will find a combination of everything. The better you can
deal with those around you, the better you can deal with those
who will eventually work with you.
Q. What recommendations would you give to those considering IUJ for
their masters degree?
A. I would generally recommend IUJ to those who wish to have a
career in Japan. Although one does not have to limit oneself to
Japan, it probably should be a good reason as to why one would
come to IUJ to study. In large part, Japan is still
unaccumstomed to hiring masters candidates since it does not fit
into their traditional process of hiring undergraduates. Having
said that, there are more and more non-Japanese companies in
Japan (compared to 1990) who could use candidates from IUJ. In
addition to coursework, I think the addition of Japanese skills
plus "keeping in touch with the real world" is a huge must.
Read up on industries you are interested in; look at trade
magazines or newspapers, websites, etc. Textbooks will only
give you a part of the big picture.
-*-
Mr. Tom Steen (USA)
MBA Class of 1990, Merrill Lynch
When I left IUJ I worked for Baring Securities for 5 years in Tokyo
and moved to NY in 95. There I worked for Merrill for 4 years
before moving to Toronto where I now run the derivatives and
structured products business. My experience at IUJ gave me the
skills, confidence, and cultural awareness I was looking for and I
still have great friends from my days there. Although I have not
been back since, I did meet a lot of my colleagues in Tokyo last
summer. I now have 4 kids, (two sets of twins) and am living
happily. We would consider coming back to Tokyo for the right job
if it came up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Rankings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Top 10 Countries Represented by IUJ Faculty>>
IUJ students can enjoy the rich diversity of faculty members.
Let's take a look at where faculty members are from.
1. Japan 51%
2. USA 20%
3. Australia 5%
3. China 5%
3. India 5%
6. Bangladesh 3%
6. Korea 3%
6. Sri Lanka 3%
6. Turkey 3%
6. UK 3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Five: Your Personality on a Page
A resume is a tool used to tell a future employer what it is you can
do for him. Rather than a list of your past history, it should be
filled with things you offer to the next workplace. You have
demonstrated many skills in past experiences, and the resume is your
first place to explain what you bring with you. None of us can
escape from our pasts, but bring them along with us. Even if you are
changing professions, using IUJ as your pivot, you still have
"transferable skills" to offer. It is how you word those skills
that is vital. For example, a mother of 5 children can make a great
hotel cook because she has "Prepared meals for demanding groups"
rather than "Cooked dinners for my family."
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on January 5, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
January 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- New Year's Greetings
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New Year's Greetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
At the beginning of the New Year, two of our excellent alumni sent
in New Year's Greetings.
-*-
Mr. Yasuhiro Sato (Japan)
IR Class of 1985
Senior Vice President
American International Group KK
"A Five Minute Foresight"
A Happy New Year!
Words and stories you heard in your childhood sometimes influence
your life. For me, these words were "a five minute foresight."
When I was at elementary school EI cannot remember exactly which
grade E the entire class went camping. An older man managing
the campsite told us these words the first night we were there.
Looking back, I think that the only thing he meant was, "Be
punctual!" For some reason, however, in my young mind, it was
registered as "Try to foresee what will happen in the future (in
five minutes from now)."
At IUJ, I expanded this notion of "five minute foresight" and
enjoyed a lot of trial and error as much as I wanted to learn future
forecasting. I was a young banker with a major in International
Economics and with a minor in American Studies, and thought I must
be able to foresee the future with a formula by regression analysis
or system dynamics that was popular back then. With an introduction
by Prof. Yamada, I participated in Chemical Bank's macro analytical
project on the Japanese market conducted at their planning division
in the US Headquarters. This experience fortified my belief about
the above-mentioned future forecasting, which I am sure caused a lot
of headaches to Prof. Otsuki, my mentor. My Master's thesis was
aimed to prove that in the Japanese stock market a technical
analysis, by replicating the "filter rule" invented by Alexander and
Fama and applied to the same analysis in the U.S. stock market, can
produce higher return than the buy-and-hold strategy. I remember
struggling to develop calculus software with, and enter stock price
data into, the IBM5550 which was a state-of-the-art personal
computer yet extremely slow at the time. Sometimes it took the
computer one whole night to calculate just one outcome. Even with
these efforts, however, the filter rule did not produce higher
return than the buy-and-hold strategy in every result of calculation
and my hypothesis that the stock market be inefficient had to be
rejected.
These scholarly struggles at IUJ naturally cast on my wishes in my
mind to foresee the future a veil of two new additional goals;
1) to gather facts in the market, hypothesize a rule satisfy-
ing all these facts and prove it, and 2) to create a market
ourselves that acts according to the economic rules, which was
drawn from discussions with Prof. Otsuki and other professors.
After graduating from IUJ, I went back to the bank that sponsored my
studies and launched the bank's M&A business. I had no interest in
working in the sell side assignments, but I did not mind at all
working all night in the buy side. That is because in the buy side
I could participate in the planning of the business after the
acquisition and draw the future of the target business with my
clients. After joining the company I am currently working for, I
have handled our own acquisitions of Japanese property-casualty and
life insurance companies as well as development of new businesses.
As a member of the management, I enjoy "hand-making" the future that
I forecasted and planned, while maintaining the competitive edge of
those businesses in the market.
"Advanced professional education" as in IUJ's slogan is comprised of
professors, fellow students and the learning environment which help
an individual businessperson develop his/her own goals. I would
like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the founders of our
university who foresaw today 20+ years ago, and I personally wish
to make a contribution in 2004 toward IUJ's further success in the
future.
-*-
Mr. Naoyuki Kaneda (Japan)
MBA Class of 1991
President, NewsWatch, Inc.
In November 2001, I assumed the Presidency of NewsWatch, Inc., a
subsidiary of TOSHIBA CORPORATION. NewsWatch has provided services
related to language processing technologies accumulated by TOSHIBA
for many years. A few of our services are:
* News clipping service -- We daily receive 13,000 articles in
digital format from 100 different media. We then select 15
articles each in 200 business themes, and send them out to our
customers.
* ASP (Application Service Provider) EOur customers can search
within our site using the "FreshEye" search engine.
* Bulletin Board Monitoring Service
* Text Mining
* System development for EC & ECRM, and many more
We provide the services described above using the language process-
ing system and Internet technologies.
Since I assumed the presidency, a little more than two years ago,
our sales have quadrupled. Yet we have a long way to go to achieve
our goals, and are struggling day and night.
The ideal team I would die to work with is actually my IUJ class,
the MBA Class of 1991. It was a small class with a little less than
30 students, but every one of them was intelligent, positive,
unique, respectable, and kind. It would be wonderful to have these
kinds of people working together as my team members, who can
demonstrate their individual competence and abilities in the job.
One of the reasons I aspired to becoming a corporate manager was
to build a company supported by brilliant people like them.
There are several messages I communicate to my employees repeatedly,
which I believe are influenced by what I thought and learned during
my 2 years at IUJ. One of the messages, for example, is a "merit
system free from age, education, or gender." I first encountered
this idea while studying at IUJ with a lot of different people.
Another message is "Go for a challenge! Even if you fail, you can
start over." This is exactly what Prof. Dollinger told us in the
Entrepreneurship class. These words helped me and encouraged me
immensely when I failed to launch a new business.) One more example
is, "Do what interests you and try hard." This is what I told
myself observing Prof. Abbotti at the institution I went on
exchange, who was 70 years old or probably older at that time, but
was dedicated to incubate a new business.
I am surprised at how much I as a manager (although in the bud)
base my principles on the things I learned at IUJ. The two years
spent in Yamato-machi are a precious treasure to me.
At this point, I cannot tell if my company will succeed or not.
This one thing is certain, though, that under any circumstances, I
will do my utmost best for the success of my company with my
intelligence and physical strength. And again, I acquired this
spirit at IUJ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Career Week>>
IUJ's big annual event, Career Week, is going to be held from
Monday, January 19 through Friday, February 13. Many of the HR
Managers of corporations and organizations, and headhunters are
expected to participate this year again to interview IUJ students
for internships and jobs. This will be a big opportunity for
students to bring out their skills earned through Career
Workshops.
<<IUJ Professor Co-edited A Book On Japanese Finance>>
Dr. Takato Hiraki, Professor of IUJ Business School, has recently
co-edited a book that presents a collection of scholarly papers on
Japanese Finance. The book is entitled, "The Japanese Finance --
Corporate Finance and Capital Markets in Changing Japan," and was
published by Elsevier in North Holland. It includes papers by
Professor Hiraki and a number of other Japanese Finance
researchers including IUJ's Dr. Naoya Takezawa and former IUJ
Professor Nobuya Takezawa.
For details and purchasing, please visit the Elsevier Homepage:
http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/6/9/9/8/1/6/index.htt
<<IUJ Alumni Association New York Chapter Organized>>
IUJ Alumni in New York have been active in organizing get-
togethers, communicating with each other, etc., and they are now
an official Chapter of the IUJ Alumni Association. The New York
Chapter's first meeting was held on December 18, and the Chairman
of the Association and the administrative staff member in charge
flew to New York from Japan to participate in this commemorative
meeting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
December 2003 - January 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written tests
IRP&IDP January 29 February 16 N/A
MBA&E-biz February 6 February 20 February 21
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<1st Application Deadline for International Applicants>>
IRP&IDP February 27
MBA&E-biz January 30
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<IUJ Will Participate in The MBA Tour in Taipei>>
IUJ Business School will participate in "The MBA Tour" in Taipei.
IUJ representative as well as an alumnus will sit in at the IUJ
booth to answer questions prospective applicants might have.
Those interested in pursuing MBA and living in Taiwan are welcome
to visit the IUJ booth!
Date: Saturday, January 31, 2004
Time: 13:00-16:30
Venue: Far Eastern Plaza Hotel (201 Tun Hwa South Road)
For more information about the fair, please visit The MBA Tour
official homepage:
http://www.thembatour.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Reports of Two Field Trips>>
In November 2003, two field trips were conducted. Participating
students shared their experiences with us:
-*-
Field Trip To WALT DISNEY INTERNET GROUP on November 18
Reports submitted by 3 students of the "Internet Marketing" Class
Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa (E-Biz Class of '04, Japan, NTT Comware Corp.)
===================================================================
I have learned the Disney mobile contents strategy. It
consists of 6 elements such as "understanding the market,"
"quality content," "strategic partnerships," "Menu placement,"
"marketing support," "the brand." In my understanding Disney
mobile pays attention to the quality of content and strategic
partnerships very much. So they chose NTT docomo as a strategic
partner because it has advanced technology to be able to provide
the content with good quality. Moreover, NTT docomo has merit to
attract customers by providing Disney content and Disney mobile
can promote their content by making use of NTT docomo's promotion
without paying money. I found an interesting trial of Disney
mobile. They usually create characters and their background
stories first and then provide these contents to Disneyland,
Disney shops and online content services: however, in the Dimo
project they are trying new way of creating character. First they
created a character and gave a short story to the character. Then
they are providing this content on the mobile network. They have
a plan to give the character a whole background story later. I
would like to see how this strategy works.
It was a very interesting trip for me. If I didn't study at IUJ,
I never would have had a chance to be given presentation of Disney
mobile and to know much about their marketing strategy. I really
enjoyed this trip. Thank you very much.
Ms. Yasuyo Shimizu (E-Biz Class of '04, Japan, AEON Co., Ltd.)
==============================================================
According to Lisa, who is in charge of Mobile Marketing of Disney,
20% of customers leave their site whenever they click once more.
Although this fact was very shocking to me, introduction of their
efforts, for example, the i-mode menu positioning strategy, were
quite helpful, and her words gave me hope. Besides, to use the
budget effectively, their adverting faithfully follows the life
style of the target market and is always innovative. They are
never satisfied with their success, and keep trying to reach more
demanding goals. As VP Birathon aptly stated, their duty is to
make a lot of people happy and leave a legacy. This trip surely
encouraged me to be ambitious. I much appreciate giving us such a
valuable opportunity.
Ms. May Pan (Exchange student from CEIBS, China)
================================================
My perspective of the trip to Disney:
1) Big boss gave company background including a lot of data
to demonstrate its success
2) Explanation on the creation of new product Dimo
3) How Disney is developing its broad band business in Japan
4) Challenges on the legal side
What I like are:
1) The presentation is well organized and well prepared
2) The atmosphere is relaxing and speakers feel comfortable to
talk about their personal feelings
3) Mr. Kasemsri's sharing of his personal experience and his
philosophies on success, HR, human nature were beyond my
expectation. He is frank, direct, and sharp.
4) Employees' love and passion toward their products: Lisa's dance
and Mika's calm but excited tone.
5) Feel and touch of how a product can be developed in a mobile
Internet world.
6) Creativity and thinking beyond the box of Disney Japan on
entering new business and creating new character
What I learned:
1) Understanding customer by understanding human nature.
2) Create the best product that is so desired by the customer then
you have the right to select partners
3) In the beginning stage of a new business, when value chain is
not ready, you may need to sacrifice your short-term interest
to attract partners to build up the value chain for long-term
success. Deep pockets are very important. Disney provided
content free for NEC in the beginning to have the product reach
the market.
4) Research, analysis and planning is key to success.
What surprised me and I want to learn more:
Mr. Kasemsri said he was creating a "personal relation:" in
managing employees. He gave the example of his employee's answer
to his question on why they stayed late is "I don't want to dis-
appoint you." The second example is he is working very hard to
"protect" his people. This kind of commitment to "protect" from
senior to junior and commitment of hard work from junior to
senior is very common in Japanese companies. It was common in
Chinese companies too in the past before economic reform.
However, today, more and more companies turn to align the
employee's (including both junior and senior) commitment toward
company itself instead of toward certain individual. Only when
company survived as a unity in the commercial world, will all
employees get protected.
In my opinion, personal relations in managing employee
relations can be subjective, which may lead to unfairness. At the
same time, it relies on communication skills which will put some
employee in a inferior situation.
Secondly, the protection of the big boss is risky to the
employee. I think the employees do not need protection from the
big boss, if they are given a good system and environment, they
should know how to play with it instead of relying on someone's
protection. I believe Mr. Kasemsri's philosophy on "personal
relations" employee management is more than just the two examples
given by him. We could not have a more in depth discussion on this
due to time constraint and this is an Internet Marketing focus
trip. Therefore I wrote down my thoughts and they are what I want
to learn more.
-*-
Field Trip To Japanese Central Government on November 21
Report submitted by a student of the
"Modern Japanese Politics" Class
Ms. Valerie Cicero (IRP Class of 2004, USA)
===========================================
On Friday, November 21st, Professor Shinoda's "Contemporary
Japanese Politics" class went on a field trip to Tokyo. It was the
first time several of the students had an opportunity to spend some
time in Tokyo since coming to Japan and an ambitious schedule was
set.
The day started with an early morning commute on the Shinkansen to
Tokyo Station where the class proceeded to the National Defense
Agency's Maritime Staff Office. There we were briefed by Commander
Daisuke Kajimoto of the Plans and Program Division. The class
enjoyed a seminar on Japan's navel defense followed by a question
and answer session.
Following, the class enjoyed lunch at Diet where we had the very
great privilege of dining with the Honorable Yutaka Kobayashi
(LDP - Kanagawa). Over lunch we had the opportunity to discuss his
role as a Member of the Japanese Parliament. This was a rare
opportunity for the students from the International University of
Japan as the class was comprised of students from seven different
countries with varying political systems. Immediately after, we
went on a tour of the Diet. We saw the beautiful Chamber of the
House of Councilors, the Reception Room of the President of the
House of Councilors, The Emperor's Room, the majestic Central Hall
and Grand Staircase. We also went in to Committee Room Number
One, where the students had the opportunity to get their photo
taken in Prime Minister Koizumi's chair.
Next stop was the Ministry of Economic and International Trade.
The class received interesting information on Japan's trade policy
by Deputy Director, Minister's Secretariat Mr. Hirohide Hirai,
before it was off to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Once again
the class was treated to a seminar about Japan's position on North
Korea with Mr. Kazuhiro Suzuki, a Korean specialist, from the
Ministry. With Korea dominating the news, it was a very beneficial
for the class to be able to meet such a knowledgeable individual
and discuss this very important topic.
Mr. Noriyuki Shikata, Deputy Director, Minister's Secretariat,
then presented a discussion on other important issues handled by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Northeast Asian Security,
Energy Security, Prosperity of Japanese and Asian Economies,
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Sustainable Develop-
ment of Least Developed Countries and the difficulties of modern
diplomacy. Each of our hosts were very hospitable and we were
extremely grateful that they took the time to not only meet us but
prepare presentations and allow us to discuss the issues with them
afterwards.
However our day was not over yet! We took the new Yurikamome line
to Odaiba. There we were treated to the beautiful evening views
of Tokyo Bay, Rainbow Bridge and the Pallette Town Ferris Wheel.
After a quick break for coffee and a little window shopping we
headed to Fuji Television Station where we were allowed to tour
the facilities and see them produce the news. We were fortunate
enough there to meet the famous T.V. personality Mr. Taro Kimura.
Sadly our day was coming to a close. Some students stayed to
enjoy the rest of the weekend in Tokyo while others returned back
to IUJ on the evening Shinkansen. The field trip was an incredible
experience for the international relations students of Professor
Shinoda's class. Having studied Japan's political structure and
issues currently confronting Japan in class, we had the unique
opportunity to discuss these and other issues with those
responsible for dealing with them for the Japanese government.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are proud to introduce Prof. Takato Hiraki from the IUJ
Business School (Graduate School of International Management) and
his "Portfolio Management" course offered during the winter 2004
term. Prof. Hiraki has been internationally regarded as one of the
leading scholars in the area of the Japanese Finance. He received
his basic academic training in the U.S., and after returning to
Japan, he continued his research mostly on Japanese capital
markets and has published many high quality papers in inter-
nationally known refereed journals. We interviewed him about his
research and teaching at IUJ.
Q. According to our source in finance academia, a finance
researcher very often comes across your name and work when
he/she tries to probe deeply into the Japanese Finance. Will
you tell us why you have been so focused on research and able
to conduct it with so much success?
A. Although I have contributed little to original theoretical work,
I as an empirical financial economist have been always aware of
the importance of interplays with theoreticians and
methodologists as well as with practitioners. I have believed
that one of the most important research objectives is to
provide the audience with an integrated understanding of the
behaviors of different decision makers participating the market
including individual investors, financial institutions and
corporations. I use benchmarks or other comparative standards
in reconciling conflicts between theoretical vs. empirical work,
academics vs. practices, Japan vs. Anglo-America or Asia in
business philosophy, etc. In other words, I always intend to
send through my empirical research messages to different
audiences standing on common ground as much as possible.
Q. Could you summarize the "Portfolio Management" course you are
teaching in the winter term?
A. This course analyzes how institutional investors (called money
managers) professionally manage investments of individual
investors and how they should make short-term and long-term
decisions for their clients in less than perfect financial
markets. The course almost completely consists of case discus-
sions. I believe that students can learn useful concepts and
functional skills for application by analyzing how institution-
al investors respond especially to market innovations,
(de)regulations and internationalization of capital markets.
Institutional investors make a lot of decisions on choice of
investments and improvement of performance, and at the same
time, safeguard themselves very strategically. This course
analyzes not only the practical techniques used by them but
also the fundamental principles of their behaviors and
strategies ascribing from the fact that they are agents for
their client investors. I plan to provide intensive training
for strategic and rational thinking about professional money
management by using cases.
Q. One of your colleagues told us that your "Portfolio Manage-
ment" course is so complete that it gives students knowledge
that they can usually earn only through 2 courses combined.
It must require a lot of preparation to provide such a course.
Could you tell us about it?
A. Students who take this course typically major in Finance, but
many of them lack work experience and prior quantitative back-
ground, and that can be a big constraint in elective finance
courses including this particular course. The key might be to
answer the question on how "high-tech concepts" could be
taught using "low-tech language" encouraging students to
work hard. Even then, students will need to have some under-
standing of introductory mathematics and statistics to quantify
or to conceptualize the world of uncertainties. Without this,
they will not be able to become effective players either in the
classroom or in actual business arenas. To help students
achieve this, I give them tutorials with help from my
colleagues, Profs. Ito and Takezawa.
Q. What kind of students would you recommend this course to in
terms of their career goals?
A. There are not as many students as before who go into areas of
institutional asset management such as pension or mutual fund
investment businesses. I suspect that many students misunder-
stand and do not fully recognize asset management itself
as a big business with many aspects. Even if they try to
pursue a career-path toward popular (but very competitive)
high-tech derivatives, credit and structured finance, these
products also end up being traded as financial assets. They
would equally have to appeal to money managers and their
client investors on many occasions about their products. In
finance, the treatment of risks is laterally common, and no
matter what career goals in the financial services they seek,
the students focusing on finance must learn the behavioral
principals of institutional money management once for all.
Q. Here is our last question. In your opinion, what should
Japanese financial circles or financial scholars pursue in the
future?
A. The recent severe economic environment in Japan has been
basically caused by the waves of worldwide deregulation and
harsh competition to which traditional financial institutions
have most part failed in adjustment. In fact, both individuals
and companies have no choice but coexisting with violent
markets and associated risks. No temporary remedies in
professional education or policy-making processes will improve
the situation. However, an MBA would be a partial solution. If
I were asked what Japanese scholars involved in MBA education
can do, I would answer in saying that we should seek MBA
concepts which are based on solid research and business
practices accumulated over many decades across the globe. At
the same time, however, we need to train ourselves in and
continuously sharpen these concepts applicable functionality
in different environments. Then, I think there will be a
possibility that our research and educational outcomes can be
ultimately reflected in the country's legislation processes.
(A good example would be a paper published in the Journal of
Business in 2001, "The Japanese Open-End Fund Puzzle," in
which I was also involved. This paper helped the reform of
investment trust tax system reformed in April 2000.) The very
immature bias of Japan's financial policy-makers and media set
back the revitalization of this country in my opinion. It is
my strong hope to bring in a breakthrough of a true re-
structuring in the Japanese economy through our research and
education in MBA.
-*-
If you would like to learn more about Prof. Hiraki, please
access his Homepage:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/faculty/thiraki
and
http://devpapers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=67452
for his most recent working papers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Dr. Sanjeef Kumar graduated from IUJ in 1996 and this year, 7 years
later, he came back to his alma mater as a visiting professor.
-*-
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar (India)
IR Class of 1996
Government of India
I am back at IUJ after 7 years. I had left in 1996. I recall
that the period spent here was one of the best periods of my life.
MLIC is really a treasure house. Its collections are great. Apart
from the required readings I also read wonderful books- from
Macchiavelli's "Prince" to Gandhi's "Autobiography" and from
Porter's "Competitive Advantage of Nations" to Nehru's "Glimpses
of World History". In fact, I read Nehru's (our first Prime
Minister) Discovery of India in my "room with a view" in the
Student Dormitory 3 (SD3). So not only did I try to discover Japan
and the world here but I also tried to rediscover India at IUJ!
So I was excited that I would be staying as a professor in SD3's
tutor Room.
I started my new life as a professor. The class was quite broad-
based in terms of nationalities. During our time we used to have
big groups from Indonesia. During Ramadan we never used to cook
but wait for the late night cooking drills of our Indonesian
friends and fill up our stomach and fridge. My students seemed to
be full of life and keen to learn. I enjoyed being with them.
But when I make an "inter-temporal" comparison (in economics we
often do such comparisons) - I feel, I enjoyed more as a student
than as a teacher. I remember how each day used to be full of
excitement- friends, parties, picnics, home stays, term papers,
tests, homework etc. The life as a Professor was relatively
quiet--- long hours of intensive reading, to the point discussions
and limited friends. However, the presence my wife and children
did not let my enthusiasm die.
Sometimes, I feel this pause in one's life is important.
Particularly, if one is working in the civil service. One needs
to catch up on interesting readings, do some reflections and learn
from the interactions with the students.
In fact, this is life. Every moment is different. The moral is
that it is up to us to live every moment. Being in IUJ is a great
opportunity. It is a small world here. We can make the entire
world as beautiful and warm as IUJ. The interpersonal warmth that
we get as students in the IUJ community gives us strength in our
future career, in any part of the world we land up.
When I came to IUJ for the first time in 1994, it was my
first visit to a foreign country. I was in the plane and I felt
like jumping out before the take off. Now I travel a lot. I have
friends in almost all corners of the world. I have worked with a
lot of people. I could always feel a special bond with them. The
bond is- we are the citizens of one world. The narrow domestic
walls are there but the warmth of hearts is too strong for them.
Thanks IUJ and thanks Japan for igniting that fire!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Six: Communicating
Often when you apply for positions, you get to write a letter to
introduce yourself. Called a cover letter, this document is really
the first chance to show how good (or bad) a communicator you are:
and in today's professional world communication skills are crucial.
Writing a Cover Letter is a tough thing to do right (it is easy to
do it badly!).
The time and energy you give to it usually directly relates to the
rate of success it brings. At IUJ, I am here to help you with work-
shops, examples and critiques so you will not need to do it by
yourself. Things to keep in mind are your presentation (does it
look professional and is it perfect?), the message (what do you want
as a result of writing) and enthusiasm (how much do you want it!).
More info and assistance await you on campus.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on February 2, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
February 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- IUJ Rankings
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<New Library Services>>
IUJ's Library has the following 6 new services:
1) CEPR-Discussion Paper -- The Center for Economic Policy Research
(CEPR) is a non-profit, non-partisan network of nearly 600 of
the word's top academic economists. CEPR focuses on frontier
research in broad areas of economics. Discussion papers are
published weekly, and over 2000 discussion papers can be
accessed online - an archive dating back to January 1999.
2) IMF-Government Finance Statistics -- Statistical data on govern-
ment financial operations for 130 IMF member countries can be
viewed on CD-ROM, which of course can be accessed online.
3) World Bank-Global Development Finance (GDF) -- GDF Online
contains statistical data for the 138 countries that report
public and publicly-guaranteed debt to the World Bank Debtor
Reporting System. Data can also be exported in standard formats
like Excel.
4) BankScope -- BankScope is a comprehensive financial database
containing information on over 11,000 world public and private
banks with a financial analysis software program. The inform-
ation includes details on ownership, 2 years of Reuters full
text, with online access to the most recent news, ratings,
E.I.U. country finance reports.
5) Stata -- Stata is an interactive statistical package for data
analysis and data management with unique graphics capabilities.
It is programmable and is for manipulating and analyzing data
using statistical and graphical methods.
6) International Trade Statistics -- International Trade Statistics
has been developed specifically for use in market research. The
Personal Computer Trade Analysis System (PC-TAS) allows the
assessment of trends, market shares and the role of competitors
in major markets either through direct reporting or mirror
statistics.
<<Kick-off Workshop for "Career Week">>
Prior to "IUJ Career Week," running from January 19 through
February 13, a kick-off event was held on January 15. Mr. Mike
Ghiglione, Executive Director of Career Japan Center, gave IUJ
job-hunters a seminar entitled, "Interview Skills." He covered
the following 7 points:
* Seven characteristics foreign companies look for when they hire
* Before/During/After the interview
* Five types of interviews (standard, screening, friendly, dis-
organized, and stress interview)
* Questions THEY will ask and questions YOU should ask
* Analyzing job offers
* Rejection (What happens when you do not get the job offer?)
* Beginning your job search (and/or internship search)
<<IUJ Ski Day Held>>
"IUJ Ski Day," one of IUJ's biggest winter extra-curricular
activities, was held on February 1. The GSO-EC (Graduate Students
Organization-Executive Committee) organizes this event every year,
with the purpose of providing an enjoyable day on the snow with
IUJ students including those who have never seen snow before.
More than 100 IUJ students, faculty, staff and their families and
friends participated in this event and spent an enjoyable winter
day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
February - March 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written tests
IRP March 29 April 10 N/A
IDP March 29 April 12 N/A
MBA&E-biz February 6 February 20 February 21
March 26 April 9 April 10
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<Application Deadline for International Applicants>>
IRP&IDP February 27
MBA&E-biz March 26
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Welcome to IUJ! Profile of Exchange Students>>
Again this term, IUJ is enjoying the company of 11 exchange
students from 6 institutions. They are...
Jonathon Devey Borland,
Jennifer Ann Derby,
Amy Lynn Kosiek, and
Sharee Diana Thomas
from the University of Florida (USA)
Maylis Giroud and
Arnaud Leroux
from Groupe Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Reims (France)
Gerald Koch
from WHU Koblenz (Germany)
Seppo Juhani Mallenius
from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business
Administration (Finland)
Sitas Manusphaibool and
Isao Yamaguchi
from Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)
and Rina Novita Sari
from Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia)
Three exchange students shared their impressions and thoughts
about IUJ with us.
-*-
Mr. Gerald Koch from WHU Koblenz
================================
I hope to spend a wonderful time here in Japan, skiing and meeting
many people from different countries and cultures. In my university
IUJ is especially recognized for its Japanese language program,
its winter sport locations and the variety of interesting people,
who are enrolled in the regular programs. After a summer in Tokyo
during which I didn't learn as much Japanese as I had hoped, I
decided to come here to learn some more.
My own university is not much bigger than IUJ (350 enrolled
students) and is located in an almost similarly remote location
(think of IUJ being IN Urasa). After one week I feel almost at
home. Thank you very much to everbody for the warm welcome - and I
am sure that all the people I have not yet had a chance to talk to
will be as fantastic as the people I have met so far. - There is
one difference to Germany though: at WHU the beer is free!
-*-
Ms. Sharee D. Thomas from the University of Florida
===================================================
Hi, I am Sharee Thomas, an exchange student from the United States
of America. As a student of the University of Florida, I am just
one fish in a sea of students. When I decided to go on exchange,
I wanted to go to a school that is smaller than my own, and hope-
fully just as friendly. My experience at IUJ so far has accommo-
dated my desires for an exchange school. Not only is the Japanese
culture exciting and new, but the student body and staff at IUJ
have been incredibly welcoming. I hope one day the University of
Florida will receive exchange students from IUJ. We would love to
extend our gratitude!
-*-
Mr. Seppo J. Mallenius from the Helsinki School of Economics
============================================================
My name is Seppo Mallenius and I've been working full-time for
ages and two years ago I started to study for a M.Sc at the
Helsinki School of Economics (HSE), Finland. So, I'm having half a
year study leave and I'll be studying at IUJ for two terms. I
arrived on campus, guided by my IUJ buddy T-san, on Saturday, the
3rd of January and I had heard that there can be almost two meters
of snow... but it was only 5 centimeters. During the first weekend
when I was walking around empty campus and surroundings, I really
enjoyed it. The high mountains that we haven't in Finland were
beautiful and the weather was like spring in April in Finland.
When I left Helsinki the temperature was -20 Celcius and in
Lapland below -30. So, it's relatively cool here. However, SD1 was
quite a surprise; the corridor was cold and humid, but fortunately
the room is warm (actually sometimes too hot).
About IUJ: I like the size of it and it's being extremely inter-
national, we have over 4000 students in HSE and it's impossible to
learn to know everybody. Although the amount of courses available
here is much less compared to our school, the selection of courses
is interesting and challenging. While I'm specializing in
e-business and we have a great selection of e-business, mobile
business and IT related courses in HSE (this research is going
strong in Finland, also thanks to our biggest finnish company,
Nokia), I'm expecting that I will have new knowledge here from
Asian perspective; this will be valuable for my studies and M.Sc
thesis.
The working methods in the IUJ classes are more case and project
oriented than in HSE and it's something I really like. We have
those in Helsinki as well, but not to the extent of IUJ. One of my
personal targets is to improve my Japanese and increase knowledge
of Japanese culture and I'll work hard for that and participate
UMEX (Uonuma Association for Multicultural Exchange - http://umex.
ne.jp/) events as often as possible.
One important thing; studying in IUJ will give us networking, new
friends and acquaintanceships; you never know when you will later
chance upon IUJ students in the business world.
I also hope that I have an opportunity to go trekking to the
mountains in spring as well as go scuba-diving, for instance in
Okinawa.
I think I'll enjoy my stay here at IUJ. If you are interested in
studying in Helsinki, I'm happy to tell you more. Here is the link
to our school www-pages: http://www.hkkk.fi/english/default.asp
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Courses and Instructor>>
We are proud to introduce Prof. Leszek Buszynski from the Graduate
School of International Relations. Prof. Buszynski has a Ph.D. in
International Relations from the London School of Economics and
Political Science. He previously served as Dean of the Graduate
School of International Relations for 4 years from 1997 through
2001, and concurrently as Director of the IUJ Research Institute,
among other important positions at IUJ. Presently he is focusing
on his research and teaching. He wrote about the courses he has
developed for the emagazine.
-*-
Professor Leszek Buszynski
Graduate School of International Relations
I teach in the International Relations Program and my courses have
developed over the years as a result of my experience here at IUJ.
My Fall term course is International Politics which is a necessary
introduction to the major global political issues. Politics,
particularly at the global level, can be deceptive, it is easy for
people to fall into emotional or angry reactions to events they
really do not understand. To prevent this and to comprehend events
in a larger context some conceptual understanding is required,
students learn this in the first part of my course. Then we
examine the most salient issues today, environmental degradation,
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and international
terrorism. I ask students to analyse the Bush Administration's
campaign in Iraq according to the concepts they have studied to get
them into the habit of rising above the popular emotions of tele-
vision and newspapers.
I have spent most of my time teaching in Asia, seventeen years in
fact, plus another six years in Australia which is renown for the
teaching of Asian Studies. What this means is that I have given an
Asian interpretation to my courses as I have examined how various
Asian countries look at the world, not just Japan but China, Korea
and Southeast Asia. My Winter term course on Asia Pacific Inter-
national Relations examines how the values and identity of Asian
countries interact with each other and with those of the US. I
strive to show that international relations is not just about
economics, finance, or the profit and the loss as it were, but the
deeper issues of values and identity. For example when America
demands Asia's agreement to trade and market liberalisation it is
surprised at the resistance as economic values differ.
My Spring term course is ASEAN Governance and Development and my
intention is to show how the Western economic model of development
is not suitable for Southeast Asia without considerable modifica-
tion. Economies are products of cultures and in the Southeast
Asian context the unadulterated Western free market would simply
not work. Its imposition would exacerbate existing political
conflicts and would create new ones. At the same time these
economies could liberalise further in certain areas and could adopt
greater transparency and the rule of law to prevent another Asian
financial crisis.
-*-
If you would like to learn more about Prof. Buszynski, please
access his Homepage:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/faculty/buszynski/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Some of you might have heard his voice on CNN! Mr. Hatagami is a
freelance interpreter and does simultaneous interpretations for TV
news shows and international conferences. He wrote an essay for
us.
-*-
Mr. Masaaki Hatagami(Japan)
IR Class of 1990
Conference and broadcast interpreter
I entered IUJ upon graduating from university in order to acquire
specialized knowledge both in English and Japanese and become a
professional interpreter. I enjoyed campus life, reading
literature in English and Japanese, attending classes conducted in
English, and having conversations with international students in
English and Chinese. I tried to cook for myself in the kitchen as
often as I could to mingle with other students. It was a privilege
for me to try various international foods cooked by students from
abroad.
After finishing IUJ, I struggled to become a qualified interpreter.
After working at the BBC in London for three years, I finally
became an independent interpreter mainly engaged in international
conferences and CNN. Interpreters are required to deal with any
field (from politics to science and technology), yet it will be to
your advantage if you have an area of expertise. I am good at
international affairs, especially Asia. This is exactly what I
specialized in as an IUJ student. I am making full use of what I
studied those days.
Although I like my current job, I have a complaint. Interpreters
are not supposed to express their opinions. They must accurately
translate even when the speaker's view is totally opposite.
Therefore, I have made up my mind to take an exam for a doctoral
course this year. My new goal is to become an expert in the
field that interests me most while broadening my knowledge as
an interpreter.
The other day, I paid a call on Professor John Welfield for advice.
Despite the busy schedule, he was kind enough to spare me hours
and talked about a number of subjects. I am truly grateful to the
professor. The conversation with Professor Welfield has inspired
me to make further efforts to realize my dream. Then, joined by
the professorfs students, we had a pleasant dinner together
beyond description.
I still retain pleasant memories of my IUJ days. I sincerely hope
that IUJ will continue its success as a great university.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Rankings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<10 Most Frequently Asked Questions>>
In order to be as helpful to prospective applicants as possible,
IUJ Homepage has a FAQ page (httep://www.iuj.ac.jp/faq). We
thought it might be of your interest to know which questions are
most frequently asked.
1. Where is the IUJ campus located?
2. I am from Singapore. All my education in my country until my
bachelor's degree has been conducted in English. Am I exempt
from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement?
3. My TOEFL score is 530. Can I apply to IUJ?
4. I am not Japanese. I am in need of some financial assistance or
a scholarship to study at IUJ. Can I apply for a scholarship
to IUJ?
5. Do I need to submit GMAT/TOEFL scores to apply your MBA Program?
6. I will soon graduate from an undergraduate program. May I
apply without work experience?
6. I would like to know about your undergraduate program/Ph.D
program.
7. Due to my family financial situation, may I request for an
application fee waiver?
8. I saw an advertisement for the Asian Development Bank-Japan
scholarship program. Please send me an application form for
the ADB scholarship.
9. How do I travel from Narita Airport to Urasa/IUJ?
9. I do not have any knowledge about International Relations. Can
I apply to the International Relations program?
This is our last "IUJ Rankings." Hope this was an enjoyable column
to you as much as to us. From the next edition, we will answer the
above 11 questions one by one in detail.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Six: Communicating
Often when you apply for positions, you get to write a letter to
introduce yourself. Called a cover letter, this document is really
the first chance to show how good (or bad) a communicator you are:
and in today's professional world communication skills are crucial.
Writing a Cover Letter is a tough thing to do right (it is easy to
do it badly!).
The time and energy you give to it usually directly relates to the
rate of success it brings. At IUJ, I am here to help you with work-
shops, examples and critiques so you will not need to do it by
yourself. Things to keep in mind are your presentation (does it
look professional and is it perfect?), the message (what do you want
as a result of writing) and enthusiasm (how much do you want it!).
More info and assistance await you on campus.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on March 1, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
March 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Alum invited back to a seminar on Iraq issues>>
IUJ Research Institute will hold an open seminar on April 22 by
Mr. Motohiro Ohno, IR Class of 1989, a visiting fellow of the
Middle East Research Institute of Japan. In June 2003 Mr. Ohno
gave a talk entitled "The War and After - What happened in Iraq -"
and those who were at his seminar strongly requested that IUJ
invite him back. Their words were well heard and he accepted
the invitation.
Date: Thursday, April 22
Time: 6:30-8:00pm
Venue: MLIC 3F Hall, IUJ campus
Title: "Iraq After the Capture of Hussein"
The seminar will be open to THE public and there will be no
entrance fee required. If you are interested in attending, please
contact the Office of IUJ Research Institute (Phone: 025-779-1112,
email: ori@...). *The seminar will be held in Japanese.
<<Five students will graduate in March>>
The Graduate School of International Relations accepts students in
April as well as September. Five students admitted in April 2002
will graduate in March 2004. Two of them are IRP students and
three are IDP students. Some will go back to their sponsoring
organizations, and others will be in new jobs. No matter where
their destination will be, all IUJers wish them success in their
new life.
<<"Study Group of Japanese Industry" Series In Full Swing>>
Organized mainly by Japanese MBA students, the "Study Group of
Japanese Industry" presentation and discussion series was kicked
off on January 22, for the 4th time this year. Japan is still
struggling to break out of the recession yet is the second biggest
economy in the world. The aim of this series is to arouse interest
in different Japanese industries and to act as a forum for
presentation and discussion of the latest issues in the Japanese
business world. The companies presented so far include Matsushita
Electric, All Nippon Airways, Hokkaido Electric, Shinko Securities,
and NTT East. The students dispatched from these companies gave
presentations about their companies and active Q&A sessions were
had after each presentation.
<<IUJ Unplugged Night>>
"IUJ Unplugged Night," a music event, is held annually in the
winter term. This year it will be on Saturday, March 6 from
7:30pm at the MLIC Hall in the IUJ campus. Mr. Sohei Nakayama, a
founder of IUJ, wished that students, faculty, staff, and their
families and local people could interact actively through music,
and his wish came true in the form of a chorus group, "Nakayama
Singers." Nakayama Singers organizes the IUJ Unplugged Night as
well as practice sessions throughout the year instructed by a
professional opera singer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
March - April 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written tests
IRP March 29 April 10 N/A
IDP March 29 April 12 N/A
MBA&E-biz March 26 April 9 April 10
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<Application Deadline for International Applicants>>
IRP&IDP Closed for 2004 enrollment
MBA&E-biz March 26
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Preparing for a Brighter Future in Afghanistan>>
This academic year, IUJ has welcomed its first student from
Afghanistan. Mr. Ahmad Farshid Ghyasi is studying in the
E-business Management Program to bring back the knowledge and
skills he will have attained here at IUJ to his country.
-*-
Mr. Ahmad Farshid Ghyasi (Afghanistan)
Class of 2004
E-Business Management Program
IUJ Business School
I am currently pursing my master's degree in E-Business Management
(MEB) at the International University of Japan. My area of
concentration is e-solutions, consulting and IT strategy and
policy planning. Upon finishing my master's program, I will be
returning to Afghanistan where I hope to contribute to my homeland
through UNDP initiatives. I have a bachelor's degree in Management
Information Systems with distinctions from the International
Islamic University of Malaysia and received the Best Student Award
upon graduation in early 2003. I have worked as a web developer
and programmer for the last 4 years. I had the opportunity to
work as an IT consultant (web developer) for UNDP Afghanistan early
last year. Within two months of my contract with UNDP Afghanistan
for a Telekiosk Project*, I was able to develop the first web
portal launced from inside Afghanistan (http://telekiosk.moc.gov.
af) as well as train more than 20 Afghanistan Ministry of
Communications' employees on using open source software in their
offices. I was also an active team member in designing the network
infrastracture as well as software solutions for use in the
Telekiosk project sites. Currently, besides my academic life, I
am an active member of UNV/NetAid, having completed several IT
projects mainly for the UNDP in several countries around the world
and currently have 3 ongoing projects. I also work as a Technology
Consultant for http://www.mgovlab.org, a research group mainly
focusing on research and development on mobile government
solutions.
In the International University of Japan, the rigorous E-business
Management Program has developed my strong understanding and
skill set to work in a field that combines Information Technology
and Business Studies.
In order to develop more skill sets, especially in PeopleSoft's
ERP solutions, and to gain exposure to best practices which will
later enable me to serve the organization better upon returning to
my country, I applied for an internship position with the UNDP in
Malaysia. If I could get this position, I believe it would be
a wonderful chance for me to invest in my future career with UNDP.
So, wish me luck!
* Telekiosk Project -- UNDP, the Afghanistan Ministry of Communica-
tion, and the French Government have launched a pilot programme
to set up 9 Telekiosks in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Telekiosks are
designed to enable people in Kabul, particularly teachers and
children, government employees, and health workers to access
information and make links to government ministries and fellow
citizens. Located in post offices, the Telekiosks are meant to
be an interface for information and dialogue exchange. The
Telekiosks also offer free basic computer training as well as
los-cost Internet and email services. (Source: The Communication
Initiative -- http://www.comminit.com/)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Introduction to Management Practice>>
"Introduction to Management Practice (IMP)" is a practical training
course that is required for first-year IUJ MBA students. In brief,
it is a team project mentored by International Management faculty
through which students get hands-on experience working with local
businesses. The students are responsible for conducting a thorough
study of their "client" company to gain working knowledge of the
nature and scope of its business and the industry in which it
competes. A specific project is negotiated with a representative
of the "client" company which generally is a real business problem
that the company must deal with. The students are charged with
the task of conducting a thorough situational analysis to first
understand the company and the nature of its business before
investigating the causes of the problem and generating creative
solutions.
Dean Jay Rajasekera and Professor Chet Borucki, Coordinators of the
IMP, will explain the program in detail in this month's and next
month's issues.
-*-
The "Introduction to Management Practice (IMP)" gives students a
unique exposure to real companies in the first year of the MBA
Program, and provides them with an excellent platform for sub-
sequent MBA courses enabling them to blend theory and practice.
Few other MBA programs offer opportunities to engage in "concurrent
learning" Ethat is, learning through academic coursework while
simultaneously learning through involvement in an experience-based
project.
The key objectives of this course are:
* To familiarize students with organizations and management
practice,
* To identify specific and generalizable traits of the subject
organization,
* To build a foundation for the courses students will take in the
IUJ Business School,
* To learn the process of team-working and achieving proposed
goals,
* To learn project management techniques via a web site, and
* To engage in IUJ Societal Responsibility by "giving something
back" to the local business community.
Over 50 years of research in the general management field have
shown that effective managers acquire three general categories of
skills:
* Technical skills, which often are functional area skills in
Accounting, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information
Systems and so forth;
* Interpersonal skills, which include one's ability to be a good
team player, to be a good communicator, to be able to
constructively manage conflict, to be able to motivate others,
and to be able to step up to the role of leader as required,
etc., and
* Conceptual skills Ethe ability to see the "big picture" and
how one's department fits into the overall company and how the
company is positioned within its industry and external environ-
ment along with answers to the questions of "where are we going
and how are we going to get there?"
IMP builds on the current technical or functional skills of IUJ
students, some of whom are here to further specialize in a chosen
professional field and others of whom are seeking a new career
path. Through concurrent coursework, technical skills are further
strengthened and/or acquired. Through professional interactions
with their "clients", faculty advisors, and within their teams,
students further develop their interpersonal skills. Through an
in-depth analysis of the "client" company and its industry,
students develop their conceptual skills, which are also bolstered
by "creative problem solving."
An acknowledged difficulty is that students may have not acquired
the skills necessary to successfully complete their projects. For
example, as first-year students, it is unrealistic to expect a
team to undertake a comprehensive market survey for which advanced
statistical analyses would be required. Here is where the role of
the faculty advisor is instrumental as the projects undertaken must
be feasible and must be able to be completed within a defined
timeframe.
As gracious as the companies are in providing projects, we have to
be accommodating Ethat is, their schedules, their availability
and their ability to provide the documentation that is requested
sets the pace and the nature of the working relationship for each
project team. As is understandable, as each project progresses
(and they progress at different rates for a variety of reasons!),
students are likely to experience uncertainty, confusion, frustra-
tion, anger, stress, and disappointment with themselves and others,
which just as easily could happen in the world of management. What
do you do, for example, when after three months into your project
your "client" becomes concerned with the results of your prelimi-
nary analyses and the implications? The implications may be that if
he or she wants to effectively conduct web-based e-marketing and a
substantial financial investment will be required, there may be
great concerns because there is no budget for this expense, and
your "client" may want to change the project! These things can
happen!! The point is if students approach their project with the
right "mind-set" and a willingness to engage in experience-based
learning described above while taking courses, the rewards in terms
of their personal development as a business analyst, a leader, and
a team player will far exceed the costs.
Faculty and staff are actively involved in IMP, including Ichiro
Takahashi, Manager of the Office of Graduate Schools, who has been
responsible for establishing company contacts and negotiating
projects, and Secretary-General "Ted" Takahashi, who brings 32
years of experience at Matsushita U.S.A., most recently as Chief
Financial Officer, who has also been helpful in both locating and
supporting student projects. Once a list of potential projects
is compiled, teams, each with five to six students, are formed in
such a way that diversity is achieved via gender, nationality,
linguistics, professional backgrounds, and areas of concentration.
One or two IM faculty members are assigned to each team as advisors
with care taken to achieve a reasonable degree of "fit" between
the faculty members' area of specialization and the specific
problem the team is addressing. These teams are "self-managed";
i.e., team members make decisions and manage the process of
executing the project, such as how members' time is used and who
should be assigned to what work, etc. Team members are also free
to design their own team structure so that the project is operated
as smoothly and effectively as possible. In the past, some teams
have appointed a team leader who retains that role throughout the
project. Others have chosen to rotate team members into the leader-
ship role for defined periods of time.
Over the years, feedback from former participants and faculty has
taught us that certain "obstacles" could be overcome through
effective design. For example, as we are working with small local
businesses within an hour's drive from the Urasa campus, it is
important to ensure that there is at least one native Japanese
language speaker in each team, to ensure effective communications
with company representatives in Japanese, their native tongue (if
they prefer), and that each team has adequate transportation.
-*-
Read more about IMP in next month's issue.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Mr. Kouhei Nomura finished his studies in the International
Development Program in June 2003, and participated in an inter-
national training program conducted by a Japanese NGO, The Japan
Center for Conflict Prevention. The training program brought him
to Sri Lanka and Cambodia in October and November 2003. He wrote
about what he saw, what he learned, and what he thought during the
program, and we will run his essay over two consecutive months.
-*-
Mr. Kouhei Nomura(Japan)
IR Class of 2003
The Japan Center for Conflict Prevention
Since the end of October 2003, I visited Sri Lanka for 6 weeks and
Cambodia for 2 weeks as a member of the international training
program conducted by Japanese NGO. The main purpose of this program
is to watch the real aspects of field activities and reconsider how
the ambiguous theory, Conflict Prevention, is effective to rebuild
a country suffering the effects of conflict.
Sri Lanka is now politically under a cease-fire agreement
with the well-known guerrilla activist group, Liberation Tiger of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The present task of Sri Lanka's government is
to make progress in the negotiations for peace with the LTTE to
resolve the domestic ethnic conflict. However, there are innumer-
able issues in this country including the following: relationships
among all religions in this country, Christianity, Hindu, Islam and
Buddhism; antagonism between two ethnicities, Singhalese and Tamil;
material and economic recovery from two decades of protracted
conflict, serious gaps of economic conditions and living standard
among all regions and so forth.
Fortunately, I was able to visit all regions of Sri Lanka with the
cooperation of other international and local NGOs. The most
significant experience for me in this program was entering the
LTTE-controlled area where the general Singhalese people are never
able to visit. Through this visitation, I saw the psychological
support activities for war widows, a job training programme for
war orphans, the sites of demining projects, peace education, a
workshop for rebuilding the local community without discrimination
based on the difference of ethnicity, poverty reduction activities,
the life of tea plantation workers who are structurally imposed to
pluck tea leaves for many years, and the life of internally dis-
placed persons who have been living in the destroyed factory for
more than a decade.
I met so many people and had interviews with the staff of UN
organizations and agencies; Sri Lankan government officials,
Buddhist monks who insist of the necessitated rise of Singhalese
nationalism in order to united minds of general people and oppose
the government's weak attitude against the LTTE in the peace
process, representatives of regional parliaments whose responsi-
bilities are to maintain the security situation and improve the
living standard in each district, an LTTE female soldier who is in
charge of the administrative office, managers of tea plantations
who always try to keep the hierarchical structure of plantations
to profit themselves, and so forth. From every circumstance I saw
and every person I met, a different dimension of the ethnic
conflict in Sri Lanka was revealed. Then, I noticed the difficulty
to comprehend a conflict inclusively and analyze it profoundly.
Two decades of conflict completely destroyed all parts of social
structures and communication methods and confidence between
ethnicities. For the people who lost the social network of civil
society and neighborhood, the biggest task is how they rebuild the
society which existed naturally in the past like air and live with
enjoying ordinary life. For us, people who come from foreign
countries, the question is what kind of and how much material
assistance and what extent of cooperation activities are needed in
order to reconstruct a secure and self-standing society. If the
assistance is overtly provided, on one hand, people in Sri Lanka
may obtain a character of dependence on external factors and
resources. On the other hand, if less than sufficient assistance
is given, people will be suffered much longer from scars of
protracted conflict. Maybe, the exact amount of support is not
easily calculable. The point that it is very hard to judge the
appropriate method and amount of assistance that is the critically
important element for humanitarian assistance in the post-conflict
period. This is the point where I feel at a dilemma and find
difficulty applying the theories I learnt on the desk. Reflecting
on all the scenery I saw in Sri Lanka and Cambodia, questions have
still been rising up my mind. The number of them is very many and
much too difficult for me as just a master's student to give
answers. More broad and insightful knowledge is necessary to reach
this point, I think.
(To be continued on the April edition.)
-*-
Mr. Nomura would like to hear emag readers' opinions and
impressions about his essay and activities. Please send him your
warm yells at:
happeace@...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In the last edition, we did our last ranking, "10 Most Frequently
Asked Questions." From this month, we will start answering these
questions in detail. The first question is:
"Where is the IUJ campus located?"
IUJ is located in Yamato-machi, about 230 kilometers northwest of
Tokyo. The nearest station is "Urasa." It takes about 90 minutes
from Tokyo station or 45 minutes from Niigata station, taking a
"TOKI" SuperExpress bullet train, the Joetsu-Shinkansen. IUJ is
ten minuets from Urasa station by IUJ shuttle bus, which is available
about once an hour. By car, it takes about 3.5 hours from Tokyo to
the "Muikamachi" exit (or about one hour from Niigata city to the
"Koide" exit) using the "Kan-etsu Express Way."
The pace of life in Yamato-machi, with a population of 15,000, is
relaxed, allowing for plenty of time to study, or to get out and
about and enjoy the natural surroundings. Downhill skiing at
Urasa's ski resorts is relatively cheap, cross-country skiing is
always free and there is a good ski school for beginners.
After a day on the slopes, the Urasa hot spring (Onsen) is a worthy
destination. Its sodium chloride and sulfate-saturated waters are
reported to alleviate everything from skin disease to neuralgia and
muscle pains.
The IUJ campus lies in a sleepy valley surrounded by the picturesque
Echigo-sanzan Mountain chain comprised of Hakkai-san, Naka-no-dake,
and little Komaga-take. You will find fresh air, a quiet
environment and four distinct seasons to meet the Japanese culture,
and where academic endeavors can flourish.
Please view an access map of IUJ campus here:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/web/iuj_section.cfm?category=0103
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Seven: The Interview
It's today! That interview you worked so hard over the past few
months to get. Are you ready? At IUJ we help you get ready.
Every Fall Term, I offer a 4-part workshop on how to prepare for an
interview and be interviewed. I often bring in outside speakers on
interviewing skills so IUJ students get opinions and advice from a
variety of people in different professions. After the Workshops,
students practice their skills in Mock/Practice interview situations
with me, the Career Counselor, and various professors on campus. In
addition, I organize peer group interview rounds for additional
practice and feedback. Students not only receive feedback from
other students, but listen to how their peers answer questions and
give advice to them. You can really learn a lot by being the
interviewER rather than the interviewEE.
It is very important to prepare well for an interview by learning
about yourself, and a lot about the company before they ask you a
question like: "What are 3 adjectives that best describe yourself?"
Or "Tell me what you know about our company and why you want to work
here." You can expect to be interviewed by quite a few companies
right here on the IUJ campus, and we will help you get ready and
make a great impression on them!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on April 5, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
April 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Welcomes New Students>>
Two new students are entering the International Development Program
this April. They are Mr. Yusran Shah Mohd. Yusof from Malaysia and
Mr. Nasir Uddin from Bangladesh. All IUJers are welcoming them and
wishing them every success in their studies and new life!
<<Four New Faculty Members Come Aboard>>
The following four people joined the IUJ faculties as of April 1:
Graduate School of International Management
===========================================
* Dr. Yoshitaka Yamazaki
-- Asst. Professor of Organazational Behavior
(Please read more about him at the "Campus
Personalities" column.)
* Dr. Hyunkoo Lee -- Asst. Professor of Accounting, Ph.D., Carnegie
Mellon University
* Ms. Fan Yang ----- Asst. Professor of Finance & Management
Science, Ph.D. candidate, University of
Alberta
Graduate School of International Relations
==========================================
* Mr. Peter Clements
-- Asst. Professor of English for GSIR, Ph.D.
candidate, University of Washington
<<IUJ Alumni Association Annual Meeting Held>>
The IUJ Alumni Association held its Annual Meeting in Tokyo on
Thursday, March 5. The Association Chair announced the launch of
"Alumni Experts," which is a new project to help supplement campus
curriculum by alumni volunteers who would bring in their expertise
to campus as guest speakers or co-researchers with students. The
list of volunteers is growing fast. For details, please go to the
following page:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/AlumniMeeting2004E.cfm
<<IUJ Alumni and Current Students foster World Peace>>
The World Youth Peace Summit will bring together 2,000 youths from
all over the world and with varying interests to a major conference
in Kenya in October. World leaders including Nobel laureates will
help explore ways for the younger generation to contribute to the
creation of a sustained peaceful world. A preparatory event was
recently held in Bangkok, Thailand. IUJ, through its alumni and
students, played a meaningful part in it.
To read more, please access http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/WYPS_E.cfm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
April - May 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Research Institute Seminar, "Iraq After the Capture of Hussein">>
Date: Thursday, April 22
Time: 6:30-8:00pm
Speaker: Mr. Motohiro Ohno, IR Class of 1989, a visiting fellow of
the Middle East Research Institute of Japan
Venue: MLIC Hall, IUJ Campus
The seminar will be open to the public and there will be no
entrance fee required. If you are interested in attending, please
contact the Office of IUJ Research Institute (Phone: 025-779-1112,
email: ori@...). *The seminar will be held in Japanese.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of New Faculty Member>>
The Graduate School of International Management welcomes a new
faculty member effective April 1, 2004. Assistant Professor
Yoshikazu Yamazaki received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior
from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, U.S.A. in 2003. He
will teach Special Topics in Management: Cross-Cultural Competen-
cies Development, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resources
Management.
Here are highlights of an interview with him:
-*-
Q. How did you know about IUJ? And how did you decide to apply for
this position?
A. When I was a Ph.D. student at Case Western Reserve University in
Ohio, U.S.A., I would often talk about future jobs with my
colleagues. During such a discussion, one of them, who is also
a Japanese citizen and used to work in a multinational corpora-
tion in Japan, said to me, "You are Japanese. Why don't you
teach at IUJ?" and that was my first encounter with IUJ. In
response to my question about IUJ, she told me that it has very
unique MBA curriculum taught in English. That is how I first
knew such an institution existed and I have been interested in
it since then.
I asked Professor Leonard Lynn, one of my dissertation committee
members, whether he knew about IUJ, since he is a specialist in
the Japanese economy and management and visits Japan frequently.
He knew about IUJ very well and told me that IUJ is located in a
northern prefecture, Niigata, a cold part of Japan. As he very
often teaches in Japanese universities as a visiting professor,
I asked him if he had taught at IUJ as well. "Not yet." was his
answer.
I also asked Professor Yoshioka of Shizuoka Sangyo University,
who was my boss when I was working at Citibank, if he knew about
IUJ. Again, his answer was positive and he told me that many
papers by IUJ faculty members appear in prestigious newspapers
and journals and that a lot of research is carried out at IUJ.
I heard about IUJ through various other sources as well.
My specialty is Organizational Behavior, and I focus on cross-
cultural learning. I believe that learning is not just about
what you obtain on the desk but also what you earn through
experience, communication, and actions. One of my research
topics is cross-cultural learning, that tries to understand how
people from different cultures learn and to identify what
differences and similarities there are between you and people
from other cultures. IUJ students and faculty members are both
very ethnically diverse and IUJ is an ideal place for me to
further my research, and that is one of the biggest reasons I
decided to teach at IUJ.
Q. As you mentioned, IUJ is believed to be a very unique graduate
school with a truly international setting with diverse student
and faculty bodies. What was your first impression about IUJ
and its people?
A. I will give you two; one is "people" as in students, faculty and
staff, and the other is the natural environment. These two
impacted me very strongly.
When I first came to IUJ in January this year, I talked to many
people. And oddly enough, each and every individual I spoke
with in various occasions gave me the same kind of impression;
very kind and warm-hearted. I asked myself why it was so.
Unlike megaversities, IUJ is relatively small yet maintains
a class that differentiates itself from other universities.
Because it is a small community, I believe, IUJ can enjoy warm
human relations. Here is an example. For a short period of
time before I bought my car, I used to commute by IUJ bus
between home and IUJ. The bus driver asked, "Where are you
heading?" The question was not just for me but extended to
everybody on board. I was really puzzled why at first. It
turned out that he responded to very personalized requests by
his passengers and made stops at whenever requested within the
route; such as a supermarket near the station, right outside of
ABC Apartment, etc. This clearly reflects how the IUJ community
is based upon.
About the natural environment, I would have to ask you to come
here to appreciate its beauty. I wish I had literary talent to
describe it. You just have to come see it with your own eyes.
You cannot ask for better natural environment: clear rivers run
through town, mountains are just gorgeous, air is clean, water
tastes really good! I hear that this area has a lot of snow but
we have so little this year. "Do you call this little snow?"
was my reaction. Yet, compared to the very cold and windy
winter in Cleveland, Ohio, the winter around IUJ is easy and the
wintry landscape is so beautiful. My children, one at 4 years
old and the other at 2, enjoy playing outside, which they never
did in Cleveland.
Q. Since you mentioned your children, could you tell us about you
as a father?
A. The older child, going on 5 soon, was born in the U.S. As my
wife and I want him to be as internationalized as possible, we
always talked to him in English. I think he understands both
English and Japanese. Back in the U.S., we used to tell him
stories before he went to sleep. Thanks to the nightly story
telling, now I know 20-30 children's stories! One night, I
decided to tell him a Japanese story of "Kasa Jizo" or
"Children's guardian deity with a bamboo hat," and asked him if
he wanted to listen to it in English or in Japanese. He said,
"English!" I had no idea how to say "Kasa Jizo" in English and
had to tell my son he would hear the story in Japanese. I lost
my face as a father, didn't I? Anyway, when we decided to move
to Japan, our communications with our children were shifted
from English to Japanese. I think our son likes to speak in
Japanese very much.
Q. Thank you for sharing a bit of your private life with us. Now
our last question. What do you think you can bring to this
campus?
A. As I mentioned before, my research theme is "learning." I hope
I can help IUJ students improve their learning abilities. By
recognizing cultural differences in addition to individual
learning, students will be able to learn how other students
from different cultures learn, and to know how different or how
similar they are. I would like to help them realize these
things. Another point I want to make to them is how important
interpersonal skills can be. Interpersonal skills include
skills to help other people, leadership skills, and skills to
build friendly relations. All of these skills will be absolute-
ly necessary when students work in global and international
organizations or multi-national corporations in the future. Of
course, professional-oriented MBA courses such as Marketing and
Accounting will be minimum knowledge to build career upon, but
those plus interpersonal skills will be must-haves to develop
careers within an organization or corporation. A researcher
named Cleveland started a research in the 1960's on what skills
would be needed for expatriates to succeed. Since then,
numerous researchers have studied what skills would be useful in
adapting in other countries and in being successful. I compiled
their outcomes and concluded that one particular area of skills
is very important; interpersonal skills. This clearly shows
that the success will never come about without the skills of
respect for others, skills to help others, and skills to lead
others. I really hope that IUJ students will gain those skills.
One of the key ways to achieve that goal is to meet as many
people with different cultural backgrounds as possible and to
create situations where you have to communicate with them. By
doing so, they can give and take feedbacks from one another,
resulting in gaining cross-cultural interpersonal skills.
Those skills cannot be earned by just sitting at the desk. IUJ
offers students opportunities to experience interactions on
cross-cultural settings at all times, and it is an ideal environ-
ment for those wishing to work at a multi-national corporation
or in another country.
-*-
Prof. Yamazaki's Brief Bio
Education
- Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve
University, 2003
- M.I.M., American Graduate School of International Manage-
ment, 1990
- BA in Psychology and Philosophy, Keio University, 1985
Academic positions
- Associate Director of Assessment, Case Western Reserve
University, 2002-2004
- Teaching Assistant of Human Value in Organization, Case
Western Reserve University., 1997 & 2000
- Citibank N.A., Global Consumer Banking, Tokyo, Japan, 1990-
1995
- Juki Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 1985-1988
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Introduction to Management Practice>> Part 2
Continued from the last edition, Dean Jay Rajasekera and Professor
Chet Borucki explain the IUJ's truly unique and empirical IMP.
-*-
As in any team project, the hallmark of effective project manage-
ment is excellent communications. To keep communications smooth,
each team is expected to appoint two team representatives
responsible for communicating with the company and the faculty
advisor(s). Team members are encouraged to keep communications
channels open among themselves via regular face-to-face meetings,
e-mail, cell phones, etc., and are also encouraged to have "social
time" together as this can be a good way to get to know one another
outside the boundaries of the project work. "Breaking bread
together" over dinner on occasion can do wonders in helping
alleviate tensions and resolve conflicts.
To manage the project and to deliver the reports and activities to
the advisor(s), to the class, and to the team members, the IUJ
website is used. This is deliberate to help students further
develop their technical IT skills both in website management and
IT-enabled project management. A web folder is provided to each
team in the IUJ network system, and each team is responsible for
maintaining and updating their folder in a timely manner.
After studying the company through company visits, meetings and so
forth, each team starts analyzing the company and its management
practices. What we, faculty advisors, recommend to each team is
to try to understand the following:
* What business the company is in,
* How does the company compete,
* What the governance structure of the company is like,
* What the geographical structure of the company is,
* Who the members of the management team are and what their
backgrounds are,
* What the company's culture and climate are,
* What systems they use and how effective they are, and
* How well the company is doing compared to its competitors.
In order to be well equipped to serve as a consultant to the
company, each team then tries to gather data and information
through surveys, interviews, and observations as well as public
sources such as company performance data, newspapers, the Internet,
and company documents in archives.
Since the inauguration of this project in 1996, twenty-nine
companies have participated in this project. A sample of the
companies who are currently participating and a description of
their projects follows:
Echigo Winery: How to grow sales via existing marketing channels.
NICO: Production optimization by resolving a bottleneck
problem.
Kawagure Co.: How to market/advertise the new "Universal Design
Grating" product through their website.
Marui: Investigate the utilization of Frequent Shopper data
and identify cost-effective actions that can
increase sales.
Panasonic CCM: Evaluation of HR training programs as PCCM
institutes the "mother factory" concept.
Informal feedback from past company "clients" indicates that many
of the companies enjoy having a "fresh" perspective on their
industry, business, market, and problems. Many of the companies
have achieved good results from implementing the suggestions
offered by the student teams, whereas a few are "studying" the
recommendations or have chosen to pursue other initiatives.
In closing, IMP is a unique IM Program course offering that also
fulfills the mandate for "Corporate Societal Responsibility" by
Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi, who is also the CEO of Fuji Xerox. The
objectives of the program and its design result in a "win-win"
situation for all involved: Students, regarding experience-based
learning concurrent with academic coursework; Companies, who profit
from free or "zero fee" consulting and creative problem-solving,
and IUJ and its faculty and staff through building and sustaining
strong ties with local industry.
If you are aware of any companies within easy travel distance from
Urasa who might benefit from working with an IUJ IMP team, please
contact Ichiro Takahashi at ichiro@... or at 025-779-1443.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Please enjoy the last half of the essay by Mr. Kouhei Nomura, who
visited Sri Lanka and Cambodia late last year, hoping to see the
"real world" in these two developing countries.
-*-
Mr. Kouhei Nomura(Japan)
IR Class of 2003
The Japan Center for Conflict Prevention
This time, by using my five senses, I saw the sites of the genocide
happened in the period of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, and
people's lives in tea plantations and IDP camps in Sri Lanka, heard
the voices of suffering people who desire the improvement of living
standards, and felt the air of a real battlefield. However, some
locations I visited may be just a spot not a fact. This means that
to understand the everyday problems for the people living in a
particular place, researchers have to stay for a long time and make
a friendship with them. In real terms, I just watched a tiny aspect
of a real field, and might not have seen the core of the problems
existing in these countries.
Before I visited Sri Lanka, I had strongly attempted to assess the
applicability of some theories learnt on the desk and classes of
IUJ to the arena of international politics. However, consequently,
I could not do anything except review the complicated history of
Sri Lanka and Cambodia, considering the context of players in the
post conflict peace process and understanding the significance of
necessarily comprehensive approaches to deal with all problems
related to this conflict simultaneously. In other words, I was
overcome by the huge number of aspects of one conflict. The real
situation in the field made me deeply recognize the depth and
complexity of the nature of this issue, conflict prevention.
In every situation, studying theory is very vital for IR students
because it enables us to grasp one problem broader and more
precisely and to view it diversely. But, theories cannot explain
everything and be applied to all consequences that happen in the
world completely. I think that I could recognize little the width
of the gap between ideas and theories I learnt on the desk and the
complexity of incidents that have happened in the real world. Even
though the government of the United States identifies the LTTE as
the international terrorist group, the Sri Lankan government has to
negotiate with it to resolve the conflict because without this
political strategy, concrete peace cannot be brought into reality
in this country. Not only IUJ students but also university students
who want to study at IUJ, please concern yourself how you make
theory learnt on the desk more practicable and how you bridge the
gap between theories and ideas you are learning on the desk and
events happening in the real world. And, please continue your study
considering this point as your personal stature.
-*-
Mr. Nomura once again asks your feedback on his essay and
activities. Please send him your warm yells at:
happeace@...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I am from Singapore. All my education here in my country through my
bachelor's degree has been conducted in English. Am I exempted from
the TOEFL/IELTS requirement?"
-*-
TOEFL / IELTS requirements differ by school. The following answers
are based on the 2004 Instructions for Applicants, so for 2005
admission, please be sure and check the 2005 Instructions, which will
be released around September.
[Graduate School of International Relations]
This applicant cannot be exempted from the requirement. Only those
who have completed an English-medium formal education for more than
6 years, including an undergraduate program, in one of the following
countries are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement: Australia,
Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA.
[Graduate School of International Management]
Basically, an official TOEFL score or IELTS score is required of
applicants whose native language is not English. (Australia, Canada,
Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA are considered as native
English speaking countries.) In the GSIM, TOEFL / IELTS requirements
differ slightly by applicant type.
If this applicant is a domestic applicant (resident of Japan), he/she
is required to take the Institutional TOEFL (I-TOEFL) conducted by
IUJ at the same time as the entrance examination or submit an Inter-
national TOEFL score taken during the designated p
eriod@(Domestic
applicants are not allowed to submit an IELTS score). At domestic
intakes, only native speakers of English are exempt from the TOEFL
requirement. @
If this applicant is an international applicant (resident of
countries other than Japan), he/she will be exempted from the TOEFL/
IELTS. International applicants who meet the following rule are
exempted from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement as well as native speakers
of English.
"Those who have formally completed an undergraduate or graduate
program in which the medium of instruction is English in one of the
following countries: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand,
The Philippines, Singapore, the UK, and the USA."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Eight: Career Week
Winter term at IUJ features Career Week: our focused time of on-
campus recruiting. Actually, it is now at least 3 weeks in length
due to the popularity IUJ has with companies in Tokyo and around the
region. Companies come to our country-side location and give a
presentation during the lunch hour to explain their company and the
kinds of people they look to hire. The afternoon is filled with
interviews right here on campus. Often in the afternoon, the company
recruiters will be available for a "Drop By Time". This is an
informal, more social time for students to meet them for networking
purposes for the future, to ask one more question, to make a final
impression, or build their reputation with the company for next
year.
For more information on IUJ Career Week, read this column next month.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on May 3, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
May 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Two IUJ Students Completed 100km Charity Run!>>
Mr. Andreas Sollund, 2nd-year MBA student from Norway, and Mr. Mark
Holley, 2nd-year IRP student from Ireland, participated in the Fuji
Five Lake 100km Challenge Marathon on April 17. Before the race,
they offered to raise money from IUJers for a local Charity group,
"Kaze no Mai wo Mirukai", an association founded to promote aware-
ness and understanding of leprosy and to air a documentary high-
lighting the issues and problems faced by leprosy sufferers. They
asked IUJers to sponsor them, with all proceeds going to the
Association.
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/CharityRunE.cfm
<<IUJ Foundation Day on May 14>>
IUJ was founded on May 14, 1982 and is turning 22 years old this
year. It started only with the Graduate School of International
Relations (GSIR), and in 1988 the Graduate School of International
Management (GSIM) was added in response to societal needs. Later
on, in order to provide more specialized education, GSIR started to
offer an International Relations Program and an International
Development Program, and GSIM to offer an MBA Program and an E-
Business Management Program. During its 22 year history, IUJ has
graduated 1,915 students from 91 different countries. Current
students consist of 260 students from 52 countries. This hard-to-
obtain diversity further strengthens IUJ's education and research.
We hope that IUJ will continue to mark its 30th, 50th, and more
anniversaries in the years to come.
<<Professor Jay Rajasekera Publishes His Third Book>>
Professor Jay Rajasekera of the IUJ Business School had just
published his third book. Titled "Current Research in Modeling,
Data Mining & Quantitative Techniques," the book was co-authored
with Prof. Shelton Peiris from the University of Sydeny and Profs.
Robert W. Mellor and Vithanage Pemajayantha from the University of
Western Sydney. The book was published by the University of Western
Sydney in January 2004 (ISBN 0-9751599-0-9).
The book presents recent work related to statistical and mathemati-
cal modeling, data mining, and statistical techniques being used in
many practical applications.
Prof. Rajasekera's previous books are "Application Development with
VisualAge for JAVA (Japanese)" (published by Kluwer, NY, USA in
1997) co-authored with IBM-Japan staff, and "Entropy Optimization
and Mathematical Programming" (published by Toppan, Tokyo, Japan
in 2001) co-authored with former colleagues from AT&T Bell
Laboratories.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
May - June 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ's Spring Festivity, ASEAN Night To Be Held>>
This year again, IUJ ASEAN Night is going to be held to introduce
cultures, traditions, and cuisines of the ASEAN countries. Current
ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam. IUJ has students from all these countries except for
Brunei. They will all be dressed up in their ethnic costumes and
exhibit their cultures and traditions. Please take this opportuni-
ty to understand these countries better and meet our smiley ASEAN
students in person!
Date: Saturday, May 22
Time: 18:00-21:00
Venue: Gymnasium of IUJ Campus
(Yamato-machi, Minami Uonuma-gun, Niigata
10 minutes by car from JR Urasa Station)
* No entrance fee charged. To enjoy cuisines, please buy coupons
at the entrance.
<<Graduation Ceremony on June 24>>
The 2004 IUJ graduation ceremony will be held on Thursday, June
24. The Graduate School of International Relations graduates 62
students and the MBA Program will graduate 52 students. President
Kazuo Ogura of The Japan Foundation will give a congratulatory
address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Report on SAIS-IUJ Project>>
Mr. Michael Allen Brinkman (U.S.A.)
IRP Class of 2004
Each year, IUJ participates in a joint program with SAIS, the IR
school of Johns Hopkins University, to write and compile a year-
book. This book breaks down the major events in Japan-US relations
over the last year and gives the reader, a fictional freshman
congressman, a contemporary grasp of what has been called the
world's most important bilateral relationship. The project takes
shape as IUJ students study the subjects and write brief papers as
part of their coursework. These papers become part of the whole
when put with corresponding work from SAIS students and discussed
between the two parties. Since meeting in person helps to better
coordinate the project, IUJ students are welcome but not required
to participate in a short trip to Washington D.C. and SAIS, which
I returned from earlier this month.
From the onset of the US-Japan Relations course in Winter term, I
knew that this project wasn't just going to be the same as other
lecture-based classes. In fact, it was pitched to those of us
enrolled as a research seminar. Although I knew that meant it was
going to be more work than taking notes in a different class, I
decided to get involved with this interesting project. Early on,
each of us 7 students in the IUJ group were assigned specific
topics to research and given dates that we would be expected to
present our findings to the class and submit a relevant paper on
the topic. I picked one topic from each of the headings: economy,
politics, and security/diplomacy so that I could get a rounded
grasp of the broad-ranging relationship we were studying.
The class itself was very educational, and when another student or
myself would present one of our assigned topics both the professor
and other students would assault us with a lot of helpful, const-
ructive criticism. Because of the depth that we were able to cover
specific issues in a limited period of time, I feel that I learned
almost as much from other studentsEpresentations as my own
work on the material. By the beginning of March, the class proper
was tying up and we were all anxious to get to Washington and
meet our SAIS counterparts.
In Washington D.C, I had decided to arrive a couple of days before
the rest of the group so that I had an opportunity to go sight-
seeing with friends and experience the nation's capital. I am
really glad that I decided on an early ticket, because this made it
possible to get my fill of monuments and memorials before suiting
up and getting back to work. The great thing about the planning
behind this trip is that we weren't just kept busy with meeting
SAIS students and poring over the drafts of the book, but we also
had several other interesting engagements to keep. We were invited
to both an American Foreign Policy class and a Japanese Foreign
Policy class as an opportunity to observe another graduate school's
style. On top of that, we were all extended the most gracious
invitations to two seminars on Japanese topics. Both a SAIS
seminar and one at the prestigious Stimson Center kept me very
interested and on topic.
Overall, this was a great project to be a part of, and I think it
has been a highlight in my experiences here at the International
University of Japan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Associate Professor Thomas W. Hayes from
the IUJ Business School (Graduate School of International Manage-
ment) and his "Advanced Business English Communications (ABEC) I
& II". He also serves as the Director of the Intensive Inter-
national Executive Program (IIEP). Here are highlights of an
interview with him.
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. My name is Tom Hayes. I'm from the US and have been at IUJ
since 1989, and with the IIEP since 1990. Before coming to IUJ
I taught English (EFL) for two years in Hamamatsu, completely
by accident, and before that I taught English composition and
literature at the University of South Carolina, and had other
teaching jobs around Columbia, South Carolina, and before THAT I
taught with the US Peace Corps, in Botswana, from 1980 E1983.
The rest is ancient history.
Q. Could you summarize your ABEC courses and tell us what you focus
on each for ABEC I: Advanced Presentations and for ABEC II:
Leading Group & Panel Discussion?
A. The names basically say it all. We (Gregory Dunne, my co-
teacher, and I) call the ABEC courses "opportunity" courses, in
that we give students the opportunity to plan and carry out
presentations, and to lead discussions and meetings, formally,
and we serve more as coaches or trainers than as teachers. The
courses are very much "learn by doing" experiences for the
students. They do lots of talking and we give lots of feedback
and direction. LOTS of it.
Q. How do your students benefit from these courses in terms of
their career development?
A. Well, they get a lot of practice in giving presentations and in
leading discussions and formal meetings, so if that's part of
their future, they should get some benefit from the class.
Students who have a clear idea of what they will do after IUJ
tend to have a stronger focus and to get more out of the
classes, as do students with a strong interest in a particular
subject. The eBiz students, for example, tend to focus their
presentations on IT subjects, and might give all their presenta-
tions on IT-related subjects. They know for a fact that such
presentations will be a part of their future. We don't give
the students subjects of presentations, by the way, only the
formats and styles of presentations.
Q. Do you have any difficulties in teaching these courses?
A. The biggest challenges in the classroom probably arise when
students either don't take our directions or for some reason
can't take our directions. For example, we talk a lot about
things like good eye contact, avoiding distracting gestures,
clear visual aids, and so on, but sometimes you'll get a student
who just doesn't improve in such areas, for whatever reason.
For example, we might tell students, "Do not clutter up your
PowerPoint slides with highly detailed charts or graphs" or "Do
not read lengthy passages from your PowerPoint slides", but some
students will do it anyway. They just absolutely have to
include that complicated chart that no one can see. Maybe a
more interesting problem hits us when we get students who are
just naturally very good at speaking in public, and lately we
seem to be getting more and more of these students. With such
students the challenge is not so much to develop their strengths
as it is to expose their weaknesses, and to engage them in
reflecting on their abilities and on their weaknesses. Feedback
to such students is less about how they did their presentation
and more on what they could have done, other strategies they
could have taken, how would the presentation have been better or
worse if they added or took out information, or assumed less or
more about the audience, and so on. Anyway, this year we've had
some students in the ABEC classes and in the debate class who
are ready for prime time, if you know what I mean.
Q. You also teach in the IIEP. It must be a completely different
experience to design the curriculum and teach in an executive
program. Please give us your thoughts on that.
A. Yeah, there are huge differences. In the IIEP we focus nearly
all of our attention on the background, talents, weaknesses,
current and future professional needs of the participants. What
is their job? What did they study in school? What's their
field of business? What do they do in their spare time? Do
they have international experience? Are they being groomed for
overseas work? What special skills or viewpoints do they bring
to the program? All these questions, and more, determine what
we ask each participant to do, and at what level of English and
what level of complexity. The curriculum is there and every day
the IIEP group covers basically the same material, but the
individual assignments that each participant is given are
determined by their special needs. With the ABEC class it's not
like that at all, except in the very weak sense that we give
students outlines for assignments, and they come up with topics
that we hope are relevant to their professional futures. That's
what we encourage them to do, anyway. There are other differen-
ces, too. In the IIEP we are not professors; we are coaches,
trainers, and actually colleagues in the program. IIEP partici-
pants call me Tom. In the ABEC classes I am "professor", even
when I ask them to call me Tom. Others? In the IIEP we don't
give grades, and in the ABEC course we do, and IUJ students know
we give grades, so there is that hanging over everyone. On the
other hand, we do write reports on each IIEP participant,
reports that are sent to each participant's company. But the
participants also report on US, as soon as they return, and
sometimes each week during the program, so we have that balance
which is intimidating to everyone in a kind of light-hearted
way.
I liked teaching at the University of South Carolina, but at the
same time I was teaching in the South Carolina prison system, at
a local hospital, at Fort Jackson, an army post just outside
Columbia, and with a local vocational school. Sometimes I would
do a Hemingway or Fitzgerald short story at USC and then do the
same material at night at a prison or the Fort, and the adult
prisoners or soldiers were light years ahead of the USC
students in their ability to relate to the material, to apply it
to their own experiences, to see it in various ways. Especially
the prisoners. The IIEP and ABEC teaching is different in much
the same way. IIEP participants come to us as business people,
and they remain business people throughout the program. IUJ
students might come here with work experience, but while here
they are students, and they are supposed to be, but there is a
difference.
I do like the ABEC courses, and hope Gregory and I someday can
have the chance to put together a full-fledged set of communica-
tions courses, including a core course, for the MBA program, and
become the communications guys, the way that Professors Mayhew
and Sugai, for example, are the Marketing guys. Years ago
Marc Modica went from teaching English to teaching a range of
communications classes, from the core courses to corporate
communications and negotiations, but after he left most of that
effort was dropped, and I think that was a huge mistake. IUJ is
really strong on finance and so-called "hard" courses, but if
we're going to go toe-to-toe with the major schools, we're going
to have to go in the direction that many of them are going,
which is to put more emphasis on communication skills, analyt-
ical skills, formal presentation skills, leadership skills,
cross-cultural skills, and so on.
Q. Finally, please give emag readers your message.
A. If you're in Japan and you want an MBA, there is no need to go
outside Japan to get one, unless you really, really want the
name value of a Harvard or Wharton, which are good programs,
but which are mass produced MBA, nonetheless. But consider IUJ.
It's a really interesting place! Yamato-machi is probably the
most international area, per capita, in Japan. It's isolated
and rural, so the focus of life is decidedly on the course work.
The teacher/student ratio can't be beat. The school is small
and friendly personal. It's always interesting for me to talk
to our exchange students after they return to IUJ, because they
typically have something to say like, "It was very difficult to
get to know anyone at my exchange school" and "Big schools are
so lonely compared to IUJ", and most importantly, "IUJ courses
are just as good or better than the courses offered by my
exchange school." Also, if you're a Japanese company looking to
send your employees for an MBA, then IUJ gives you a chance to
get involved with the school, visit us, visit the guys and gals
you send here, and stay in close touch. Send your employees to
New York or Boston or LA and you have no idea what they might be
up to! They might be at Madison Square Gardens catching a
basketball game, or hanging out at the beach. Believe me,
nothing like that is going to distract your employees if they
come to IUJ! Also, your employees can keep one oar in the
company waters while they are at IUJ, so they don't return from
their MBA education so out of touch with the company and what is
going on there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Ms. Kenana Amin, Class of 1993, is trying to help develop her
country, Jordan, in her capacity as a member of the U.S. Agency for
International Development
-*-
Ms. Kenana Amin(Jordan)
IR Class of 1993
U.S. Agency for International Development
I'm currently working with the Jordan Office of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID). USAID is a U.S. government
agency through which U.S. economic assistance is channeled. Jordan
ranks pretty high on their scale, being the third or fourth largest
recipient of funds per year -- about $250 million.
We have recently completed our 5-year strategy for 2004-2009. We
will continue our work in improving primary and reproductive
health care services for Jordanians, improving our ability to
manage scarce water resources, and increasing investment and job
opportunities for Jordanians. In the new strategy we will also
expand our work to include expanding access to early childhood
education and improving the secondary school education to corres-
pond with the job market demands. We will also be working on the
rule of law, improving the status of women, enhancing transparency
and anti-corruption efforts, and liberalizing the media.
As for myself, I work in the Program Management Office. This is
the office that oversees the general development and implementation
of these various projects. We work with the technical offices to
make sure that they comply with USAID regulations, U.S. foreign
policy goals, and that their projects are meeting the intended
results. We also work with our head offices in Washington to
request and justify our annual budget, provide the necessary
reports, and keep them aware of any issues pertaining to the imple-
mentation of our program. My job also includes public relations
efforts in publicizing the work of USAID both in Jordan and in
Washington.
It was nice to have some snow in Jordan .. because it meant staying
at home and sleeping late! But last year we had a much bigger snow
storm which 'imprisoned' us at home for 3 full days.
I miss my IUJ days. I really had fun and got to meet interesting
and wonderful people. I think my days at IUJ have shaped my life!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"My TOEFL score is 530. Can I apply to IUJ?"
-*-
Yes, you can apply to our university. We do not have a cutoff-line
for TOEFL.
In the GSIR admissions process, however, priority will be given to
applicants whose TOEFL scores are 550 (213 on the computer-based
test) or above. The minimum Overall IELTS Band Score for admission
is 6.5. Both the GSIR and GSIM expect new students to have an
English proficiency TOEFL score of 600 or above or an IELTS Overall
Band Score of 7.0 or above.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Ten: The IUJ Alumni network in your job hunt
In the past two months, I described IUJ Career Week, our on-campus
recruiting season and how that event often leads to job or internship
offers. Sometimes though candidates are not so lucky. But that does
not mean their chances for an internship or employment are over.
Indeed on-campus visits by companies can extend through the middle of
June. Some candidates, though, are not interested in the companies
that recruit IUJ students. They are looking overseas or in the non-
business world. IUJ supports these students through various net-
works. Topping our network list is our world-wide alumni network.
IUJ Alumni are from 80 countries and currently living in 70 world-
wide. IUJ is in touch with about 80% of this group of 1,740 and find
great support from them. Japanese nationals and non-Japanese alike
support each other with advice, information, positions and any
guidance you might need. Your Career Counselor, who is also an
Alumni can help you get in direct contact with them. Especially for
those looking at International Organizations, the UN and other world
bodies, our alumni can be very helpful with information and guidance
as IUJ students prepare their applications for such internship and
employment chances.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
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Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on June 7, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
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International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
June 2004
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Japanese Students Present "Japanese Night">>
The third "Japanese Night" was held on June 5. With a diversified
student body, there are so many opportunities to learn and enjoy
multi-cultural experiences at IUJ. However, there was little
chance for non-Japanese students to learn the culture of Japan,
IUJ's host country, until this event was started 3 years ago.
Japanese students with help from other students enthusiastically
organized this event to have international students learn the
Japanese culture. This year's program consisted of three
sections: various workshops, cuisines, and performances.
Workshops included the art of calligraphy, flower arrangement,
tea ceremony, "washi" paper collage, origami, and trying on the
light, informal style of kimono called "yukata."
Japanese students cooked "chirashi-zushi," or vinegared rice
with thin strips of eggs, pieces of raw fish, vegetables and crab
meat arranged on top, "okonomi-yaki," or Japanese-style pancake,
etc., which are commonly enjoyed in Japanese households.
Local people with talents and skills gave performances such as
"Shorinji Kempo," one form of Japanese martial art, Bon Festival
Dance, samisen, Japanese folk songs, etc.
<<IUJ Students Appeared on TV!>>
A TV station in Niigata Prefecture, Television Niigata Network
(a.k.a. TeNY), aired video clips of IUJ students on Monday, May 17,
in their daily evening show, "Niigata Ichiban," or "Niigata As No.
1."
The students who are in the clips are Mr. Felix Langenbach, an
E-Business student, and Mr. Arnaud Leroux, an exchange student from
Groupe Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Reims. TeNY featured a
spring vegetable, asparagus, for that day, and during their
research they found out that asparagus is so popular with German
people that they even have an "Asparagus Street" and a "Museum of
Asparagus." They asked German students at IUJ to provide backup for
the report and to show how they prepare asparagus. Mr. Langenbach,
who is German, cooked two asparagus dishes with a lot of help from
Mr. Leroux whose mother is from Germany. The dishes they prepared
were "asparagus rolled in ham" as a starter and "asparagus
spaghetti in cream sauce" as a main dish. They were mouth-watering
and exhibited very well how the vegetable is enjoyed in Germany.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
June-July 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Graduation Ceremony on June 24>>
The 2004 IUJ graduation ceremony will be held on Thursday, June
24. The Graduate School of International Relations graduates 62
students and the MBA Program will graduate 52 students. President
Kazuo Ogura of The Japan Foundation will give a congratulatory
address.
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Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<My Job-Hunting Experience>>
Mr. Takeshi Watanabe (Japan)
MBA Class of 2004
IUJ Business School
I find myself with only a few months left before I graduate from
IUJ. I am currently involved in a rigorous job-hunt with the
realization that I am in one of the most important periods of my
life to determine my future. I would like to take this opportunity
to tell you why I chose IUJ and to share with you my experiences of
my internship last summer and a job fair in New York in May 2004.
Before joining IUJ, I was a sales representative at an education-
related corporation. I always had a dream, however, to be engaged
professionally in the sports industry; from my childhood through
college I played baseball and I had this dream when I was studying
at a university in the U.S. I decided to get a higher education
and change my career toward fulfillment of my dream. Among other
schools I chose IUJ, as it offers an MBA Program in English and is
close to my hometown only an hour away by car.
When I was a first-year student, I started job-hunting as well as
seeking internship opportunities. Very fortunately, with a
personal connection of Gretchen, our Career Counselor, I got an
internship with "Yokohama Bay Stars," a Japanese professional
baseball team. I was assigned to "Shonan Searex," their farm team,
and I obtained a lot of priceless experiences for a month starting
in early August 2003. My main activities included attending to
participants at events for fans, contributing newspaper articles,
and promoting the team by, for example, getting approval to put up
posters from shop owners of the Yokosuka area, where the team is
based. From the viewpoint of learning Japanese professional
baseball from the inside, this was an ideal internship for me and
it also gave me credentials to pursue my professional goal.
Moreover, I rediscovered the importance of the marketing concept
that I learned in class, and this experience helped me to decide
which elective courses to take in the 2nd year in order to acquire
knowledge I lacked then.
Now I would like to draw your attention to the highlight of my
2nd-year job-hunt ¨C a job fair in New York City. With the
thought that my place of work could be in Japan or any English-
speaking country as long as I can find the job of my dreams, I
search foreign job-hunting Internet sites as well as Japanese
sites. One day in late April this year, I found an announcement
of a job fair to be held in early May in Shea Stadium, the New
York Mets' home ground. Although I was in the middle of a term
and heavily involved in finishing up my thesis, I jumped at this
opportunity and decided to attend this fair, in which only sport-
related companies participate. On the day of the job fair, I was
a little intimidated by a long queue of many more than 1,000
people that was forming even before the gate opened.
There were about 30 companies exhibiting a booth in a big tent, and
when I entered the site, there were already long lines to every
booth. Each applicant was given a minute or two at the longest to
introduce themselves and submit their resume. I believe I did my
best in selling myself despite the temporal pressure. While wait-
ing for my turn, I heard other applicants sell themselves
enthusiastically, which were good examples I could learn from.
Since this trip, I have come to realize several wonderful points
IUJ can give to its students. First of all, when Gretchen emailed
alumni living in North America asking for information about
inexpensive lodging in New York City, within a few hours many of
them responded with not only very helpful information but also with
warm messages. I was so impressed and appreciative of their kind-
ness. I accepted a very generous offer from a Japanese alumnus and
stayed with him which saved me lodging expenses. Another alumnus
brought me a golden opportunity where I could see a Mets game from
the owner's box. When I came back to IUJ, Professor Philip Sugai,
my thesis advisor, helped me search for information on sports in
the U.S. All of these things proved IUJ's internationalism and
advantages.
There are on-campus job-hunting activities as well. One of my
corporate-sponsored classmates who is from Personnel Division of a
major corporation has given me a lot of useful advice throughout my
IUJ days. Another classmate of mine, Mr. Tsuyoshi Noda, who is a
private student just like me, organizes meetings among Japanese
private students to exchange information.
What I have become keenly aware of through all these activities is
the importance of personal exchanges. I am very thankful to IUJ
for providing me the human network that made my experiences
possible. Last year IUJ was ranked in a global top 100 business
school. I am convinced that IUJ's quality education as well as
the excellent employment record brought by people like Gretchen
and alumni contributed to this achievement. These are exactly
IUJ's appealing points, and I feel very lucky to have chosen IUJ
for my MBA studies.
There is a proverb I like; "On a cold day when your flower cannot
bloom, put your roots deep deep down." IUJ, located in Minami
Uonuma region in Niigata Prefecture, has very heavy snow. Even I
am amazed, and I am from Niigata Prefecture. Studies at IUJ are as
rough as snow blizzard, but with the above proverb in mind, I will
do my utmost best to make my remaining IUJ life and job-hunting
fruitful. I hope to put down roots firmly and bloom flowers
called "employed," just like the cherry blossoms around IUJ campus.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Messages to Graduating Students>>
Dr. Ippei Yamazawa
IUJ President
It is my great pleasure to extend my congratulations to all IUJ
graduates of the class of 2004. You have had both pleasure and
hard study, but I bet few got bored in the past two years. Please
recollect what you have studied at IUJ. IUJ provides IR and IM
study in English in Japan. Knowledge and ways of thinking you have
acquired in English will help you to work in various international
professions. You can be proud of them. What about the benefits you
get from studying in Japan? The start of IUJ twenty-two years ago
proved that Japan had developed so as to provide international
education to the public. The benefits of studying in Japan are
obvious for Japanese and non-Japanese graduates who have gotten
jobs in Japan. But what are the benefits for non-Japanese graduates
leaving Japan soon? Japan has unique characteristics in her
politics, economy, society, and culture, which impact the inter-
national community, whether you favor them or not. Japan is now
maturing rapidly and struggling to make necessary adjustments in
economy and society. You have studied these on the spot, which I
believe will benefit you in your future career. Good luck to every
graduate student. Bon voyage!
-*-
Dr. Takahiro Akita
Dean & Professor
Graduate School of International Relations
My warmest congratulations to all the members of the class of 2004
on your graduation. You have spent two years with IUJ community
members who come from different countries with different cultures,
languages, and religions. I am sure your experience of living in
such diversity has given you many opportunities to know each other,
to learn about similarities and differences, and to develop under-
standing and respect for each other's values and beliefs. You are
about to embark on a professional career of your choice, but in a
world that seems quite difficult and complex. In order to succeed
in this kind of world, one needs the right kind of expertise,
flexibility, and adaptability. I believe your studies at IUJ and
your experience of living on the IUJ campus among its people and
the surrounding environment have proven to be a very good training
ground for the next chapter of your life. I wish you all good
health and happiness, a very successful career, and a lot of
prosperity.
-*-
Dr. Jay R. Rajasekera
Dean & Professor
IUJ Business School
Congratulations to the graduating class of 2004. You spent two
years of really hard work, but finally you are about to be there;
yes at the dawn of graduation. Graduation is always an exciting
event. With graduation, we see a whole family that has lived on
campus moving out to make room for another new family of incoming
students. Graduation will bring all of you great joy of accomplish-
ment. Perhaps, you will lose some freedom and party-time; yet, your
new life brings enough challenges that you will hopefully enjoy.
Upon graduation, each one of you will find new careers or go back
to the previous ones armed with new skills. As world events unfold,
the tools you learned, the friendships you made, the bridges you
built, and the skills you learned at IUJ will be put to test. On
behalf of the Graduate School of International Management staff and
faculty, I would like to wish you all success in dealing with
the constant challenges put ahead of you. Please stay in touch.
Good luck to all of you!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Assistant Professor Yuichiro Yoshida from
the Graduate School of International Relations and his "Public
Sector Economics" course. Here are highlights of an interview with
him.
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. I was born in Tsukiji and brought up in Fukagawa, downtown
Tokyo. I went to Keio from Junior High through graduate school,
and then I went on to another graduate school in the U.S. I do
not have much work experience, except for a position as a
visiting researcher at the University of British Columbia in
Canada about half a year before I came to IUJ. I conducted
research on transportation studies.
The reason why I am in a teaching profession is because since my
childhood I have always been filled with curiosity and asked
lots and lots of questions. I started studying economics in the
undergraduate without taking it too seriously; I just thought it
would become convenient at the time of job hunting. However,
Prof. Keiichiro Obi at Keio University told his class, "Since
economics is Social Science, it is a systematic discipline where
you must explain everything with principles. At least you need
to try to," and his words touched the core of my curiosity. I
thought it would be wonderful to be able to find principles of
economics, and that is how I entered this profession. And now I
dream about the day I will find them.
It has been almost 3 years since I came to IUJ. First of all, I
want to say that IUJ is a fun place to be. But at the same time
it has "difficulties characteristic of medium and small corpora-
tions." Well, maybe "medium and small corporations" is not an
appropriate choice of words here. Let me try again. Since
IUJ's International Development Program (IDP) itself is still in
its developing stage, instructors have to go through a constant
process of trial and error, to exercise their ingenuity in
teaching, to overwork, etc. But I have wonderful students,
excellent colleagues, and kind staff members and the natural
environment is just astonishing. With all things considered I
really enjoy teaching here.
Q. Could you summarize your Public Sector Economics course?
A. Today, globalization, the market economy system, and the
transition to a market economy are in trend, but there are
aspects of which one must be aware. You just cannot leave
everything to market mechanisms, or do everything by chasing
personal profit. One aspect is in political science; i.e.,
issues of governance or institutions, and another is in
economics; i.e., things might not proceed well if you have a
complete "laissez-faire" attitude toward the free market economy
system. The aim of my Public Sector Economics course is to have
my students understand it and be able to talk logically about,
for example, when the government should regulate or intervene.
Q. What kind of students would you recommend this course to in
terms of their career goals?
A. I teach this course with one hope ¨Cmany countries are trying
to move to a market economy without firm foundations such as
institutions and governance and I don't want to see these
countries hurt by trying too impetuously because of fast-talk
from some country or some international organization. I
this course to students who will hold high positions in their
governments to judge if each and every policy is appropriate,
or who will influence such decision-making, including university
professors. I would really love to see my students bear these
important roles.
Q. Your Public Sector Economics class consists of students from 8
different countries. Do you have any difficulties in teaching
such a diverse group?
A. I am lucky enough to have that diversity, and it would be ideal
for me to teach my students theoretical framework first and then
to closely examine actual issues of each student's countries and
discuss them with students. However, it is probably because I
am not too well experienced, but I do not have enough time to do
so and end up teaching them only the framework. I hope to build
up more experience and to improve my teaching by learning
students' backgrounds and sharing various issues with them.
Right now, because my main focus is on teaching how to analyze
current conditions, I am not fully taking advantage of the
diversity, and, conversely, the diversity does not bring me
difficulties or headaches. But at least, I casually ask my
students questions like, "Where does your country stand?" or
"Does your country have this problem?" each time I teach them a
new concept. In the future, I hope to give my students more
realistic examples in class, and to speak based more on
experiences of students' and mine as well.
Q. Finally, please give emag readers your message.
A. What makes IUJ very unique in Japan is not only that the medium
of education is English but also it offers very rigorous
programs at world-class standards. In other words, you can
acquire a "real education" here at IUJ. One might say, "If you
go to the U.S., you can get a real education, too." True
enough, but still it does not change the fact that IUJ is very
unique as a Japanese university, offering the same kind of
education with systematic and rigorous coursework that US
universities offer. Besides, IUJ has something US schools do
not have ¨C diversity. US schools argue that they respect
diversity, but I am sure that none of them have the diversity
IUJ enjoys. No schools in the world but IUJ have diverse
students coming from more than 50 different countries. Other
classes at IUJ, e.g., Prof. Watanabe's class, incorporate this
diversity better than in my class, and this alone shows that
IUJ's IDP is one of a kind and you cannot get that anywhere
else. I would say, your experience at IUJ equals experiences
gained in 8 or 9 different universities!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Dr. Hiroshi Yamaguchi, MBA Class of 1995, is Chief Economist at the
Japan Center for International Finance and, at the same time,
is teaching "Technology and Business Valuation" at IUJ, his Alma
Mater.
-*-
Dr. Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Japan)
MBA Class of 1995
Chief Economist, Japan Center for International Finance
1. After IUJ
After graduating from IUJ in 1995, I went back to my sponsoring
company, The NIPPONKOA Insurance Co., Ltd. and was assigned to
business research, analysis, and corporate policy making for
subsidiaries and affiliate companies, including hotel management
companies in which NIPPONKOA invested, until December 2002. And in
April 2004, I was delegated to the Japan Center for International
Finance (JCIF). JCIF provides its members, mainly Japanese leading
firms, with information mainly on risks of developing countries.
I am affiliated with the Country Study Coordination Department,
and my responsibilities include reviewing reports submitted by
researchers and maintaining and improving the JCIF's overall
research establishment. I am also entrusted by a certain company
with doing research on the topic of my interest.
While at IUJ, late Prof. Yui Kimura who was the Dean of the
Graduate School of International Management back then told me that
the University of Tsukuba was going to offer a Ph.D. program
within its graduate school with a mission to re-educate business
people. I was admitted to the program in April 1996. While
working full-time during the day, I studied at night and finally
in March this year I managed to complete my studies and received
a doctorate degree in Business Administration. Now here I am
teaching "Technology and Business Valuation" at IUJ as an adjunct
lecturer this spring term.
2. My IUJ Experience
My two years at IUJ comprise the heart of my position today. Let
me raise 3 advantages of IUJ.
First of all, IUJ faculty members are very close to their students.
Classes are small and students can visit faculty members in their
offices if they have any questions or wish to have discussions. As
I majored in law as an undergraduate and had little knowledge in
management and economics, this kind of close-knit environment was
vital for me to keep up with coursework. Today, many universities
have graduate programs for businesspeople in Tokyo and hold many
distinguished faculty members, but I heard that some of these
faculty members are hardly available outside the class and students
cannot have the opportunity to ask questions or have discussions
once class is over.
The second advantage is the multicultural environment. At IUJ,
unlike any other graduate schools, an idea of the co-existence of
various cultures is materialized in daily studies and research.
IUJ explicitly recognizes the importance of diversified views and
opinions coming from students with various ethnic and cultural
backgrounds, a fact which reflects accordingly in class discus-
sions, group work, etc. Minority opinions are not refused or
marginalized by mainline logics.
The last point I would like to raise is that Japanese students have
the opportunity to lead discussions in English; or should I say
Japanese students have no choice but to do so. IUJ often uses
cases of Japanese corporations, and non-Japanese students demand
opinions from Japanese students. This experience is very hard to
obtain at any other institutions. In fact, when I went to Tuck
School of Dartmouth College on exchange, I could engage in class
discussions much more actively than the Japanese students at Tuck.
IUJ provided me with not only an education but also the basis for
self-improvement and necessary support. This kind of environment,
I firmly believe, is essential to those who desire to obtain real
abilities in addition to a degree.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I am not Japanese. I am in need of some financial assistance or a
scholarship to study at IUJ. Can I apply for a scholarship to IUJ?"
-*-
Yes, you can.
IUJ grants IUJ scholarships to qualified non-Japanese applicants.
Basically, all¡¡non-Japanese individuals are eligible to apply for
this kind of scholarship. Applicants can also apply for scholarship
programs provided by outside organizations such as the ADB (Asian
Development Bank) or IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) etc.,
through IUJ, if they qualify for such scholarship programs.
To apply for the above-mentioned scholarships, a completed Applica-
tion For IUJ Financial Aid for Non-Japanese Applicants should be
enclosed in your application package with all other admission applic-
ation documents. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you
must pass our admissions screening with high merit because the number
of scholarships is limited.
For more details, please refer to the Financial Aid Guidelines for
Non-Japanese Applicants at http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/scholarship/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Eleven: The Bottom Line
Congratulations, you have a job offer! Either as a result of Career
Week, other corporate and organizational introductions through IUJ or
created on your own, you have a job offer (or two, three?) in hand.
Now what do you do? Sit back and think! The contents of Japanese
businesses and foreign firm contract and negotiation styles are very
different. But in any case, you need to read the information
presented to you carefully and be sure you understand what is being
offered to you. Ask questions until you are aware and informed about
your base salary, bonus and the bonus structure, housing or transport-
ation allowances, any signing bonuses, stock options, performance
reviews and possible raise cycles, etc. You should already have an
idea of the salary range the job you went after offers for someone
like you, and you should know how much you need to make each year to
live the life you have in mind. With all this information, you can
best analyze the offer in front of you, and plan a strategy to
negotiate the terms, if it is not agreeable. With many Japanese
firms in Japan, negotiations may not be possible as they plug you
into a box in their employment scheme. More flexibility can be
found with foreign companies, especially regarding signing bonuses,
or guaranteed salary reviews after you have 6 months to demonstrate
your performance level. So know what you need and see if you can
get an offer that is close to it!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
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Annoucement for Next Issue
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The next edition will be published on July 5, 2004.
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All Rights Reserved.
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:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
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~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
July 2004
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's One Point Advice
-- Area Spotlights New!
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Late Dr. Yui Kimura's Book To Be Published>>
A book, compiling the work of late Dr. Yui Kimura, will be
published in late June. Dr. Kimura, former GSIM Dean, taught at
the Graduate School of International Management (GSIM) at IUJ from
1988, when GSIM was established to 1995. Sadly, he died an early
death at the age of 51 in 1999, and his colleagues collaborated to
publish this posthumous book entitled, "Business School and Manage-
ment Studies: another MBA style, to which Yui Kimura aspired -
Innovation, Investment and Strategy: Japanese Firms in Global
Business."
Editorship: Graduate School of System Management, University of
Tsukuba
Compilers: Michiko Miyamoto (Toyo University), Tadahiko Kawai
(University of Tsukuba)
Price: \2,940 (tax included)
Format: A4 size, 325 pages in a superior binding
ISBN: 4-86079-010-3
Contributors:
Thomas A. Pugel (New York University), Ikuo Takagaki
(Surugadai University), Masaru Yoshimori (Yokohama
National University), Robert G. Hawkins (former Dean of
NYU Stern School), Hiroe Tsubaki (University of
Tsukuba), Hisato Nakamura (Toyo University), Hiroyuki
Odagiri (Hitotsubashi University), Yoshitaka Okada
(Sophia University), Akira Goto (University of Tokyo),
Akihiko Miura (All Nippon Airways), and Ingo Walter
(New York University)
* This unique book on management studies compiles work of Dr.
Kimura, who taught at IUJ and the University of Tsukuba, in a
multiphasic manner, providing a breath of fresh air both in
research and education. Unfortunately, Dr. Kimura had to give up
his efforts too soon due to illness which resulted in an early
death.
* This book consists of Dr. Kimura's major papers and work by
contributors from Japan and the U.S., representing his practical
research on managerial strategies he learned at New York Univer-
sity, his alma mater.
* Dr. Kimura's teaching method, "another style of MBA," is
described by his lecture notes, class schedules, and his
students' master's theses and essays.
* This will be a required reading for not only management
researchers but also students, business people, and researchers
interested in MBA education.
For futher details, please access the following webpage:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/YuiKimuraE.cfm
<<Summer IIEP Starts>>
The summer program of the Intensive International Executive Program
(IIEP) will start from July 5. IIEP prepares participants for a
global twenty-first century and focuses on worldwide communication,
management, and intercultural issues in the business arena.
While concentrating on a broad range of topics, such as finance,
e-commerce, business conflict management, global standards and
technology, participants engage in discussions, lecture sessions,
simulations and research projects to gain an understanding of the
International Business arena.
The 10-week Summer IIEP specifically focuses on improving communi-
cation skills, negotiation skills, and presentation skills. Also,
being the longest IIEP, it covers a wide range of business English
tasks enabling participants to improve their business English
skills and deepen their appreciation for the complexities of
international business.
For details and application, please contact the Office of Student
Recruitment (phone: +81-25-779-1463, email: osr@...).
<<Intensive English Program Starts>>
As courses, seminars, discussions, case studies, group work, thesis-
writing, etc. are all conducted in English at IUJ, IUJ students
need to have very advanced and comprehensive English skills from
the very start of their course work. To help those non-native
speakers of English whose skills are not quite up to the expect-
ations brush up their skills to the level of graduate education and
research, the summer Intensive English Program (IEP) is offered
at IUJ. This year it starts from July 19 and continues for 8 weeks
until September 10. Participants will gain skills as well as
confidence in taking content courses starting in the fall during
these 8 weeks.
Please learn more about the IEP in this month's "Academic Spot-
lights."
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Upcoming Event Information
July-August 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Worldwide IUJ First Friday To Be Held>>
The IUJ Alumni Association is planning a special day for IUJ Alumni
worldwide. Following the new tradition of IUJ Fridays in Tokyo,
alumni in cities around the globe will be asked to gather on August
6 with other IUJers for a social evening to share memories, meet
old friends and make new ones from among our expanding alumni net-
work. Events are being planned in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya,
Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul, Hanoi, Mumbai, Dhaka,
Shanghai, Istanbul, Tashkent, London, New York City, Washington DC,
and beyond. Where there are not enough alumni to have a group
gathering, alumni will be asked to get out their IUJ memory books
and call or send an email to an IUJ friend.
People considering IUJ for their graduate studies, and who would
like to attend IUJ Friday on August 6, please contact the Alumni
Relations office for details. Be sure to note in the SUBJECT line
of your email "August 6 Event Information Request" and note your
name, interest in IUJ, and location. Write to Alumni@....
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Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Messages from Graduates>>
The following one excerpts from the valedictory speeches at
the graduation ceremony on June 24.
Mr. M. Zubairu Wai
Valedictorian, Class of 2004
Graduate School of International Relations
The GSIR Class of 2004, friends, family and loved ones, distinguished
guests, faculty and staff, the deans of the graduate schools, the
president and general secretary of IUJ, Mr. Chairman, all protocols
observed:
What we live with we learn; What we learn we practise; What we
practise we become; What we become has consequences; Almost always,
what we become has little to do with what we were meant to be.
This poem is my story. Two years ago, I, as well as all of the
graduating classes of 2004 embarked on an academic sojourn at IUJ.
Two years later that sojourn has ended and we are about to depart and
go our separate ways in pursuit of our individual goals and
aspirations. One important lesson I have learnt, that makes the
afore-mentioned poem more meaningful to me, is the fact that we are
responsible for making ourselves, no matter how humble our origins or
background. In Africa we say a child that washes its hands well can
dine with kings. Today I dine with the elders of IUJ in my capacity as
valedictorian of my class. Where did I come from to have reached this
far?
Getting to IUJ wasn't easy for many of us and surely being there
for the first couple of weeks was even more challenging, if not
frustrating. Our initial experience at IUJ was somewhat a culture
shock and most of us felt bewildered and lost and no sooner had
we arrived than we wanted to leave. For me personally, it was even
more difficult given my background and the country that I come from.
I arrived two weeks after lessons had begun. I had some family
problems and I didn't have any money since I lost my wallet at one
of my transit airports. But more importantly, I come from one of the
poorest countries in the world where education is still a luxury
fora privileged few. For six years, after my undergraduate studies,
I searched in vain for scholarships to further my education and for
six years, until I stumbled on the IUJ website, all I got was dis-
appointment and frustration. But even when IUJ gave me the scholar-
ship, I still had to ask my friends abroad and the Ministry of
Education in Sierra Leone to help me with the air fare as I
couldn't afford it. Also, my country was, for almost a decade
(between 1991 and 2000) engulfed by a debilitating, savage and
brutal civil war. This made it even further difficult for me to
realise my dream of furthering my education. First, my family lost
everything during the war.
Second, as a result of the war, even when I gained acceptance and
scholarships to study in Britain and the US, I was refused the visas
because "I was a potential immigrant" to those countries.
The war itself was traumatising and its effects cataclysmic.
This is the background that I come from which is why standing here
today is of particular significance to me, my family and loved ones.
It was IUJ that gave me the opportunity to overcome six years of dis-
appointments and frustrations and to realise my dreams. This is why
despite its numerous problems, and sometimes its contradictions,
inconsistencies, and unfulfilled expectations, IUJ is still a beauti-
ful place. To some of us, especially those from developing and poor
countries, IUJ represents hope, the opportunity for us to make
something out of our lives. At IUJ, I (and I believe this goes for all
of us), have found love and real friendship, even if we were sometimes
faced with petty jealousies and envy. This is why I would want to go
to Malaysia on vacation, and Rejani Kunjappan could trustingly give me
the telephone number of her family so that they could accommodate me
while I was in her country. This why Allen Lewis would invite me to
come and spend the summer with his family in Victoria, when he
realised that I was entering a PhD programme in Canada after gradu-
ating from IUJ; and this is why Ken Owusu, who comes from Ghana,
would agree to go see my family in Sierra Leone, after he returns
home. This is what IUJ has done for not only me but for all of us
graduating today. This is why I want to appeal to the founders and
sponsors of IUJ never to relent.
Indeed there are times, I believe, that you may be asking yourselves
whether in fact investing in IUJ is worthwhile, or whether the ideals
of IUJ are being fulfilled. My only reply to you is, look at me and
how far I have come. I will never be the same again, thanks to IUJ.
There are many of us inside this hall who would tell similar stories
about how IUJ has contributed to fulfilling our aspirations.
Similarly, there are many out there who do not have the opportunity
to realise their academic potential mainly because of the circum-
stances of birth. They need your support and are waiting for you to
reach them. Your cause is a noble one and I lift my hat to you.
Of course we all have our individual stories and experiences at IUJ.
However as we head into our new and separate lives, we shouldn¡¯t
forget the people around us who added meaning to our lives and made
our two years at IUJ worthwhile. We should remember the good times
and learn from those that were not so great, and take the knowledge
and experiences with us forever. When we arrived at IUJ we wanted to
leave the following day, but now that the time has come, we find
it hard to accept that we have to leave. The countdown to
graduation was gruelling as we witnessed a juxtaposition of mixed
emotions and feelings: excitement became mixed up with anxiety
derived primarily from uncertainties about the future. ¡°I always
knew that looking back on the tears would make me laugh, what I
didn¡¯t think was that looking back on the laughter could make me
cry.¡± As we graduate into the real world where dog eat dog and
where blatant commercialism has replaced the virtues of good
neighbourliness, we should remind ourselves that survival in that
world is not an easy feat. We should not forget to keep our sanity
and sense of humour, so that no matter what situation we find our-
selves in, for better and for worse, we can always look back to laugh
at ourselves and smile at the scheme of things.
To our professors, yours is a difficult one. Many a time we are thank-
less and we tend to dislike you for pushing us too far for our own
good. Of course time will not permit me to mention all the professors,
so I have made an arbitrary selection based purely on my own
judgement, informed by the numerous gossips we share as students about
our professors. Tamaru-sensei, I hear you are a wonderful Japanese
Language instructor, but you are also a wonderful dancer. Maybe if I
had seen you dance before like the way you did on the night of the
GSO graduation party,I would have registered on the Elementary
Japanese Language course. Professor Watanabe's nocturnal skills
are awe inspiring and fascinatingly admirable. Watanabe-sensei,
your dedicated love for your profession is legendary and your students
have tremendous respect for you. Keep up the good work. Tanaguchi-
sensei, I hear you Love Tanzania as if it were Japan. I always say
that anybody who has been to Africa would love it. Thank you for your
love for Africa. One professor you would love to run into when feeling
bored and down is Professor Welfield. Wherever you meet him, in the
gym or shokudo, he is willing to talk. Shee-sensei, too bad we will
no longer debate whether China will collapse or become a global
hegemon. Professor Okada, you are my most favourite Japanese professor
and thank you for the okono miaki dinner the other day. I save the
last for our very own Buszynski-sensei. His professional meticulous-
ness is unrivalled, so also is his time management and knack for
perfectionism. I will never forget how you shredded the first chapter
of my thesis because it wasn¡¯t good enough, or how you made
Rejanni almost cry for making her rewrite her second chapter.
I guess Chen, Allen, Khagani and Aziz have similar stories too.
You were always supportive and inspirational. Personally I am indebted
to you for life. Thank you for straining the best out of me.
Let me end with this message to the class of 2004, with excerpts of
Max Erhmann's poem, Desiderata:
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace
there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be
on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and
clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant,
they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they
are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in
your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of
trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many
persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of
heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be
cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchant-
ment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of
the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the
stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear
to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should ¡
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beauti-
ful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy!
Arigato Gozaimasu!!!
-*-
Mr. Tomohiko Sasano
Valedictorian, Class of 2004
Graduate School of International Management
Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to give a speech in
the graduation ceremony of IUJ class of 2004. I would first like to
express my deepest gratitude to my company, Matsushita Electric, for
giving me the opportunity to study at IUJ. And I¡¯d also like to
express great thanks to my wife, Kanae, for her continuous support.
On behalf of the graduates, I would like to thank members of the
faculty for their great efforts in teaching and sharing wisdom with
the students. I¡¯d also like to thank the IUJ management and
administration for their continuous efforts in making IUJ a better
school and various services for students.
And last but not least, I¡¯d like to thank all families and friends
who have supported our 2-year study life at IUJ. Without your
constant support, we know that we could not achieve our goals.
At last, we come to our last day of IUJ. On the last day at IUJ, I
remember the first day at IUJ. I felt that it was too isolated from
living area. And I wondered where I should go to buy daily
necessities. And I remembered that some people called IUJ "Iso-
lated University of Japan" or "I and You and Jusco".
But soon, I was getting to know that it is a precious asset for
IUJ. We have an IUJ village here and create the strongly-tied
community. We study and live together here. Now I remember a lot
of things about life at IUJ. We discussed the issue of a case study
in a study room all night. We argued against each other when we
prepared a group presentation.
We sometimes had a joke with each other, and sometimes talked
seriously about our future. We made a lot of friends and shared
a lot of memories. Our friends and memories must be the most
valuable assets in our lives.
I met not only a lot of excellent friends, but also many great
professors. I personally remember the words from Professor Kase.
I asked him: ¡°What is the important skill for CEO?¡±
Then he answered: ¡°When you listen to a problem from your subordi-
nate by telephone for 5 minutes, you can identify the fundamental
problems so that you can decide what you should do.¡± That was my
important direction in my study life at IUJ. Other than that, I got
a lot of insightful words from various professors. I believe that
each student has received precious words from professors.
So please keep them in mind.
As a closing remark, please let me say ¡°congratulations to all of
you!¡±And although this is the last day as IUJ students today, we
should remind that we are always in IUJ's network all over the
world and the network lasts forever. In other words, this is the
first day of our new IUJ life and the campus moves from Urasa to
global a place. So please keep in touch anywhere, anytime.
I really think that I¡¯m lucky to meet all of you.
Thank you very much and my best wishes for our future endeavors!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce the Intensive English Program. Associate
Dean and Associate Professor of the Graduate School of
International
Relations, Prof. Mohammed K. Ahmed, gave us an overview of the
program and his work.
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. I have been teaching English at IUJ since 1988. Over the years,
I have taught a variety of courses in all the language skills
and at various levels. Currently, in addition to my teaching, I
am coordinating the English Language Program, directing the
summer Intensive English Program, and working as the Associate
Dean of GSIR.
Before coming to IUJ, I was in the United States for about 7
years, doing my graduate studies leading to a doctoral degree in
applied linguistics, as well as teaching English composition
courses to university students, both native and non-native
speakers of English.
In my research, I am interested in conversational interactions
between native and non-native speakers of English, task-based
language teaching and course design, and varieties of English
around the world. I am also active in teacher training for high
school teachers of English in Japan.
My home country is Bangladesh, where I started my English
teaching career in 1977.
Q. Could you summarize the IEP?
A. IUJ has been successfully offering its summer Intensive English
Program (IEP) as a preparatory program for over 15 years. It is
designed for students who have been admitted to IUJ for graduate
studies. In this sense, it is an in-house program. In addition
to Japanese students, we also have students from other
countries, mostly Asian.
In general, IEP is designed to develop the English language
skills of students for their graduate studies in a Master's
degree program in the field of social science at an English-
medium university. It is particularly suitable for those
students who are going to study economics, management, inter-
national development, international relations, or e-business.
Students at the intermediate-to-advanced levels of proficiency
in English join this program.
The program offers classes in academic writing, reading, oral
presentations and discussions, academic listening, grammar, and
vocabulary. It provides 23 hours of classes and individual
tutorials, and requires about 30 hours of homework, per week.
There is also a full calendar of social and sporting activities,
which combine to make IEP a complete international English
experience.
Other important features of the program include: an English-only
environment, a small class size, individual tutorials, inter-
active teaching methodology, an international environment, cross-
cultural experience, and computer and Internet facilities.
Q. How is this year's IEP different and any specific areas you are
going to focus on?
A. We constantly try to further develop and improve the program.
While we maintain the basic continuity of our main goals and
structuring, we introduce changes in response to the needs of
our participants and our university.
In recent years, we have been trying to broaden the scope of our
IEP and attract also those students who may not necessarily
study at IUJ. In this sense, an important change for us this year
will be the participation of some students sponsored by the IMF.
These overseas students (from Mongolia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan,
China, Kyrgyz, Laos, Cambodia) are going to take our summer pro-
gram and then join their specified universities in Japan to begin
their graduate studies. As part of their summer program at IUJ,
these students will also benefit from some classes in Mathematics
and Excel especially designed for them.
In terms of some changes in our IEP curriculum, we are going to
enhance reading and vocabulary.
Q. Do you have any difficulties in teaching the IEP?
A. I do not have any difficulties. Rather, teaching IEP is re-
warding and challenging. We get highly motivated participants.
Faculty members (which include visiting faculty members in
addition to the full-time faculty members) are highly qualified
and experienced. The program includes both curricular and extra-
curricular activities. At the same time, most participants come
to IUJ and its environment for the first time and go through a
process of necessary adjustment, which can be hard sometimes. We
push students to work hard, and the faculty members also have to
work hard. It's quite intensive and intense! We, the full-time
faculty members, also have to coordinate the teaching of the
classes with the visiting faculty members. We interact at
various levels on a day-to-day basis. All these make our
experience rewarding and challenging.
Q. If students do not meet the goal and fall behind once the
content classes start, how would you help them?
A. IEP is designed to help students develop their English language
skills for their graduate studies. Students who join IEP come
with various proficiency levels within a broad range. For some
students, the summer program alone is enough. For some others,
more classes are needed. We have a series of English courses
that we offer in the first year and the second year of studies.
These courses are part of the students¡¯ graduate studies,
i.e., they count towards their graduation. In this sense, IUJ
is unique in that it provides continuous support to students
who need to keep working on their English language skills.
Q. Finally, please give emag readers your message.
A. IUJ's IEP is a unique program in Japan. It is most probably the
best English for Academic Purposes program for those students
who wish to develop their English language skills for graduate
studies in Japan at an English-medium university. It also
provides very useful social and cross-cultural experience and
opportunities for initiative, participation, and leadership
skills in a group setting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Since his completion of International Development studies in 1998,
Mr. Joshua Huck has been working in several countries in Asia
on his assignments for the United Nations, U.S. State Department,
and a few others. He says his experiences at IUJ were the keys to
his success.
-*-
Mr. Joshua Huck (USA)
IDP Class of 1998
U.S. State Department
Prior to my arrival at IUJ in 1996, I had never been to Asia and
never dreamed of making a permanent home here. But eight years
later, I find that I have spent six of those past eight years
living in four different countries in Asia, and I have every
intention of remaining here for many years to come. Not only did
my experience at IUJ awaken a deep and abiding interest in the
people, the cultures and the economies of the Asian region, it
also provided me with the skills and the network to begin a pro-
fessional career here.
Through IUJ connections, I was able to secure an internship at the
United Nation's ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific) office in Bangkok while I was still a student. When I
graduated from IUJ's International Development Program in 1998, I
was able to use connections established during my internship period
to land jobs with the UN in Thailand and later with a small grass-
roots organization in Vientiane, Laos.
I returned to the United States in 2000, primarily for family
reasons, and found a job with the State Government of Maryland's
Department of Business and Economic Development covering Japan and
East Asia. Although I did not get the job through IUJ connections,
the training and skills I developed at IUJ (especially knowledge of
Japan and Japanese language) were crucial to obtaining it. I
applied to join the United States Foreign Service in 2001, and
again my Japanese language skills and the experience of being
educated in IUJ's international and multicultural environment were
key to my successful admission into the US State Department.
For the last two years, I have served as a US diplomat to China,
working out of the US Consulate General in Shanghai. Shanghai is a
wonderful city and China is a dynamic and invigorating place to
work. I hope that IUJ will continue to expand its contact with
this great country through academic exchanges, student recruitment
and China-related course offerings. I am happy to say that six
years after graduating from IUJ, I will be returning to Japan for
an extended stay. I have been assigned to work in the political/
security policy section of the US Embassy in Tokyo, starting in
autumn of this year. I look forward to the chance to reunite with
old classmates and professors and to meet the many new generations
of IUJ graduates that have no doubt been making waves throughout
Japan since I left. But perhaps more than anything else, I am
looking forward to returning to Urasa to see the university itself,
its mountains, its rice fields and its cherry blossoms ¨C to
remember how it felt to live and study in one of Japan's most
beautiful locations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAQs and Answers
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Do I need to submit GMAT/TOEFL scores to apply to your MBA Program?"
-*-
((This question applies ONLY to the Graduate School of International
Management.))
Yes, GMAT/TOEFL scores are required documents for admission. Inter-
national applicants can also submit an IELTS score as a scale of your
English proficiency instead of a TOEFL score.
The following applicants are, however, exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS
requirement:
1. Applicants who are native speakers of English
2. Applicants who have formally completed an undergraduate or
graduate program with the medium of instruction being English in
one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland,
New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, the UK, and the USA.
Your scores must be sent directly to IUJ from ETS or the British
Council. You are advised to check the test schedule with the follow-
ing organization(s) and make your test appointment early enough to
allow your scores to be reported before our application deadlines.
<GMAT: The Graduate Management Admissions Test >
E-mail: gmat@... / URL: http://www.gmac.com/
<TOEFL: The Test of English as a Foreign Language>
E-mail: toefl@... URL: http://www.toefl.org
<IELTS: International English Language Testing System>
URL: http://www.ielts.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's One Point Advice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step Twelve: So where in the world are IUJers employed?
IUJ Students have incredibly diverse interests and our alumni can be
found in virtually every field and profession, and IN at least 70
different countries. We are proud to boast today, that the very
first person to receive an IUJ diploma in 1985 is now the anchorman
for a major TV news broadcast, News Japan! Japanese nationals that
are corporate sponsored find themselves returning to various
positions within their companies and more often than not assigned to
management or assistant management positions overseas in the US,
Europe and SE Asia. Those Japanese nationals without a corporate
connection often go into various research fields and strive for
posts in International Organizations including the UN, World Bank,
etc. More and more go into businesses. The IT industry, consulting
firms, finance firms, etc. are waiting IUJ trained Japanese
graduates! And news from the World Bank is that they need more
Japanese with MA and MBA degrees as soon as possible. It takes a
lot of work to make the offers come in to you, but starting the
process on IUJ's campus is a good first step!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We are happy to present you a fun new column. With a hope that
our readers will feel more familiar with IUJ, "Area Spotlights"
features recreational spots, festivals, local events, specialty
products, etc. around IUJ. Please sit back and enjoy!
<<Hiking spots and Beaches>>
* Mt. Hakkai *
"Hakkaisan," seen from IUJ campus, is also famous for a brand of
Japanese SAKE. Mt. Hakkai is 1,778m above sea level. Mt. Hakkai
has been well known for believers as a sacred mountain and it
has eight steep peaks. We recommend beginners to take the
Hakkaisan ski area gondola from the bottom. It takes about 2
hours to reach the first peak. Please watch out for the weather
and prepare necessary equipment to climb up to the eight peaks
since they are expert courses to climb, with some requiring
chains for ascent and descent.
Access£º 30 minutes by car from Urasa Station
(JR Joetsu Shinkansen)
30 minutes by car from Muikamachi Station
(JR Joetsu line)¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
¡¡
Please find further information at the webpage provided by Muika-
machi Tourist Association:
http://www.yukiguni.ne.jp/mkanko/
* Mt. Makihata *
"Makihatayama" is chosen as one of one hundred beautiful mountains
in Japan. It is 1,968m above the sea level. This mountain is well
known for various kinds of alpine plants and the beautiful view
from the top. It takes about 5.5 hours one way. Please leave
early in the morning from Shimizu area of Shiozawa town.
Access£º 40 minutes by car from Urasa Station or Echigoyuzawa
Station (JR Joetsu Shinkansen) ¡¡¡¡¡¡
30 minutes by bus from Muikamachi Station
(JR Joetsu Line)
Please find further Information at the Shiozawa town Tourist Associ-
ation page:
http://www.shiozawa-rta.gr.jp/guide/
* Beaches *
You can enjoy swimming after a one-hour drive on the Kanetsu
Expressway from IUJ, which is surrounded by beautiful mountains.
You may also enjoy experiencing a beautiful sunset as you drive.
1. Chuetsu area£ºKashiwazaki, Nishiyama, Teradomari, etc.
This is the area nearest area to IUJ. Various spots for good
swimming can be accessed from the Hokuriku Expressway. Please
get off at the Yoneyama Exit, Kashiwazaki Exit, or Nishiyama
Exit.
2. Kaetsu area£ºNiigata, Murakami, Sanpoku, Awashima (small
Island), etc.
"Sasagawa Nagare" in Sanpoku town is one of the most popular
places for its clear water and cliffs. It takes about 100
minutes from the Niigata Nishi Exit.
3. Joetsu area£º Joetsu, Itoigawa, Kakizaki, Nou, Oumi, etc.
There are various spots for sea bathing along the Hokuriku
Expressway. Please get off at Joetsu Exit, Kakizaki Exit, Nou
Exit, or Oyashirazu Exit.
4. Sado area
Car ferries and Jet foils for Sado Island are available from
Niigata port, Teradomari port, or Naoetsu port . We recommend
that you take a car ferry to go with your friends. It takes
about 2 hours to arrive at Ryoetsu port, Akadomari port or Ogi
port.
For further Information, please visit the following webpage£º
http://www.niigata-kankou.or.jp/season/kaisuiyoku/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on August 2, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
August 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make NEW!
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for 2005 Finalized!>>
For Details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/AdmSchedule05E.cfm
Online applications will be available in September.
<<Internship Placement Results for 2004>>
Career Services is happy to report that placement rates are back on
track. This year, for the MBA and E-Business candidates seeking an
internship, the placement rate was 103% with 6 students receiving 2
internships over the summer, and 3 failing to find an opportunity.
For MA candidates actively searching, 85% found opportunities.
Internship hosts this summer are: ADB Institute, All Nippon Air-
ways, Bloomberg, Capital Servicing, Costco, DaimlerChrysler, Depfa
Bank, Ford Motor Company-Hiroshima, Fuji Xerox, GLOCOM, Lehman
Brothers, Matsushita Electric-Osaka, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi Oil
and Gas, national Kidney Foundation-Singapore, NIFCO, PNP Paribas,
Reliance Industry-India, Robert Walters, Sanyo Grou-Osaka, Gumma,
Shikoku Denryoku, Syngenta, Taylor Rafferty, Tokyo Electric, Toyota
Motors, UNHCR, University of Malaysia, UN regional offices, UNIQLO,
and World Youth Peace Summit.
<<Student-Faculty Academic Papers presented at Conference>>
Five papers by IUJ faculty and students were accepted for and
presented at the European conference on e-government held on June
17th-18th at The Trinity College Dublin (ECEG 2004). The conference
had significant participation from the European Commission and the
Irish Government as part of Ireland's EU presidency.
Three E-business students, Betty Wu, Farshid Ghyasi and Younus
Awan, and one exchange student (Demir, fall term, from KOC Univers-
ity) worked hard with Professors Ibrahim Kushchu and Chester
Borucki on the papers. "We believe that having 5 papers accepted
and presented in person gives IUJ important visibility and we aimed
to represent IUJ to the best of our abilities at the conference,"
said Prof. Kushchu.
The conference web site is
http://www.academic-conferences.org/eceg2004/eceg2004-home.htm
Below is the list of paper titles and authors accepted at the ECEG
2004.
1. The Value of Mobility for e-Government, by Betty Yu and Ibrahim
Kushchu
2. Global Acceptance of Mobile ID Card, by Younus Awan and Ibrahim
Kushchu
3. E-Government and m-Government: Concurrent Leaps by Turkey, by
Demir Cilingir and Ibrahim Kushchu
4. m-Government Adoption: Cases of Developing Countries, A. Farshid
Ghyasi and Ibrahim Kushchu
5. Impact of Mobile Technologies on Government, by Ibrahim Kushchu
and Chester Borucki
<<Computer Facilities and LAN Upgrades, Library Services Enhanced>>
Early July saw the reconstruction of the IUJ computer network
system (IUJ LAN) and an upgrade of the public computers.
The MLIC upgraded the entire IUJ LAN system in order to increase
network performance and increase campus security. The IUJ Email
server was replaced, and now all computers in the PC rooms,
including those in student dormitories, are Pentium4 computers with
LCD monitors. The LCD monitors were donated by Samsung Japan
Corporation. In addition, Samsung also donated TV sets and new
refrigerators for the dorms. The value of the donation is 30
Million yen. Thank you!!
The main Computer Classroom now features 40 computer stations,
while the secondary Classroom hosts 20 new stations. In total,
10 additional work stations were added with the new services.
<<GSIM Announces new Dean and 2 new Associate Deans>>
GSIM Dean Jay Rajasekera and Associate Dean Akitoshi Ito finished
their services on June 30, 2004. Prof. Rajasekera remains on the
faculty, while Prof. Ito will move on to Canada.
The new GSIM Dean is Prof. Chester Borucki with Profs. Toshiro
Wakayama and Glenn Mayhew serving as GSIM Associate Deans.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
August-September 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Graduation Ceremony for E-biz Class of 2004 To Be Held>>
Twenty-eight students of the E-biz Class of 2004 are completing
their intensive studies and earning their Master's degree on
Friday, August 27. They represent the following 14 countries and
areas: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Germany, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, and Vietnam. A congratulatory address will be given by
Mr. Satoshi Yamaguchi, General Manager of Investment Group II at
JAFCO Co., Ltd.
<<Worldwide IUJ First Friday in 30 Cities!>>
As announced in the July edition, IUJ Alumni Association is holding
a second "Worldwide IUJ First Friday" on August 6. As many as 30
cities all over the world where IUJ alumni live and work will
participate. They are: Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane-Queensland,
California-Bay Area, Copenhagen, Dhaka, Hanoi, Hiroshima, Hong
Kong, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg or Pretoria, Kuala Lumpur,
Laos, London, Manila, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York City, Osaka,
Pennsylvania, Phnom Penh, Sapporo, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen,
Singapore, Tashkent, Tokyo, and Washington DC.
People considering IUJ for their graduate studies, and who would
like to attend IUJ First Friday on August 6, please contact the
Alumni Relations office for details. Be sure to note in the
SUBJECT line of your email "August 6 Event Information Request"
and note your name, interest in IUJ, and location. Write to
Alumni@....
<<Entrance Ceremony 2004>>
Date: Tuesday, September 28
Time: 10:30-11:30am
Venue: Community Hall SAWARABI (Urasa 5175, Yamato-machi, Niigata)
The total number of expected enrollees is 140: 10 for IRP, 63 for
IDP, 45 for MBA, and 22 for E-biz.
(Events at other venues)
<<IUJ Will Intensively Participate in MBA Fairs>>
IUJ Business School will participate in "World MBA Tour" and "The
MBA Tour" for 9 cities in the U.S. and Asia. This will be a good
opportunity for prospective applicants to meet with IUJ faculty
and alumni and discuss your graduate studies and future careers!
* World MBA Tour
Los Angeles on September 12 (Sunday)
San Fransicso on September 14 (Tuesday)
For details, please visit the World MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.topmba.com/
* The MBA Tour
Tokyo on September 16 (Thursday)
Seoul on September 18 (Saturday)
Beijing on September 20 (Monday)
Shanghai on September 23 (Thursday)
Taipei on September 25 (Saturday)
Bangkok on September 27 (Monday)
Singapore on September 29 (Wednesday)
For more information, please access The MBA Tour official page:
http://www.thembatour.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Messages from Graduating E-biz Students>>
Ms. Yasuyo Shimizu
Sponsored by AEON Co., Ltd.
I came to IUJ because I intended to diversify my thinking, and then
have an ability to point out current problems and recommend
solutions with forceful logic. As I expected, IUJ is the best
place, for I have learned a lot through brainstorming with students
from all over the world.
Since business administration management encompasses a broad area,
yet we E-Business students only have 1 year, I focused on Marketing
Strategy. It was because I wanted to find some hints which help my
company to differentiate itself by consumer oriented service.
Fortunately, I discovered Operation Strategy which I did not know
before coming to IUJ, but honestly I was most interested in it in
my study here.
In the operations class, the professor invented the word "know-why".
In fact, I practiced not only "know-how", but also "know-why",
namely the process of clarifying the reason why we should do
something.
Recently, while reading newspapers, I have sometimes been surprised
because I am interested in an article which would have never caught
my eye before studying at IUJ and learning to infer background
situations. At IUJ, I became sensitive to the latest information
and acquired an entrepreneurial spirit. Hereafter, my goal is to
build a breakthrough business model in the near future and manage
projects in which I am in charge of implementation.
-*-
Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa
Sponsored by NTT COMWARE
[Why E-Biz?]
It was five years after joining my company that I thought about
studying in IUJ's E-Business Management Program.
Since joining a subsidiary company of NTT, I have taken charge of
planning, designing and developing various kinds of computer
systems and have confidence now in my technical knowledge. How-
ever, even though I could see places where working processes or
business needed improvement, I sometimes had difficulty in propos-
ing concrete solutions for improvement. In addition, I had diffi-
culty in proposing ideas to my coworkes and boss and making them
understand the ideas properly.
Then, in order to do work of higher quality, I strongly felt the
necessity for gaining new knowledge and experience. Moreover,
from the perspective of companies in the IT industry, technology
itself not only has been developing very broadly, but the change
has been very quick. So the evaluation of E-Businesses has become
very difficult and the businesses have high risk. Moreover, as
there are many examples of failures in the past, it has become
difficult to lead E-business to success by simply applying method-
ologies and strategies in other established fields. Moreover, the
IT industry is always exposed to competition against the world as
represent by the global reach of the Internet. In order to
survive in this severe environment, I thought that it was necessary
to always consider business with a global viewpoint. In order to
keep the competitive advantage of a company and maintain its
continuous development in severe business environments, in addi-
tion, in order to realize the self-actualization of the workers, I
thought that I needed to improve my ability to understand the
company's competitive advantage correctly. In addition, I wanted
to learn to develop strategies specialized in E-Business which
offer goods and services with high market value by making use of a
company's competitive advantage.
[Why E-Biz in IUJ?]
The E-Business Management Program of IUJ offered an answer to my
needs.
First of all, this program offers management, marketing, strategy
and entreprenuership focusing on E-business in a short period.
Secondly, since many professors and students with different back-
grounds and business experience are at IUJ and all the classes are
taught in English, we can study much more practical knowledge that
fits real business. In addition, when persons with different
cultural backgrounds are discussing something, they sometimes face
difficulty.
But through this discussion, we can improve our ability to work in
the international business environment and get a global point of
view. This became a very precious ability which can be efficiently
employed in whatever work I do from now on, and became my precious
property together with the human connections formed here. The
third advantage of IUJ is that classes emphasize Asian countries
including Japan. The Asia market is developing, and has many
business chances, and I think that it can be said that it is very
significant to learn deeply about the business of Japan which is
the leader in Asian countries. Finally, in the IT industry, which
change is so quick, it was an advantage to be able to learn the
skills I wanted in only one year.
[Message]
I think I have acquired the knowledge and skill that I intended to
gain at IUJ during this year to some extent. Although new
knowledge will replace some of the things I learned here as time
passes, I gained permanent and precious skills for my future life.
I learned new ways to think and act because I received stimuli from
many faculty members and students through study here.
Moreover, by learning with excellent, talented people, I was also
able to get the motivation to continuing to study and improve
myself.
I think that the E-Business Management Program is the optimal
program for people who consider working in the IT industry, or have
already committed to do so. While being able to study a portion of
the core of an MBA intensively in this program, I think that the
ability to oversee business broader viewpoint can be learned in a
short time.
E-business is often a very high risk, and has had global competi-
tion from its start. In order to develop businesses in this ever-
changing industry, talented people that have technological
knowledge balanced with management skills is indispensable. If you
want to gain the knowledge to become such a talented person, the
E-Business Management Program at IUJ can be a shortcut to your
goal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Research Initiatives Launched>>
The IUJ Research Institute is dedicated entirely to the most
fundamental and comprehensive understanding of social, political,
economic and managerial challenges of the 21st century. The
Institute draws together members of the IUJ research community and
extends its collaborative efforts globally in the commitment to
envisage and propose solutions to these challenges. Our research
activities, grounded in real-world challenges, generate immediate
value to the IUJ mission of serving as an educational platform for
current and future leaders willing to meet these challenges.
During the last winter term, the Research Institute solicited
proposals for establishing research centers. We received four
proposals, and three proposals were accepted for IUJ seed funding
and other forms of support that the Institute can provide. They
are:
* Chinese Economic and Business Center
Director: Professor Yuqing Xing
* Center for Organizational Dynamics and Innovation
Director: Professor Ibrahim Kushchu
* Center for Consumer Research in Interactive Environments
Director: Professor Glenn Mayhew
In addition to the usual research and publication activities
expected at typical research centers of an academic institution,
each Center of the Institute will drive the following efforts in
shaping and pursuing its research objectives:
= Value Proposition: Each Center is expected to work closely with
a set of external "outreach" organizations to identify and under-
stand their challenges in order to craft research initiatives
that will provide solutions or ideas needed by the outreach
organization.
= Collaborative Advantage: Each Center is to build collaborative
advantage globally for synergy and high impact research.
= Educational Contribution: Each Center is to create value for
professional education through focused studies of today's leader-
ship and management challenges.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Mr. James Fiorillo, one of the first IUJ-MBA graduates, is about to
launch his own equities fund in Tokyo. The following article has
been reprinted from AsiaHedge, Volume 4 Issue 9, June 2004 (www.
asiahedge.com).
-*-
Mr. James Fiorillo (USA)
MBA Class of 1990
Managing Principal, Ottoman Capital Japan
Ottoman's new event fund looks for troubled Japanese equities
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Continuing with the trend towards more specialized investment
strategies in the Asia-Pacific region, Ottoman Capital Japan is a
new company looking to launch a long/short Japan equities 'troubled
company' event fund. The fund, which will focus on TSE 1 compan-
ies, is expected to have a capacity of $250 million in the present
Japanese economic environment and will be launched in late August.
The firm is fronted by James Fiorillo, who is undertaking the
venture with a yet to be disclosed partner, also understood to have
long-standing experience in the Japanese markets. Other team
members are also expected to join up in the near future.
As the 'troubled company' title suggests, Ottoman's Japan Natural
Selection Fund will be focusing upon listed stocks with 'troubled'
aspects to their operations and balance sheets, and experiencing
legal and/or other business or management problems. Fiorillo who
will act as director of research, has 14 years of credit, equity,
political and regulatory analysis, private equity, distressed debt
and lending experience in the markets, most recently at ING
Barings. He has been a top-ranked bank analyst in Asia for
several years. The team is looking for a gross annual return of
about 25%, with maximum 15% fund volatility (target Sharpe Ratio
=1.2).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I will soon graduate from an undergraduate program. May I apply
without work expereince?"
-*-
Yes, you can apply. Work experience is not a requirement for admis-
sion. There are many students who have passed IUJ screening without
work experience.
Here are the Admission Criteria that are used in both the Graduate
School of International Relations (GSIR) and the Graduate School of
International Management (GSIM).
1) Well-defined motivation to pursue graduate studies
2) Demonstrated scholastic achievement at the collegiate level
3) The maturity and sense of purpose essential for demanding educa-
tional experience
4) A personal sense of values consistent with standards and purposes
of IUJ's programs
In GSIM admission, however, the admission committee will look
favorably on worthwhile work experience and international exposure.
It is considered that strong motivation and a clear sense of purpose
for graduate study will be established through working experience.
However, new graduates who meet the criteria are considered for
admission.
The important thing is that applicants are required to meet the
admission criteria of each school.
For more details of admission criteria of each school, please refer
to http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a whole new series from our Career Counselor, a very inform-
ative series to those seeking a successful job-hunting.
<<Introduction>>
Missing a job or internship opportunity because of a stupid blunder
or mistake is enough to make any Career Counselor cry! Over the
next several months, I want to share some mistakes I have witnessed
in the hopes that future IUJ students will not repeat them!
Mistake 1: The Resume (Part 1)
I have seen amazing mistakes on a few resumes that are the result of
not reading them carefully and having them checked. My rule on
campus is if I find these crazy goofs, I get to PUNCH the student!
Take for example a few English typos I have found on resumes:
Instead of saying he had good "interpersonal" skills, the student
claimed skills in "interposal" ¨C or getting in between. Another
embarrassing work mix-up read like this: "Massaged a team of 7
engineers ..." He meant he "Managed" them! One student claimed to
have graduated from a 4-year college in 1909, instead of 1990! Who
wants to hire a 120 year old!
How the information is presented is also crucial. A good, attractive
resume with appropriate white space, consistent formatting and align-
ment are all so very important. An American-styled resume has many
many ways it can be presented. Some are good, some are not. IUJ has
a standard format I teach you about, and I have many examples of good
presentation.
So be careful in preparing your information ¨C big mistakes and
even smaller typing errors or bad presentation can take your resume
directly to the garbage can. I am here to help IUJers get mistakes
off the resumes, make the resume look great, and to provide feedback
to ensure the candidate is present in the best way possible.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Fireworks>>
Did you know that Niigata prefecture is famous for various fireworks
events in the summer? We are happy to introduce you two big,
famous fireworks shows among many:
* Fireworks in Nagaoka city *
Held on August 2 and 3 every year (7:30-9:30pm)
This is one of the biggest fireworks in Niigata prefecture. You may
be surprised to watch gorgeous big fireworks which will rise inces-
santly to the sky, big and long fire falls which will fall down to
"Shinano" river from "Chosei" and "Ohte" bridges, and very big fire-
works called "San jaku-dama," which describes the radius of about
650m. Although you may be able to sit on the bank to watch the fire-
works, you can reserve special seats in advance.
For further information in Japanese, please go to:
http://www.city.nagaoka.niigata.jp/
A shuttle bus will be available between Nagaoka Station and the
riverside, and special local trains will run from Nagaoka Station
for Niigata City or Echigoyuzawa.
* Fireworks in Katakai (Ojiya city) *
Held on September 9 and 10 every year (7-10:30pm)
Fireworks in Katakai became popular when Japan's public TV station,
NHK, aired a morning daily drama, which was enjoyed nation-wide. The
Katakai fireworks has a long history and they were started with the
purpose of dedicating fireworks to the Asahara shrine, located in the
center of the town. With the fireworks, people in Katakai celebrate
many occasions such as coming of age, birth of a first grandchild,
88th birthday, etc. Therefore, this display of fireworks is very
special and the biggest event for Katakai people with their wishes
and prayers. In this festival, you may enjoy "Yonshaku-dama," which
are the biggest fireworks in the world, in addition to "Sanjaku-
dama," which rise from the top of a small mountain. Please try to
feel the power and quivers of "Yonshaku-dama." For further inform-
ation in Japanese, please go to:
http://japan-fireworks.com/guide/katakai.html
In that webpage, you will be guided to special parking places such as
"Hakusan" park from "Ojiya" Exit of Kan'etsu Express. A shuttle bus
is available to connect special parking places and center of
"Katakai" village.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on September 6, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
September 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Online Application Becomes Available as of September 6>>
IUJ's online application system will be activated on September 6.
Please access the following on the 6th and beyond:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<IUJ Worldwide First Friday Held in 30 Cities All Over the Globe>>
IUJ Worldwide First Friday was held globally on August 6. A
report from a Chapter in Canada came in:
Ottawa alumni gather to celebrate IUJ Worldwide First Friday:
-------------------------------------------------------------
The IUJ Ottawa Chapter celebrated IUJ Worldwide First Friday this
past August, the second such event this year! Although 2 alumni
were unable to attend (Vicky Edgecombe and Dian Prodanov), Julie
Boyer, Shannon-Marie Soni and Manuela Popovici had a wonderful
time catching up.
Dian Prodanov: I currently live in Ottawa along with my wife and
2-year-old daughter. I work as a Coordinating Agent at the Medical
Council of Canada.
Julie Boyer: Hello ex-IUJers, I miss all of you especially the '99
graduates! Since I left IUJ, I moved from Toronto to Ottawa to
pursue a career in the federal government. I am now the Manager of
International Bilateral Relations of the Department of Canadian
Heritage. I got married last year to Robert Lee (some of you may
remember him - he visited IUJ) and we recently moved into a new
home. We love to have our friends over so don't hesitate to get in
touch with us if you are planning a trip to Canada's national
capital.
Shannon-Marie Soni: Hello friends! I'm still working at Foreign
Affairs Canada and just received my first diplomatic assignment at
the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York:
Third Secretary, International Security and Disarmament. I'm
moving at the end of August 2004 and will be there until at least
2007 so let me know if you'll be in the Big Apple; I found a great
sushi place already....!
Manuela Popovici: A big hello to all my friends, and a short
update: I worked for two and a half years as a U.N. Volunteer in
Kosovo, Serbia, between 2000 and 2003. Since September 2003, I've
been greatly enjoying full time studies for a Masters degree in
Social Work at Carleton University in Ottawa. I'm interested in
refugee & human rights law and in the impact of the 'war on terror'
on civil liberties, and would like to return to international work
after graduation in 2005.
<<E-Business Management Program Had Its Third Graduation>>
On Friday, August 27, IUJ's E-business Management Program had its
third graduation and produced 27 new gradutes from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. A friendly tone
prevailed throughout the ceremony, and graduates received warm
blessings from their professors, representatives of their sponsor-
ing companies, and all other attendees.
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Upcoming Event Information
September-October 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<IUJ Entrance Ceremony To Be Held>>
IUJ Entrance Ceremony 2004 will be held as follows:
Date: Tuesday, September 28
Time: 10:30-11:30 (to be followed by a reception on campus)
Venue: Community Hall SAWARABI (Urasa 5175, Yamato-machi, Niigata)
The congratulatory address will be given by Mr. Kenzaburo Mogi,
Vice Chairman of Kikkoman Corporation.
<<Open Campus>>
Date: Saturday, October 16
Time: 13:00-17:00
Venue: IUJ campus (Yamato-machi, Minami Uonuma-gun, Niigata)
Content:Program description by faculty members, tour of campus,
casual meeting with students, etc.
Details and application forms will be available on the IUJ homepage
in mid-September.
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP October 7 October 27 ==
October 28 November 16 ==
MBA&E-biz November 5 November 19 November 20
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<IUJ Will Intensively Participate in MBA Fairs>>
IUJ Business School will participate in "World MBA Tour" and "The
MBA Tour" in 9 cities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. This will be
a good opportunity for prospective applicants to meet with IUJ
faculty and alumni and discuss your graduate studies and future
careers!
* World MBA Tour
Los Angeles on September 12 (Sunday)
San Fransicso on September 14 (Tuesday)
Frankfurt on October 16 (Saturday)
London on October 18 (Monday)
For details, please visit the World MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.topmba.com/
* The MBA Tour
Tokyo on September 16 (Thursday)
Seoul on September 18 (Saturday)
Beijing on September 20 (Monday)
Shanghai on September 23 (Thursday)
Taipei on September 25 (Saturday)
Bangkok on September 27 (Monday)
Singapore on September 29 (Wednesday)
For more information, please access The MBA Tour official page:
http://www.thembatour.com/
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Campus Personalities
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<<Internships Reports>>
This summer again, a lot of IUJ students had the privilege of
experiencing an internship. Here are just a few reports from the
internship returnees.
Mr. Mahendra Singh (India)
MBA Class of 2005
Interned at All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
I have always been fascinated by the uniqueness of Japanese corp-
orate culture since the first time I had business interaction with
Japan. The Japanese corporate world, which reached its zenith a
couple of decades back, has diligently maintained its own corporate
business identity and culture. One of the main motives for select-
ing IUJ for my MBA studies was its location in Japan and the
various opportunities which IUJ provides towards working in Japan.
IUJ's Internship Program is one of the these opportunities to
learn Japan and its businesses.
Organizations ranging from Japanese companies, MNCs and NGOs
provide internship opportunities to IUJ students during summer
time. Most students who sincerely seek for internships get them,
but still I was initially worried whether will I be able to get the
right opportunity. I made it a point, that I allocate appropriate
time required for the Internship search along-with the regular
coursework and Japanese language study. Career workshops organized
by Gretchen San and lectures by external organizations have also
been instrumental to sharpen the internship-search tool kit. With
all these, finally I was able to land two prestigious internship
offers, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and National Kidney Foundation,
Singapore (NKF).
I have already completed my ANA internship. It has been wonderful
not only from the perspective of its outcome but also because of
the experience to be a part of Japanese corporate culture. The
selection process for this Internship required strong project
proposal and Japanese language skills. I interned in the Cargo
Marketing Department focusing on China Business Development. All
the executives and the staff members were very helpful and coop-
erative and provided me all kinds of assistance to adjust quickly
to the new work environment. Going for "nomication" (informal
get-togethers over drinks after office hours) with colleagues has
been vital in making strong relations in a short time.
Challenges for an expatriate to work in Japanese corporate culture
are the need for Japanese language skills, adaptability and a
respect for the Japanese style of doing things. Due to the inner
crave to work in Japan; I have been able to successfully take
the changes in my stride.
-*-
Mr. Raafat Mohamad Faruk Hamze (Lebanon)
MBA Class of 2005
Interned at SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
When I first stepped into the Career Counseling office, I had mixed
thoughts about what I wanted to do. I did have an idea about my
preferences, but the fact that I am a career changer left me with
a lot of possibilities, and I didn't want to block any of them. My
first task was to define what I wanted and to aim for it. The
career workshops, as well as the careerleader® helped me confirm
my interest in and suitability for marketing, branding and advert-
ising. The thing is, in these occupations, an intricate knowledge
of both the local language and the local culture is important, but
the fact that my Japanese is almost non-existent did not deter me.
I knew I was looking for a global career, and that, while good
Japanese would definitely open more possibilities, I could still
hit my target. Once I became aware of that, the 'search and
identify' process became a lot easier. Ms. Gretchen Shinoda was
always there to fine-tune my direction, lead me to some opportuni-
ties, and give me all the support I needed while approaching them.
It wasn't long before we had an on-campus presentation for a global
electronics giant. They were specifically looking for people who
are global minded, and who are flexible enough to rotate between
functions and regions before returning for leadership positions
in their own geo-cultural regions. That suited me perfectly, so I
aimed for it. The selection process was not easy, but eventually
people get where they are meant to be, and recruiters know what
you are meant to be, as much as you yourself know it. I did get
the internship. I am now in the middle of it. It is giving me the
opportunity to apply all that stored knowledge, to get a practical
grip on business, and most importantly, to have a cultural experi-
ence, which, in my opinion, is the centerpiece of the internship.
It is not a pure marketing/branding role like I had hoped, but it
is nevertheless very interesting: I am doing strategy and market-
ing planning, and realizing day after day how valuable the know-
ledge I gained in my MBA is. If I prove my capabilities and this
internship materializes into a job offer, which I hope will
happen, there will surely be the possibility of doing exactly what
I want, even if it doesn't come immediately.
That's one thing I learned: things do not come immediately, nor do
they come on a plate of gold. It takes energy, determination,
optimism and an open-mind for things to happen, and when they do,
it's just very, very rewarding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Japanese Language Program>> Part 1
We are happy to introduce the Japanese Language Program. Prof.
Yoshiko Tamaru describes the IUJ's very unique Japanese Language
Program in two consecutive months.
-*-
Why study Japanese at IUJ?
==========================
We are very often asked, "Why does IUJ have formal Japanese
language courses?" It surely is a legitimate question, since all
the courses at IUJ are taught in English and no students need
Japanese language skills to study or conduct research at IUJ. In
1982 when the University was founded, Japanese language education
was actually considered unnecessary. However, there were many
STRONG REQUESTS from international students that they should be
able to study Japanese while studying in Japan and it was decided
to offer Japanese language courses soon after the University
started. IUJ's first president, Dr. Saburo Okita, smiled a wry
smile and said, "Although we are telling the students that they do
not have to study Japanese as the classes will be only in English,
they don't listen. They say they have to study the language."
The Japanese language education at IUJ, started with one faculty
member and 10 students, has now grown to be the Japanese Language
Program (JLP) housing about 100 students every term.
It is considered to be only natural for international students to
want to study Japanese because they chose to study in Japan and
came to IUJ. I believe their motives to study Japanese include to
learn the language of the country they live in now, to make
Japanese friends, to find a job in Japan after graduation, etc.
The important thing, though, is that the Japanese language is the
basic element the Japanese culture and society are built upon. It
is indispensable to be exposed to Japanese society in order to
really know the society and learn about it. I trust that it is
significant that our international students are given the opportu-
nity to receive a formal education of the Japanese language, if you
consider the fact that IUJ is in Japan, offers its education in
English, and is trying to educate people will give contribution in
the world society.
What kind of courses are offered?
=================================
JLP offers not only required courses but also formal elective
courses to those students who wish to study Japanese. I would like
to introduce the outline only here. If you are interested in more
detail, please access the JLP webpage at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/web/iuj_section.cfm?section=16
JLP courses are divided into two categories. One is mainstream
courses with a heavy workload offered to those who want to study
thoroughly. This category includes "Elementary Japanese," "Inter-
mediate Japanese," and "Advanced Japanese." The first series of
the above three levels are offered in the fall, the second series
in the winter, and the third series in the spring respectively.
Elementary and Intermediate classes are given daily from Monday
through Friday. Advanced Japanese classes are offered only three
times a week, but students receive tutorials of 30 minutes to an
hour once a week. To lay a firm foundation of Japanese language
skills, we focus more on listening and speaking, but reading and
writing are also covered to make courses comprehensive. Of course,
learning "kanji" -Chinese characters- is included as well. In
order to achieve strong Japanese skills within two years of
graduate studies, all these course must be very hard with heavy
work loads. Although students struggle calling courses demanding,
they work really hard.
The second category, on the other hand, has fewer class hours and
less work load. These courses are for those students wihtout any
plans to work or study using the Japanese language in the future,
but who are interested in Japanese culture and want to add value
to their studies in Japan. These less heavy courses were started
4 years ago with the purpose of providing as many students as
possible with opportunities for a Japanese language education.
These courses are aimed to improve daily communications, and
listening and speaking are in focus. "Hiragana" and "katakana"
are taught but not "kanji." In this category, "Basic Japanese
1-3," "Basic Japanese 4-6," and "Basic Japanese 7-9" are offered.
"Basic Japanese 1-3" and one of the other two are offered every
year depending on the students' needs. Even if this category
requires less burden than the first category, students still have
to spend many hours studying, and they are not easy courses.
Due to the worldwide diffusion of Japanese language education, IUJ
has more and more students who have studied the language in varying
degrees before coming to IUJ. Most of the Elementary Japanese
students studied a little before IUJ. Those students with no
experience of studying Japanese usually start with Basic Japanese
courses, but recently several such students have challenged
Elementary Japanese and they relatively do a good job. Once they
complete Elementary Japanese, students will be able to spend every-
day life or to make a trip without much anxiety, and to explain
simple matters (e.g., about their own country) in a conversation
with Japanese.
Intermediate Japanese classes consist of second-year students who
completed Elementary Japanese in the first year and first-year
students who have studied elsewhere. The curriculum for inter-
mediate Japanese is designed to build a basis for working in
Japanese-speaking environments, although with some difficulties.
Of course, they will need to make more efforts to improve even
after they join the workforce. JLP considers these students as
the central core group and we hope this group will expand.
Advanced Japanese is targeted at second-year students who
completed Intermediate Japanese in the first year and first-year
students who have studied Japanese at the intermediate level before
coming to IUJ. There are around 10 students who take Advanced
Japanese every year. In class, students use TV shows and newspaper
articles as class materials, and they come to be able to have
debate and presentations based on the materials. Instructors try
to choose materials carefully from politics and economy to Japanese
cultures and society to correspond students' interest. IUJ holds
events such as the Japanese "Happyo-kai" or presentations and Open
Day as well as external interviews. On such occasions, students
from this group take the lead and play the role of communicators
with outsiders.
In addition to these above-mentioned regular courses, the JLP
offers the "Intensive Japanese Program (IJP)" just before the fall
term begins in mid-September every year, lasting 3 days or 5days
depending on students' levels. The main purposes of IJP are to
have newly-arrived students learn "survival Japanese" covering
self-introductions and daily shopping and to provide the opportun-
ity for them to learn "hiragana" and "katakana," heavily burdeneing
their memories before their content studies begin. Approximately
70 students take IJP every year.
What are the characteristics of IUJ's Japanese language education?
==================================================================
1) Tough and demanding
----------------------
Students claim that IUJ's Japanese language courses are "tough and
demanding." This is generally true with any language learning.
It is unavoidable for foreign language education to be tough and
demanding if learners seek effectiveness in acquiring good skills,
unlike English language education in Japan, I might add. I
believe any proper language programs are tough and demanding.
Additionally, IUJ's JLP has two other special circumstances. One
of them is IUJ's English-speaking environment, which limits
students' exposure to the Japanese language outside Japanese
classes. Students feel this limited exposure stronger with the
facts that IUJ is far from town and more than 70% of the student
body comes from outside Japan, most of whom are living on campus.
Another circumstance is that IUJ students have only two years to
study Japanese while studying content courses, conducting research,
and writing theses, and they cannot spend as much time studying
the language as they want. With all these circumstances, JLP has
to be tough and demanding in order to respond to the needs of
students wishing to use Japanese in their future career. It is
the responsibility of us, the faculty members, however, to make
the programs not only tough and demanding but also rewarding to
students by building the curriculum in such a way that they can
feel they have achieved something. Our goal is to have students
say, "Although classes were tough, I am so happy I did it," instead
of saying, "It was fun, but I didn't learn much."
2) Syllabus thought out for students' future
--------------------------------------------
As mentioned before, all classes at IUJ are taught entirely in
English and the Japanese language is not needed for students'
studies and research. The aim of the Japanese language education
at IUJ is set for activating students' external activities and
supporting their efforts in developing their future careers. This
difference in students' needs differentiates IUJ's JLP from
programs in any other Japanese universities. We include business
conversations in Intermediate Japanese to help students' career
development.
Our students have few opportunities to know how much they have
improved without using Japanese in their daily lives and in the
classes they attend. In dealing with this problem, we are trying
to introduce a mechanism where students can understand their level
of achievement in class by making the syllabus result-oriented;
i.e., the syllabus states "what students will be able to do" rather
than "what to learn." Syllabi also indicate desired achievements
each year based on the levels of widely acknowledged tests such
as "Nihongo Noryoku Kentei Shiken," "ACTFL Oral Proficiency
Interview," etc.
Teaching within the two short years, faculty members are required
to try new methods and to continuously go through the process of
trial and error as well as setting priorities what to focus on.
Listening and speaking, as means of oral communications, are given
priority as the current direction of language education today,
but grammar, on which language skills are based is also well taught
so that students can improve their abilities if a need arises in
the future. It is always required of us to judge what to change
and what cannot be changed.
3) Unique systems to have Japanese courses more approacheable
------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ has unique systems that enable students busy with content
studies to study Japanese as much as possible, which cannot be
found in any other graduate schools in Japan.
(1) Credits are given for Japanese courses as electives toward
degree requirements.
(2) Students are given opportunities to study Japanese even without
any prior knowledge of Japanese language.
(3) Students have two options for grading (letter grade or pass/
non-pass) and are released from worries of Japanese courses
lowering their GPAs.
4) Graduates and their involvement with Japanese language on their
career
-------------------------------------------------------------------
What is rewarding to faculty members is to hear from graduates
who have maintained their skills and interest in Japan and the
language. Japanese language skills do not just help someone get a
job with a Japanese corporation but also broaden their career
horizon; e.g., to work in a foreign business in Japan, to do busi-
ness with Japanese corporations overseas using Japanese, to start a
business of their own and have a relationship with Japan, to foster
a relationship with Japan as a government official, etc. It is our
great reward to know the Japanese we struggled to teach our
students is helping their career and to hear them say, "I really
wish I studied Japanese harder..."
-*-
Read more about JLP in next month's issue.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Not so many people can have their dreams come true. Bulgan from
Mongolia did it and got her dream job of working for an inter-
national organization.
-*-
Ms. Bulgan Luuzamdamba (Mongalia)
IR Class of 2003
Research Officer, Save the Children UK
Since coming back to Mongolia, I have been trying different things.
I always wanted to do a policy-related job either for the govern-
ment or an international organization, but at the time of my
arrival I could not find such job.
So, I accepted an offer from Newcom LLC, which I got to know from
IUJ to work as a business developer. This job means to do feasibi-
lity studies of business concepts and, if the concept is workable,
develop a project, business plan, look for potential investors,
and launch that business. I was responsible for a real estate
project that was a very complex concept involving at least two
sectors. I had a team of professionals to help me with various
aspects of the project, and together we were able to give it the
shape of an independent business. I could either move leading this
business or switch to the next concept, which could be tourism, for
example. Despite the fact this was quite an interesting job and my
colleagues there were extremely friendly and nice people, my real
interest lay in the social field and I decided to pursue it.
I applied and got the position of Research Officer at the Save the
Children Fund (UK) and it is my fourth month since I joined here.
I am mainly engaged in a big research project, which studies
implications of migration on the education attainment of children.
We are trying to link the results of the research to broader
poverty issues and depending on these findings, to move to
advocacy and policy work in order to draw attention of policy
makers on childhood poverty. My other responsibilities include
assessment of different projects and certain programme areas and
creation of baseline database for monitoring and evaluation
purposes. I like this job, as it is a good preparation for the
activities I wish to do.
However, just recently I was selected to work as Programme Officer
at the UNFPA Mongolia Office, which I will start next month. This
is the job I always dreamed about. Basically I will participate in
managing and implementing entire programmes, do lots of policy-
related studies and come up with solutions.
Now I can definitely say that all the quantitative courses at IUJ
are worth every minute of effort that I put into them and truly
developed an ability to grasp the situation presented in data.
Exposure to a multicultural and bilingual environment that was fun
and enjoyable sharpened my language and communication skills,
which now give me considerable weight in any situation as a rule.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I would like to know about your undergraduate program/Ph.D. program."
-*-
Unfortunately, IUJ offers neither undergraduate programs nor Ph.D
programs. IUJ consists of two graduate schools that offer only
Master's degree programs. The Graduate School of International
Relations offers two MA Programs: the International Development
Program and the International Relations Program. Both programs are
two years in duration. The Graduate School of International Manage-
ment offers a two-year MBA Program and a one-year E-Business Manage-
ment Program (Master of E-Business Management).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 2: The Resume (Part 2)
Last month I described how typing mistakes and word choices can ruin
a resume. Another mistake I have seen more than once is busy
students forgetting to customize a resume for each company they
submit it to. Often, at the top of an American-styled resume, the
candidate offers a summary of his/her skills --their sales points--
to attract more careful reading of their resume. This section must
clearly reflect information that is relevant for the position and
company it will be submitted to.
Students in a hurry have submitted resumes showing off their inter-
national experiences and language skills, when the position calls
for strong IT skills. More than one student has submitted a resume
indicating their first area of interest as something completely
different from the position being offered. For example, they have
written "Area of Interest: Investment Banking" when applying for an
advertising position in a brand consulting firm.
But perhaps the worst resume I have ever seen is one I almost sent
to Company ABC, a consulting firm based in Singapore, that clearly
stated at the top "Career Goal: To work for a Finance Company in
Japan in an Investment Banking role." That would have landed him an
interview with Company ABC for a career in Singapore!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Art Museums>>
Once the weather gets cool, our artistic senses are hightened. It is
not Paris or New York here, but we do have art museums around IUJ.
* Yamato Town Ikeda Memorial Art Museum (established in 1998) *
Ikeda Memorial Art Museum offers a permanent exhibition with the
collection by late Tsuneo Ikeda, the founder of Baseball Magazine Sha
Co., Ltd., as well as exhibitions of sports culture, a literary
reference room of Lafecadio Hearn, Japanese art, and foreign art.
The sports culture exhibition is especially popular among visitors,
which showcases precious items tracing the history of professional
baseball in Japan, including a designated corner for Mr. Shigeo
Nagashima. It also displays posters of various events such as the
Tokyo Olympics.
When you step out of the museum, you are in a picturesque garden with
evergreen and deduous trees and Mt. Hakkai in front of you as well as
in the calmly riffling water of the pond.
Access: 3 minutes by car and 15 minutes on foot from JR Urasa
Station (10 minutes by car from IUJ)
Open hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed on Wednesdays)
Entrance fee: 500 yen for adults (free for high school students or
those younger)
Homepage: http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~ikedaart/index.html
* Tomioka White Museum (established in 1990) *
Late Soichiro Tomioka, born in Joetsu City in Niigata Prefecture,
developed his own white paint to capture the snow in his mind's eye
and created a "white world" of his own using this paint. He named
his white paint, "Tomioka White." He painted not only the snow
country but also fireworks and starry skies, which pour out serene
power and energy. This museum is located at the foot of Mt. Hakkai.
It will be amusing to see both snowy mountains and Tomioka's white
world in the winter. Occasionally, musical concerts are held.
Access: 30 minutes by car from JR Urasa Station (20 minutes by
car from IUJ), 15 minutes from Muikamachi Exit on
Kan'etsu Expressway
Open hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed on Wednesdays, from December through
March, opens from 10:00)
Entrance fee: 600 yen for adults, 300 yen for highschool, junior high-
school and elementary school students
Homepage: http://www.mynet.ne.jp/white/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on October 4, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
October 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<New Students' Profile>>
In Fall 2004, IUJ welcomed 136 new students from 36 countries and
areas. IUJ now has 255 students in total from 48 countries and
areas. This year Guatemala was added to the list of students'
home countries. Among the 136 new students, 1 IDP student, 8 MBA
students, and 6 E-biz students are corporate-sponsored. Their
sponsoring companies are:
== International Development Program ==
Toho Gas
== MBA Program ==
Aeon
All Nippon Airways
Hokkaido Electric
Matsushita Electric
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance
NTT East
Tokyo Electric
Ube Industries
== E-business Management Program ==
Daishi Bank
DNP Media Create
Fuji Xerox
East Japan Railway
Mizuho Financial Group
Sumitomo Chemical
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
October-November 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Open Campus>>
Date: Saturday, October 16
Time: 13:00-17:00
Venue: IUJ campus (Yamato-machi, Minami Uonuma-gun, Niigata)
Content:Program description by faculty members, tour of campus,
casual meeting with students, etc.
For details and application forms, please see the announcement at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP October 7 October 27 ==
October 28 November 16 ==
MBA&E-biz November 5 November 19 November 20
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<IUJ Business School Will Participate in More MBA Fairs>>
Since mid-September, IUJ Business School has been intensively
participating in the "World MBA Tour" and "The MBA Tour" in 9 U.S.
and Asian cities. IUJ will also tour Frankfurt, London, and Tokyo
with the "World MBA Tour." Those who are seeking an MBA degree,
please come to the fair near you. This will be a good opportunity
for prospective applicants to meet with IUJ faculty and alumni and
discuss your graduate studies and future careers!
* World MBA Tour *
Frankfurt on October 16 (Saturday)
London on October 18 (Monday)
Tokyo on November 4 (Thursday)
For details, please visit the World MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.topmba.com/
<<GSIR Will Participate in Fairs, Too>>
Fairs are not only for MBAs. The Graduate School of International
Relations (GSIR) will participate in the "World Grad School Tour"
in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Those who are interested in
furthering your studies in international relations and inter-
national development, please don't miss this rare opportunity to
hear first-hand advice from IUJ faculty and alumni.
* World Grad School Tour *
Tokyo on November 4 (Thursday)
Hong Kong on November 13 (Saturday)
Singapore on November 20 (Saturday)
For further information, please access the World Grad School Tour
official homepage:
http://www.topgraduate.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of New Faculty Member>>
The International Development Program of the Graduate School of
International Relations welcomed a new faculty member effective
September 1, 2004. Assistant Professor Donghun Kim will teach Basic
Microeconomics, Development Economics, and Industrial Organiza-
tion.
Here are highlights of an interview with him:
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. I finished my Ph.D in economics at Cornell University in 2002. I
taught for two years at the University of Connecticut. My con-
centration is Industrial Organization and Applied Econometrics.
My research has been focused on measuring market power and the
evaluation of effects of new brands on consumer welfare and
incumbent firms' profits for industries in Korea and the U.S.
Q. How did you know about IUJ? And how did you decide to apply for
this position?
A. To answer the question, I need to talk about my career goals.
My career goal is to become a college professor or a researcher
in an established research institution. There are two avenues I
wish to explore to accomplish my goals. First, I would like to
develop expertise in industry analysis. I have taken intensive
training in Industrial Organization and Econometrics, analyzing
various industries in many countries. Through these research
experiences, I am moving along the right track to industry
analysis expertise. My second avenue of exploration is to become
an expert on the Asian Economy. This is a new path I wish to
follow. Regional economic cooperation in Asia has emerged as an
important issue since the 1997 financial crisis. I hope to
understand the Asian economy in greater depth and to contribute
to its development in my work. With my career goals set, I view
the International Development Program at the IUJ as an ideal
environment in which to pursue my scholarly interests. That's
why I applied for the position of an assistant professor at
IUJ.
Q. IUJ is believed to be a very unique graduate school with a
truly international setting and diverse student and faculty
bodies. What was your first impression about IUJ and its
people?
A. Yes, it is very unique. For one thing, IUJ is located in a rural
area with rice paddies and mountains as a backdrop, but its
programs and educational facilities bring cutting-edge knowledge
and high technology to a culturally diverse student body.
Students from more than 40 countries around the world contribute
to a rich variety of backgrounds and experiences to university
life. They share with one another their different views and
ideas about the outside world. IUJ is a microcosm of the world
community. I am very proud to be a member of the faculty and a
colleague to everyone in the IUJ.
Q. What do you think you can bring to this campus?
A. I feel a sense of obligation to my students. In retrospect, my
career decisions and life plans have been critically influenced
by those who have taught me and by the places at which I have
studied. I believe that the education students receive at IUJ
can launch them into successful careers. I would like to help
every one of my students lay a solid foundation for the future.
I am therefore eager to teach economics and interact with them.
-*-
Prof. Kim's Brief Bio
Education
- Ph.D. in Economics, Cornell University, 2002
- M.A. in Economics, Yonsei University, 1995
- B.A. in Economics, Yonsei University, 1993
Academic positions
- Assistant Professor In Residence, Dept. of Agricultural and
Resource Economics, University of Connecticut, 2002-2004
- Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant, Cornell Univer-
sity, 1997-2002
- Economist, The Bank of Korea (Korean Central Bank), 1995-
1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Japanese Language Program>> Part 2
Continued from the last edition, Prof. Yoshiko Tamaru tells about
the IUJ's unique Japanese Language Program.
-*-
Classes offered daily --- hardship and joy
==========================================
When I meet graduates after a long time and talk about IUJ, they
often tell me how hard Japanese courses were. They tell me the
three hardest things in their list were (1) classes started very
early in the morning, (2) daily quizzes, and (3) strict attendance
policy.
Until last year, classes started at 8:50 in the morning, but now
most of the Japanese classes start earlier, at 8:00. (Classes in
content subjects start from 10:30 when Japanese classes end.)
Imagine how hard it is to attend a class at 8:00 in the winter with
a lot of snow outside, and to get up that early after a sleepless
night with exam preparations and writing reports. This would not
be possible unless students lived on-campus dormitories.
Almost all classes start with a quiz, and quiz scores are counted
into grades of the term. Of course, students have homework as
well, and homework submission is also a part of the grades.
Faculty members explain to students that quizzes and homework are
well thought out so that they can study effectively. Students
argue that because they get very busy preparing for quizzes, they
want to not attend a class. In student evaluations at the end of
each term, however, almost without fail they comment, "I would not
have been able to continue if I was not pushed with quizzes and
homework, while studying content subjects."
We set a very strict attendance policy because it is absolutely
important to attend every class to acquire Japanese language
skills. The students who missed more than 30% of total classes
lose the right to take the final exam. We watch attendance care-
fully especially after mid-term exam, and send those in low attend-
ance a warning message.
Of course, students can find joy in the program. What they look
forward to the most now is conversation classes once a week with
volunteers from the local community. They seem to experience a
sense of mastery when they have a conversation freely with "real
Japanese" different from "Japanese professors" and interface with
them sometimes resulting in burst of laughter. Every year about 30
volunteers participate in the class, and all of us in JLP, faculty
and students alike, very much appreciate their great support.
Recently, a few more volunteer groups have been formed and our
students fortunately have more and more chances to interact with
local people, which possibly motivates them further.
Faculty members heavily burdened, too??
=======================================
Currently, JLP has 4 full-time faculty members; Profs. Shizuko
Kimura, Taiji Fujimura, Akihiro Takeuchi, and myself, Yoshiko
Tamaru. Each term we have an adjunct lecturer or two in addition.
Since JLP teaches about 100 students each term, the amount of
administrative work is great. We are lucky enough to have Ms.
Mitsuko Nakajima of Office of Graduate Schools who dedicates lot of
her time supporting JLP.
Although each faculty member takes responsibility for his or her
courses, all of us sit together and make decisions on basic poli-
cies, targeted goals, and syllabi since Japanese language education
requires continuity between different levels and strong teamwork.
Coordinating among courses requires as much effort as planning a
course, and this must be a characteristic of language teaching.
The biggest difference between Japanese instructors elsewhere and
us must be that very close contact with students and strong commit-
ment are required of us. Three of the four of us live on campus
and another lives close by and that makes it possible for our
students to visit us in the office at night and in weekends. It
is not very easy for us, but at the same time, we understand that
contact with us is very important to our students who do not have
so many opportunities to speak in Japanese. Quizzes and homework
that burden our students actually burden us more; we give quizzes
and homewor, collect them, mark and correct them, and return them
to students on the same day so that students can prepare for the
next day. We do this every day and hope you realize it is a lot
of work.
Our goal
========
I have been explaining the outline of IUJ's Japanese education,
and before closing I would like to talk about hope. IUJ is faced
with a big task of how it can respond to changing needs of the
society. JLP must think about which part of the task it can bear.
I would like to think about how we can improve IUJ's uniqueness;
e.g., most of the students live in student dormitories on campus
and the campus is fully equipped with information network. We
should be able to take full advantage of this wonderful environment
to create a very original and more effective Japanese language
education. It is still only a dream, however, since we do not have
enough human resources to develop curriculum, teaching materials,
and software to fulfill that goal.
One another thing I would like to mention is how JLP can help
integrating the "Japan factor" into the curriculum of both graduate
schools. IUJ should have an advantage of being located in Japan,
and I hope JLP can take an important role of helping the integra-
tion. This will not be easy, but collaboration with other programs
is definitely needed to achieve this. I repeat again that it is
always required of us to judge what to change and what not to
change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
We are happy to introduce Mr. Naoki Wakai, who is engaged in IP
businesses at a US subsidiary of NTT Communications.
-*-
Mr. Naoki Wakai (Japan)
IR Class of 1996
Director of International Partnership
Verio Inc.
Denver Colorado, USA
At IUJ I studied an infrastructure provision utilizing private
sector power in South East Asian countries. After I worked in Hong
Kong for three years, I moved to the USA to utilize my knowledge
and experience in Japan and Hong Kong. I am providing IP based
services to US companies in US as well as in Asia.
My study in the IRP covered the political and economic relationship
between Hong Kong and Guangdong province in mainland China, and
also overseas Chinese business networks in Southeast Asia. The
knowledge I gained contributes to my business a lot. Without a
deep knowledge of Hong Kong as a gateway to China and of the para-
digm shift from Hong Kong to the mainland, my business would not
have gone well.
IUJ life out of the classroom gave me good experiences, too.
Whether we liked it or not, we Japanese had to play a main role in
all sorts of activities. Japanese are not accustomed to this. The
IR program, especially, had a lot of foreign students with a small
number of Japanese. It was a great chance for us to learn how to
behave in an international society. My negotiation skills and
flexibility in multi-cultural environments improved remarkably.
This, too, has proved very useful in my current business life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Due to my family financial situation, may I request for an applica-
tion fee waiver?"
-*-
We are sorry but you may not. The application fee is part of your
application. Unless your application is complete by the final dead-
line, including the fee, it will not be reviewed by the Admission
Committee. The application fee is payable by bank transfer or credit
card. International applicants can also pay the fee using 35 Inter-
national Reply Coupons or by an international money order/bank check.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 3: the Cover Letter (Part 1)
As you know from the early articles in the e-campus IUJ series, a
cover letter is an extremely important tool used to demonstrate your
enthusiasm for the specific company and prove your communication
skills. A mistake on that can cancel any chance for an interview.
Typing errors, grammatical errors and formatting mistakes are bad
enough, but nothing like:
Writing to "Dear Mr. Smith:" when the letter is supposed to go to
"Mr. Kuwabara" (it has happened). Having the wrong company name in
the sentence "I have been preparing myself for a long-term career
with Company XYZ . . ." when you are writing to Company ABC. Clearly
stating that you have been "interested in the Non-Profit world since
Junior High School and hope for a long and helpful career in it" when
you are applying to an investment bank. Yep it happened!
But I think the worst cover letter I have ever seen was one about 3
years ago. Not only did it fail to note the student's name on it,
it was ONE sentence long and basically read: "I want to work for you
so please look at my resume." That was it!
When you are on campus at IUJ, I will be happy to give guidance to
avoid these mistakes, AND help you with proofreading. The cover
letter is a major communications devise and must be a useful sales
tool to sell you into an interview.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Hakkai-san Fire-Walking Festival and Fall Foliage Spots>>
IUJ students are lucky enough to have the chance to enjoy beautiful
fall in the countryside. We will guide you to sites where you can
appreciate fall foliage and a local big event, "Hakkai-san Fire-
Walking Festival."
* Hakkai-san Fire-Walking Festival *
This event of the Shinto religion is held on October 20 of every year
at Hakkai-san Shrine and attracts thousands of faithful people. A
big fire is built by the big shrine gate where prayers are offered.
Then the priests walk over the ashes that still have flames in
them, praying for sound health, and a hale and hearty year.
After the priests finish their ritual, other people including IUJ
students join in with an intense and sincere look on their faces.
Access: 15 minutes by car from JR Urasa Station (5 minutes from
IUJ campus)
Homepage: http://www.town.yamato.niigata.jp/hiwatari1.htm
* Fall Foliage Spots *
1) Oku Tadami Lake
The Oku Tadami Region, located on the boarder between Fukushima
Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, flourished as an old silver
mine and was a rarely visited area until about 30 years ago when
the Oku Tadami Silver Line (OTSL) was built. OTSL is 22 kilo-
meters long, and 18 kilometers of it is a series of 19 tunnels.
OTSL brought an easy access to this unspoiled fall foliage spot.
Oku Tadami Lake has the biggest hydroelectric dam in Japan.
Tourists can enjoy a cruise in the lake and cruise ships also
bring passengers to the entrance of Oze. Fall foliage are
most stunning in early- to mid-October.
Access: 50 minutes by car from Koide Interchange of Kan'etsu
Expressway, and an hour from IUJ
A little over an hour by bus from UR Urasa Station
Homepage: http://www.okutadami.co.jp/
2) Saguri Dam and Jujikyo Valley
Saguri Dam is in the upstream of Saguri River, a tributary of Uono
River, and holds a beautiful lake called "Shakunage Lake" or
"Alpine Rose Lake." You can drive around the lake to appreciate
the view. At the far back of the lake is the Jujikyo Valley and
that is the headstream of Saguri River. Very clear water flows in
the valley and there are paths for pedestrians along the stream.
Fall foliage are best seen from mid-October.
Access: 30 minutes by car from Muikamachi Interchange of
Kan'etsu Expressway via "Ikazawa" area
Homepage: http://210.131.8.12/~shinano/visit/53tugi/75/75index.htmhttp://www.hrr.mlit.go.jp/saguri/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on November 1, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
November 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Announcement for Next Issue
*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*
IUJ in the Earthquake -- We are Fine.
IUJ experienced a series of very strong earthquakes over the weekend
of Oct. 23-25. We are about 33K from the epicenter. Campus, students,
staff and faculty are fine. For details, please read the report on
the IUJ homepage at http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Ranks In "Economist's Global Top 100 Business Schools">>
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) announced its 2004 MBA
rankings on October 6. For the last 2 years, IUJ has been in the
top 100 of the global rankings. This year IUJ is placed 84th. In
rankings based on specific criteria, IUJ was 3rd in "Number in
jobs three months after graduation" and 30th in "Open new career
opportunities," both of which show IUJ's strength in job placement.
IUJ is the only Japanese school that made the ranking and is in the
5th among only 8 business schools listed from Asia and Australia.
For further details, please see the EIU homepage:
http://www.which-mba.com/
<<JICA Long-Term Domestic Training Program>>
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is inviting
applications to their "Long-Term Domestic Training Program" from
Japanese nationals wishing to receive a graduate education in a
Japanese university to become international cooperation specialists
for developing countries. Applicants for the Graduate School of
International Relations at IUJ are encouraged to apply. The
application deadline is Wednesday, November 24. For details,
please access the following page:
http://www.jica.go.jp/recruit/daigakuin/index.html
<<Sanyo's Global Internship Program>>
Sanyo Human Network visited IUJ on October 28 to explain to
students about their Global Internship Program. The GIP is design-
ed to spot management-track talent and leadership for Sanyo opera-
tions world-wide. IUJ students were invited to apply for their
internship program for summer 2005. For those selected, and after
careful review of their internship performance and Sanyo employment
needs, job offers are possible in Japan or in students' home
countries.
<<IUJ Resume Book 2005 Released on November 1>>
The IUJ Resume Book, featuring our internship and job hunters, is
now available. Each qualified student works with the Career
Counselor to develop his/her resume for their career pursuits.
Copies are available to corporate and organizational recruiters
and internship hosts. Please contact Gretchen Shinoda at
ccs@... with your full contact information and a bit on your
recruitment needs or intentions.
<<Prof. Shinoda's Commentary on U.S. Presidential Election to be
Aired on Radio>>
Assoc. Prof. Tomohito Shinoda of the IUJ Research Instutite will
comment on the U.S. Presidential Election on FM Radio, "J-WAVE,"
every night from 8:55 to 9:00, November 1 through 5 in a segment of
their "JAM THE WORLD" program called "Macromill Case File." Tune in
to FM 81.3 at 8:55pm!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
October-November 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP October 7 October 27 ==
October 28 November 16 ==
MBA&E-biz November 5 November 19 November 20
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<World MBA Tour>>
Since mid-September, the IUJ Business School has been intensively
participating in the "World MBA Tour" and "The MBA Tour" in 9 U.S.
and Asian cities. IUJ will also tour Tokyo with the "World MBA
Tour." Those who are seeking an MBA degree in Japan, please come
to the Tokyo. This will be a good opportunity for prospective
applicants to meet with IUJ faculty and alumni and discuss your
graduate studies and future careers!
* World MBA Tour *
Tokyo on November 4 (Thursday)
For details, please visit the World MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.topmba.com/
<<World Grad School Tour>>
Fairs are not only for MBAs. The Graduate School of International
Relations (GSIR) will participate in the "World Grad School Tour"
in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Those who are interested in
furthering your studies in international relations and inter-
national development, please don't miss this rare opportunity to
hear first-hand advice from IUJ faculty and alumni.
* World Grad School Tour *
Tokyo on November 4 (Thursday)
Hong Kong on November 13 (Saturday)
Singapore on November 20 (Saturday)
For further information, please access the World Grad School Tour
official homepage:
http://www.topgraduate.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Freshman Voices>>
We are very happy to introduce a new student from the Philippines.
Ms. Jolly D. La Rosa is a junior economist from the national Plan-
ning and Policy staff of the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) in the Philippines. She graduated with a
bachelor's degree in economics and is currently enrolled in the
Graduate School of International Relations pursuing a master's
degree in International Development at IUJ.
-*-
Q. You have a very impressive professional background. What is the
nature of your work before coming to IUJ?
A. The bulk of my work includes analysis of the national inflation
rate and preparation of forecasts on the future direction of
inflation based on a cost-push driven model we developed. Thus,
I need to monitor a lot factors such as supply and prices of
food and crude oil, exchange rates, wages, transportation fares,
water and power rates.
One thing that I liked with my job was when I would oftentimes
rush to prepare the draft monthly memorandum for the President
of the Philippines on the current inflation situation. This
report also includes a short-term outlook on inflation, and
possible policy implications that arise. I especially enjoy
finding out that the inflation forecast I made in the previous
month is on target.
Prior to monitoring inflation, I was assigned to keep watch on
the external sector and prepare periodic external sector
reports. This was my contribution to the 2001 and 2002 Socio-
economic Reports on the Philippines.
Aside from what I've mentioned, my work also includes attending
meetings with the members of the IMF Article IV Consultation and
Post-Program Monitoring Mission in the review of economic polic-
ies, plans, and programs.
Just before I left for Japan, our staff was heavily involved in
drafting the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP),
our economic blueprint for the next six years. My participation
was cut short because I had to leave for my studies here at IUJ.
Nevertheless, I was able to prepare the draft assessment on
inflation and external sector.
Q. Could you tell us why you chose IUJ for your graduate studies?
A. After 3 years of work, I felt I needed to refresh and hone my
analytical skills and knowledge in economics and policymaking.
This is the reason I applied for a scholarship in Japan. I was
accepted to two universities. It was really difficult choosing
between IUJ and the other university. I chose IUJ because of the
culturally diverse campus, which gives me the opportunity to
meet students from more than 50 countries! An enriching educat-
ional experience indeed!
I've been here for only 3 weeks and I already enjoy the campus
life! I love the beautiful scenery, friendly students, and
superb learning facilities! The downside is that I will not be
able to apply for internship due to scholarship restrictions,
but I hope to interact well with my classmates and professors.
I hope I can hone my analytical skills in macroeconomic policy
and help me prepare for further study in Economics.
Q. Any message to the e-mag readers?
A. I hope that we will all have an enriching student life at IUJ
in the next two years. IUJ is a great place to broaden cultural
understanding and recognize, reflect, and celebrate cultural
pluralism.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Assistant Professor H. Lee from the IUJ
Business School. He has a Ph. D. in Accounting from Carnegie Mellon
University. He explains the Management Accounting course he teaches
at IUJ.
-*-
I teach in the MBA Program and my accounting courses help students
to communicate business matters effectively.
Management Accounting is my spring term course. In today's busi-
ness, no company becomes a world class organization without cutting
edge management control systems. The purpose of this course is to
provide a contemporary overview of such a system and develop skills
to facilitate management control. This course also serves as one of
the 1st year foundation courses.
The first part of the course introduces techniques to take advant-
age of cost accounting information in a manufacturing environment.
Best practices from major companies are introduced and their under-
lying success factors are discussed. The nature of skills developed
here is technical.
The second part of the course emphasizes organization control. Here
students develop skills in analyzing the distribution of decision-
making power in a firm, devising effective ways to evaluate each
segment's performance, understanding strengths and weaknesses of
alternative performance measures, and managing a financial conflict
among segments. Although still technical, the skills nurtured in
this part also have a conceptual aspect and can be useful to
general management.
I have spent most of my work time to study incentive problems in
organizations. I like to bring such up-to-date research findings
into the class. They seem to be well integrated into the second
half of this course.
Throughout the course, several contemporary management techniques
are introduced. Recent topics include Activity-Based-Management
(ABM), Target Costing, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), and Economic
Value Added (EVA).
A byproduct of this course is that students are naturally exposed
to internal and external consulting practices by the nature of the
topics. Students often comment that the techniques covered in this
course are readily applicable to their real world consulting
projects.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Dr. Darius A. Spieth (Germany)
MBA Class of 2000
Professor of Art History
Louisiana State University
"IUJ on my Mind"
Ever since I left Japan one sunny day after graduation in July
2000, there has probably not been a single day in my life that my
mind did not wander back to IUJ. In retrospect, the period from the
day I received my admission letter from Japan to the graduation
ceremony was probably the most formative event in my adult life.
The IUJ experience taught me more than just knowledge in finance or
economics - it taught me that one can be competitive while treating
each other with respect and courtesy; it taught me that team work
can be a great experience if there is a common goal, and finally it
helped me establish some of the most enduring friendships in my
life.
The strangest thing about my story is perhaps that I am not working
today for a large investment bank or consulting firm in New York or
Tokyo. Rather, I am a professor for art history at Louisiana State
University in Baton Rouge. I came to IUJ with my dissertation in
art history from the University of Illinois almost finished. There
were risks involved. It seemed suicidal to hope to finish a Ph.D.
dissertation in an unrelated discipline, which required substantial
research in European libraries and archives, while studying 20hrs./
day, 7 days per week, in one of the most demanding M.B.A. programs
around, while picking up on the road Japanese language skills.
But I liked the challenge above everything else. I wanted to demon-
strate that the impossible could be done. Moreover, on my mind,
money and art had never been strange bed fellows. I had made money
with art and antiques since my early teens, and now it was my
intention to use this unusual combination of business skills and
art knowledge to break into the high-roller end of the internation-
al art market. Consequently, I wrote my M.B.A. thesis on the cor-
relation between art price indexes and Japanese stock and real
estate during the "bubble period" of the late 1980s and early 1990s
under Hiraki-sensei.
Three months before the completion of my studies at IUJ, I found a
job for a year at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum. IUJ had
enabled me to arrange a satellite interview with my new boss at
Harvard while still in Japan. I was probably the only aspiring IUJ
graduate to skulk in suit and tie around campus at midnight to go
for a job interview because of the time difference with the U.S. I
defended my Ph.D. only weeks after my arrival in Cambridge, MA.
Harvard was great from beginning to end. During the day I worked
on curating my exhibition project of eighteenth-century Venetian
prints owned by the Fogg Art Museum. At night, however, I would
attend lectures and have discussions with Nobel Laureats, such as
the economist Franco Modigliani.
After my time at Harvard, I returned to Europe, where I finally
landed a much-coveted job with an international player in the art
market. I had responded to a blind ad in Germany's biggest busi-
ness newspaper looking for a registrar of art works. I was intro-
duced under rather mysterious circumstances to an upscale art
gallery in Cologne that dealt in blue-chip works of the classical
avant-garde: Picasso, Braque, Malevich, Kandinsky. I was put in
charge of the gallery's stock, organized exhibitions, edited
catalogues, and took care of the busy schedule of international art
fairs for the gallery and its Swiss subsidiary. The job could best
be compared to that of a rock concert manager with a consultant's
salary and hours. As exciting as it was, it was explosive business,
and getting out of it again was only a question of time.
When my exhibition at Harvard was finally opening after almost two
years of delay, I returned to Cambridge for some days to inaugurate
the show. On the flight back to Europe, I decided the time had
come. I wanted to go back into Academia. Desperately.
I think that there are essentially two kinds of people in the
world. Those who shape it and don't care what others think they
are doing. Then, there is a tiny minority concerned with analyzing
what it all means and conveying this knowledge to posterity. I am
convinced that I belong to the second category, which is why I
accepted a job as professor of art history at LSU.
My life has not been quite that exciting since, but there are great
moments of joy, like for example last year when my dear friend and
IUJ dososei Tang-san wrote me an e-mail saying that Hiraki-sensei
was looking for me. I wrote Prof. Hiraki and it turned out that he,
along with Ito-sensei and Takezawa-sensei, had been busy over the
last months massaging the data of my master's thesis to work my
ideas into a publishable finance paper, which is about to go into
press as I write. In a couple of days I will receive Prof.
Goetzmann from Yale University at LSU, a coryphee in art market
economics, who has shown great interest in this project. I plan to
write a book in the future about the history of the art market, a
task I couldn't dare to take on without my IUJ finance background.
If I had to draw a conclusion from all the above, it would probably
read something like this: Never expect life to follow a linear
course. IUJ cannot manage your future for you, but it can show you
some new perspectives. It can make you discover the satisfaction of
being ichiban. As Nietsche once said, "life is a bridge that nobody
can pass, but you alone." IUJ can show the way to the bridge, but
what comes after it is only up to you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I saw an advertisement for the Asian Development Bank-Japan scholar-
ship program. Please send me an application form for the ADB
scholarship."
-*-
1) ADB scholarship screening process
If you would like to obtain an ADB scholarship, you must apply to
our graduate school and successfully pass our admission screening
first. IUJ recommends candidates to ADB from group of applicants
who are admitted to our school. ADB reviews these recommendations
and makes the final decision in awarding their scholarships.
2) How to apply for the scholarship
If you are an online application user, please apply for the
scholarship online by filling out the "Scholarship" section. If
you are a paper-application user, please submit an "Application
For IUJ Financial Aid for Non-Japanese Applicants" with all other
admission application documents.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 4: The Cover Letter (Part 2)
Last month, I shared a few examples of negligence Estudents who
forgot to change the contents of their cover letters for a specific
company. They used the wrong company name, the wrong recruiter name,
and presented the wrong skills. That danger is so real. When you
are a busy IUJ student, and job or internship deadlines are tight, it
is so easy to simply submit the same information you did last time.
At IUJ we have two deadlines. The "critique deadline" and the
"Application Deadline". The critique deadline, though often
optional,
is the last date you can submit your application to me, your career
counselor, and get good thoughtful feedback. I read it as if I were
the recruiter, and tell you how to make it better. We then work
one-on-one together to get a great letter ready for the specific
company. Does this take time? Yes, but as I will explain when you
come to IUJ, finding a job "is a fulltime job!"
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Annoucement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on December 6, 2004.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
December 2004
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Alumnus Taken Hostage Was FREED!>>
The entire IUJ community is VERY HAPPY about the good news that
Angelito "Lito" Nayan, IR Class of 1999, has been freed on November
23 by the hostage takers in Afghanistan. The other 2 UN staff
members too were freed. They were providing support for the
recent elections in Afghanistan, and taken hostage on October 28.
The circumstances surrounding their release are unclear at this
time, but reports say they are in good spirits, and in remarkable
shape for what they have been through.
Please read the stories accessible from the Alumni Homepage at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/alumni
<<Special Measures for Applicants Suffered from Niigata Chuetsu
Earthquake>>
IUJ is going to take the following special measures for those
applicants who are Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake victims:
1. Admission schedule and venues
As specified in "2005 Instructions for Applicants"
2. Submission of Documents (academic transcripts, letters of recom-
mendation, etc.)
In case necessary documents are lost or cannot be submitted by
the submission deadlines because of the earthquake, individual
measures are to be taken.
3. Admission fee
Earthquake victims* are exempted.
4. Entrance fee
Earthquake victims* are exempted.
5. Tuition
No special measures are to be taken. In the scholarship
selection process, however, the fact of being a victim will be
considered.
* "Victims" are defined as "those residents of 'the areas applic-
able of Disaster Relief Law' prior to the Earthquake." Those
people who are dispatched by companies or autonomous communities
are precluded.
The areas applicable of Disaster Relief Law are listed in the
following webpage:
http://saigai.pref.niigata.jp/content/jishin/kyujoho5.html
<<Emergency Relief Fund from Alumni>>
An Earthquake Relief Fund has been set up for Alumni donations to
help the campus after the Chuetsu Earthquake. The initial dona-
tion goal was 1,000,000 yen to purchase emergency kits for each
dormitory room which include a helmet, no-battery flashlight,
gloves and no-battery radios for selected rooms. We do have more
needs, but this is the initial goal! We need a minimum of 314
sets, but hope to provide 500 sets. Each set will cost an estimat-
ed 3,000 yen. Alumni donations are coming in very steadily and we
have surpassed our initial goal of 1,000,000 yen as of November
25. Thank you, Alumni members!!
<<MBA Students Participated in Business Competition>>
For the first time this year, four groups of IUJ-MBA students
participated in the the Thunderbird Innovation Challenge
(http://www.innovationchallenge.net). 251 teams from 81 business
schools all over the world took part in this competition. Mr.
Manu Bansal, Class of 2005, provided the following sketch of the
competition:
Our team consisted of Jamshid, Seda, Raafat, Madeleine and myself,
Manu. We prepared a business plan for a company named Sunbeam
Kitchen Appliances. The competition was highly competitive with
over 240 teams participating from top MBA schools in the world.
Our team was given the gruelling task of coming up with an innova-
tive idea to improve existing or to create new kitchen appliances
for Sunbeam . The team spent days and nights and came up with an
innovative idea of "Style Cocoons", which was a term given by our
team to the replaceable outer shells of kitchen appliances to match
the kitchen and home atmosphere depending upon the color of walls,
your mood, guests, etc. You can compare it with the outer shells
of your mobile phones which can be replaced. The experience
gained in the whole process was really great.
I hope IUJ will continue supporting students and encourage them
to participate in similar competitions in the future.
<<IUJ Had Another Successful Open Day Despite Aftershock Fears>>
On Saturday, November 13, IUJ Open Day 2004 was held as scheduled.
Since the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake hit IUJ on October 23, many
students as well as faculty and staff members have been under
tremendous stress and feeling fear from the series of aftershocks,
although luckily nobody was injured and not much damage was done
to IUJ buildings and facilities. Under such circumstances, the
cancellation of the event was seriously considered. However,
students finally decided to go ahead and hold it, taking this as a
good opportunity to repay the local community for what they have
done for them and to provide an enjoyable moment to forget about
aftershock fears. Thanks to a kind donation from the Japan Inter-
national Cooperation Agency (JICA), students were able to eliminate
the entrance fee, which is usually 500 yen per person.
Further details and photos, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/OpenDay2004E.cfm
<<IUJ Students Entertained Earthquake Victims>>
A nursing home called, "Yairo-en", near IUJ has accepted the
victims of the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake from another nursing home
in Horinouchi, which collapsed. 50 elderly people and 40 staff
members are into a huddle at Yairo-en since the earthquake took
away their home. IUJ students visited them to give performances of
their countries to cheer up those victims. The three performances
given were Salsa by the students from the Americas, African dance
by African students, and "Yalla Dance" by Uzbekistan students.
Victims enjoyed these rare performances, which brought smiles to
their faces. Victims said to students, "Come again," and students
had a very rewarding day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
October-November 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP December 17 January 14 ==
January 27 February 16 ==
MBA&E-biz February 4 February 18 February 19
<<Admissions Schedule for Overseas Applicants>>
Application Deadline
IRP&IDP February 25
MBA&E-biz January 28
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<The MBA Tour>>
The IUJ Business School now goes to India, UAE, and Turkey for
student recruitment efforts. If you live near the following
venues, please come and meet Dean Chet Borucki and alumni who will
give you first-hand information about IUJ.
New Delhi on January 27 (Thursday)
Bangalore on January 29 (Saturday)
Mumbai on January 31 (Monday)
Dubai on February 3 (Thursday)
Istanbul on February 5 (Saturday)
For details, please visit The MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.thembatour.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<New Members of GSO-EC>>
Graduate Students Organization-Executive Committee, GSO-EC for
short, leads a student body comprised of students from 50 different
countries. We proudly introduce newly elected members of GSO-EC.
-*-
PRESIDENT --------- Alistair Kambobe (IDP 2nd-year, Zambia)
SECRETARY GENERAL - Seda Arat (MBA 2nd-year, Turkey)
TREASURER --------- Valerie Cicero (IRP 2nd-year, USA)
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS -- Satoshi Kurachi (E-biz, Japan)
UMEX AFFAIRS ------ Andrea Cervena (IRP 1st-year, Czech)
DORM AFFAIRS ------ Rudy Automo (E-biz, Indonesia)
Jessie Yaun (IRP 1st-year, USA)
Nitin Kumar (MBA 1st-year, India)
SOCIAL AFFAIRS ---- Raza Kizilbash (MBA 1st-year, Pakistan)
Eiei Han (IRP 2nd-year, Myanmar)
SPORTS AFFAIRS ---- Nazgul Momunjanova (IDP 1st-year, Kyrgyzstan)
Rene Betancourt (IRP 1st-year, Ecuador)
-*-
Here are their words of aspiration:
Andrea Cervena (UMEX Affairs)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My name is Andrea Cervena, I am from the Czech Republic and I came
to IUJ to pursue degree in International Relations. I am part of
GSO-EC serving as a Campus Coordinator. I am available to facilit-
ate cooperation between the various clubs and organizations and
advise the students of the numerous activities available to help
them relax from their everyday hardship of study. I am looking
forward to meeting you all and working together toward common goal
of making our lives at IUJ richer in knowledge and activities.
Satoshi Kurachi (External Affairs)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I am Satoshi Kurachi. My responsibility is External affairs. To
be honest, I have lived Minami Uonuma-city for six years. I was
born in Niigata, and I have been living in Niigata. I can speak
not only standard Japanese but also Niigata dialect. In short,
I am a local inhabitant. I would like to utilize my unique capacity
and experiences for IUJ students!
Raza Kizilbash (Social Affairs)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hey!
My name is Raza and I am from Pakistan. My responsibilities in the
GSO-EC this year relate to Social Affairs. We organise events
(weekend parties, karaoke-nights, etc...) for the general enter-
tainment of the students here. I would like to take this opportu-
nity to ask everyone to participate in making life more enjoyable
for all of us! Your suggestions, ideas and contributions are
always welcome.
Nazgul Momunjanova (Sports Affairs)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For first-year IDP students, the program is very demanding. We do
not even have enough time to sleep. However, I am trying to find
some time to make contributions to our campus life. As a member
of GSO-EC, I am responsible for sports activities together with
Rene. Till now we haven't done any sports activities, because we
were busy with Open Day. In addition to being in charge of one
section of the event, all GSO-EC members worked together to look
after the entire event. We had meetings on Tuesday every week.
During the past 2 months we organized the Open Day event, made
some arrangements regarding earthquake (on behalf of all IUJ
students, we thanked all those people who supported us during the
terrible earthquakes), held some small parties for students, and
solved some other problems.
I think that GSO-EC is a very important organization, because it
really helps both students and staff to deal with different issues.
According to the preliminary schedule of events we have a lot of
interesting work to do as well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Dean and Professor of the Graduate School
of International Relations, Dr. Takahiro Akita. After completing
his master's studies in Social Engineering at Tokyo Institute of
Technology, Prof. Akita, went to the U.S. and received a Ph.D. in
Regional Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
-*-
I am currently teaching three courses: Quantitative Methods for
Decision Making, Research Methodology, and Development Planning,
mainly for students at the International Development Program (IDP)
of the Graduate School of International Relations (GSIR). Quantita-
tive Methods for Decision Making offered this fall quarter is
designed to provide students with a working knowledge of quantita-
tive techniques for economic and management decision-making such as
linear programming, integer programming, and project scheduling
techniques. Linear and integer programming have a number of real
world applications. Examples are transportation network problems,
optimal product mix problems, evaluation of institutions, optimal
project scheduling, assignment problems, location allocation prob-
lems, portfolio selection problems, etc. This course presents a
number of cases to show how the techniques can be used for these
real world applications by employing Excel and LINDO (LINDO is a
Windows-based software package designed to solve linear, integer
and quadratic programming problems).
Research Methodology offered in the winter quarter is one of the
required courses for IDP, and is designed to enhance basic research
skills in management and economics. Topics covered in this course
include survey design, sampling techniques, experimental design,
and statistical techniques for data analysis. These research
methods and techniques are very useful when you conduct survey
research on poverty and income inequalities in developing
countries. This course uses software packages such as Statistica
and EViews to conduct statistical data analyses.
On the other hand, Development Planning in the spring quarter
teaches some techniques and models of development planning and
policy analysis in developing countries. In this course, the
stress is placed on multi-sector development models, which are
used to analyze structural interdependence among economic sectors
in a country. As a tool to construct these multi-sector models,
the course introduces input-output tables and social accounting
matrices in some Asian countries. These tables and matrices are
not only useful in understanding the structure of an economy, but
also in constructing operational models that could be used to
analyze interactions among the sectors of an economy and to
evaluate development plans and policies in a coherent theoretical
framework. This course employs Excel and Gauss to conduct model-
based analyses in Asian developing countries (Gauss is a Windows-
based software package designed to perform matrix-based calcula-
tions).
-*-
To learn more about Prof. Akita, please access his homepage:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/faculty/akita
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Ms. Faith Chimwemwe Kazembe (Malawi)
IDP Class of 1999
Foreign Service Officer
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malawi
REFLECTING ON LIFE AFTER IUJ
It has been 5 years now since I graduated from IUJ. Life after IUJ
has been enriching and challenging and to wrap it all in one word
"exciting." After graduating from IUJ, I returned to Malawi in June
1999 after living in Japan for 7 good years.
Upon my return, I joined an Internet Service Provider called
Malawinet as a Business Development Officer where I worked for one
solid year. Then I moved to my current job as a Foreign Service
Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
My main responsibilities at Malawinet were analysing market trends
and formulating business plans and project areas that the company
could venture into. Never in my wildest dream would I have
imagined to join a private sector particularly in the IT field as my
first full time job. But well, that's how things turned out to be.
My working experience there though, wasn't really far from my career
path since as Business Development officer I had to engage in a lot
of qualitative and quantitative analysis, skills I obtained through
my studies as an International Development Program student at IUJ.
After working with MalawiNet for a year I was sent to Germany for a
short course on IT-Consultancy under the auspices of the Government
of Germany. It was in Germany that I was able to reunite with my
former classmates and friends Asako Miyashita and Angelito "Lito"
Nayan (who is currently kidnapped in Afghanistan) who visited me
during the Christmas season in December 2000. Lito was a UN volunt-
eer in Kosovo and Asako flew all the way from Japan to join us.
During our short reunion we visited the Berlin wall, the Brandenburg
gate and Charlie check point. I was also able to visit Christian
Friedrich Buck (IR 97) at his home where we had a chat about our
careers.
On my return to Malawi I joined the Government of Malawi in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Desk Officer responsible for
regional integration matters. Between 2002 and 2003 I was attached
to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, a
region body based in Botswana that promotes deeper regional integra-
tion in Southern African countries. At SADC, I was responsible for
formulating regional policies in trade, development finance and
investment issues. I travelled extensively in the region working
mostly with the member states of SADC on governmental level and
quasi-governmental organisations.
As I reflect back on my life after IUJ, the education background I
got in IUJ and my living experience in Japan has contributed tremend-
ously in my career path. My current job requires engagement with
people from various nations and working in a multi-cultural environ-
ment. I have travelled in countries such as Egypt, Norway, and most
of the SADC countries and during my visit in these countries it has
been easier for me to adjust and work with the nationals of that
particular country due to my experience at IUJ and the diversity
that it provided. The fact that IUJ has students from all around
the world helps students to learn and appreciate other cultures.
For a student seeking to study in a dynamic international environment
that also offers tranquillity, IUJ is a place to consider.
Now and then I reflect on my life at IUJ, I miss dearly the mount-
ains, rice paddies (in summer), the snow (in winter), Japanese rice
especially koshihikari and the friendly Yamato-machi local
community. I remember staying until 2 or 3 am with Asako and Carol
Lin (IM99) watching our favourite Japanese series and learning
nihongo from Asako-chan.
One thing I have learned in life though is that we may plan the
course of life we want to take and even picture where we want to be
5 years from now, however, life is full of surprises. Some doors will
be opened just as you expected while others will come in a way you
never imagined. So don't be rigid, be open-minded.
* I would like to dedicate this to my friend Lito Nayan who is
kidnapped in Afghanistan because of his passion and dedication to
serve in volatile areas for peace. Lito, my prayers are with you
and may the Almighty God be your refuge and strength.
-*-
(Faith's article was submitted on November 17. As announced in this
emag, Angelito Nayan was freed on November 23. -- Editor)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"How do I travel from Narita Airport to Urasa/IUJ?"
-*-
It takes about 3 hours from Narita Airport to IUJ by express and
bullet train. Take a "Narita Express" in the level 1 basement of
Narita Airport. Transfer at Tokyo station to the Joetsu-Shinkansen
and get off at Urasa station*. IUJ is ten minutes from Urasa station
by IUJ shuttle bus or taxi.
More details are available on the IUJ home page
Travel Directions to IUJ:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/web/iuj_section.cfm?item=010301
Traveling & Schedules:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/oss/travel
* Due to the earthquake in October, the Joetsu-Shinkansen runs only
between Tokyo station and Echigo Yuzawa station and does not stop
at Urasa station until the end of December 2004. If you have plans
to visit IUJ in the near future, please contact us to get updated
information.
(tel: +81-25-779-1104, fax: +81-25-779-1188, email: info@...)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 5: The Interview (Part 1)
You finally got where you want to be: in front of someone who can
offer you a job. They are interested in you, and want to learn more
about you through an interview. It is your chance to shine, or throw
away all hopes of a career with the company by what comes out of your
mouth.
Interview preparation is vital, and IUJ helps with workshops and
practice sessions. It cannot help prepare for every question, but
here are two examples that the students could have avoided if they
had taken advantage of the workshops:
One student was in a 2nd round interview (she had already interviewed
once and beat out several students to continue to the next stage)
with a major American bank. A very basic question was put to her:
"Why do you want to work for us in Japan?" Her reply ended all
further serious consideration. "Because I don't like Americans so I
want to stay in Japan to learn from this bank and network into other
big banks." TWO huge slips. If you don't like Americans, don't
apply to an American company (or at least hide the fact). And never
suggest to a company that you are just using their job to get a
better one later (or at least indicate you want a different role
within the same company).
When preparing for an interview, you need to know as much about a
company as you can, and be sure nothing that offends the company or
shows a lack of knowledge about it can come out of your mouth.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Ski Resorts>>
It is ski heaven around IUJ in December! It is regrettable that
the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake has affected ski resorts badly this
year and a lot of skiers are cancelling their reservations. However,
the "die-hard" shinkansen or bullet train will be restored by the
end of December, and we believe this is a good chance to enjoy skiing
and snowboarding and help those who were hit hard by the natural
disaster. Here are only a few ski resorts among many:
* Oku Tadami Maruyama Ski Resort *
Oku Tadami, highlighted in our October Area Spotlights, is located
on the border between Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture.
Because of its big amount of snow cover, as much as 4 meters at the
heaviest, this ski resort attracts a lot of skiers from as early as
November through Golden Week in May or later, with an intermission
between January and mid-March. Slopes are relatively steep and for
skiers in the intermediate- to advanced-level. But don't be dis-
couraged! They offer very good ski and snowboard classes. For those
who want to get the feel for snow earlier than anybody else, this
ski resort is an ideal.
Access: 50 minutes by car from Koide Exit on Kan'etsu Express-
way, 1 hour from IUJ
Homepage: http://www.okutadami.co.jp
* Hakkaisan Ski Resort *
Hakkaisan Ski Resort is famous for its 3km long full-fledged slope
that has continuous steep and semi-steep hills. From the top of the
gondola station, the awesome scenery of Muikamachi Town and mountain
ranges can be viewed. On clear days, you can even see the Sea of
Japan and Sado Island! This resort has slopes for beginners, and
offers lessons for skiing and snowboarding.
Access: 30 minutes by car from JR Urasa Station (20 minutes by
car from IUJ), 30 minutes by bus from JR Muikamachi
Station
Homepage: http://www.yukiguni.ne.jp/mkankohttp://www.princehotels.co.jp/ski/hakkaisan
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on January 10, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
January 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- New Year's Greetings
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New Year's Greetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni members are IUJ's priceless assets. At the beginning of the
New Year, three of the alumni members sent in New Year's Greetings.
-*-
Mr. Motohiro Ono (Japan)
IR Class of 1989
Senior Researcher
Middle East Institute of Japan
A Happy New Year!
In Iraq, which had been subject of my research for long years, 'happy
new year' has not come yet. The last year was a year of confusion and
disturbance for Iraq. The situation in Iraq gave meaningful suggest-
ions to the international society and Japan. Displeasure and dis-
satisfaction developed into demonstrations in Iraq. Military means
to try to calm the situation led to a resistance movement. Eventual-
ly, such confusion made adequate circumstances for the activities of
professional terror groups. We have to recognize that such groups
did not target 'freedom' and 'democracy' but were against the
policies of the international society including the U.S. and
'injustice.' Miscomprehension cannot isolate terrorism and wipe it
out. The failure of the last year against terrorism may become a
good lesson for the international society and I hope this year will
be the historical year to wipe terrorism out.
-*-
Mr. Takashi Saeki (Japan)
IR Class of 1988
Director and General Manager
Financial Department
TOHO GAS CO., LTD.
"Never Too Old to Study at IUJ"
A Happy New Year, everybody.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt
sympathies for those victims of Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake last
year. I very fondly remember "Kojima-ya," a soba noodle shop in
Tokamachi, "Blue Sky," a pub in Koide, "Tonkatsu Taro," a pork-
cutlet restaurant in Ojiya, and many many more. These are the
places I frequently visited with my family and friends, and have a
special spot in my heart. I Hope the people there will have their
usual lives back as soon as possible.
In 1974, I joined "Toho Gas," a Nagoya-based gas utility company,
and in 1986 when I was 35, I enrolled at IUJ. To my surprise, I was
not the oldest student; there was one student who was older than me!
I was often teased by local people, saying, "Are you a professor?"
and my classmates called me, "Daddy." Nonetheless, everyone got
along with each other regardless of their ages, and I as well as my
family spent two wonderful years at IUJ.
Those two years at IUJ changed my life tremendously.
In 1992, four years after I graduated from IUJ, our company opened up
a New York Office with a mission of opening its windows to the
world. I was appointed the first manager of the Office, and my
family and I moved to New York City. The reason why I decided to
join this company was that there are not many job transfers, and
look what I got. Not only was I sent to IUJ, but also I was being
transferred to New York. Everybody in my and my wife's families
complained about these unexpected changes. However, our lives in
both Niigata and New York turned out to be very enjoyable, although
it must have been because we were there at the right times. Anyway,
my wife and children still talk about our lives there, which they
call "Heaven."
My days at IUJ and the New York Office changed my views, the level
and quality of my energy, and my human network, and I am convinced
that these changes are a big plus both personally and
professionally.
I do not want to exaggerate, but I would not have been in this
position without studying at IUJ. It might be taken for granted for
young people to challenge new things, but even if you are older than,
say 35, it is never too late to knock on the IUJ doors to broaden
your horizon.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my classmates in
Class of 1988 who still share fond memories of IUJ with me, IUJ
faculty and staff members who extended help during my two years,
the local people who were very kind, and my company who graciously
sponsored an "aged employee" like me to study at IUJ.
-*-
Dr. Tomohito Shinoda (Japan)
IR Class of 1986
Associate Professor
IUJ Research Institute
A Happy New Year!
Last year, the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake hit Yamato-machi, the home
for IUJ. Yamato-machi is 20 kilometers away from the epicenter, but
still the earthquake recorded a seismic intensity of 6- on the
Japanese scale (M6.8 in the epicenter, just to give you an idea).
The electricity in the entire town went out after the first quake,
and we experienced 300 aftershocks throughout the night.
The human body reacts interestingly to new environments: after going
through so many aftershocks without being able to see anything, I
realized that my hearing became so sensitive that I could "hear"
earthquakes. First, it sounded "boom!" like a firework, then the
heavy drumming sound came, and a clicking sound accompanied vertical
quakes, and finally vibrations with thuds followed. Those people
who live in town did not hear these sounds because of various back-
ground noises, but I live in a sparsely populated area and could hear
all these sounds. As a result, I gained this very valuable (but not
welcomed) ability of knowing an earthquake is coming about 10 seconds
earlier than other people did.
The earthquakes were a big experience, but another big thing for me
was my book, "Kantei Gaiko" or "Prime Ministerial Diplomacy," which
was published in October 2004 by Asahi Shimbun. The book has been
reviewed in magazines and newspapers and received positive comments.
I argued that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been playing the
major role in foreign policies, but, because national security poli-
cies and foreign policies are more and more integrated since the 9/11
incident, the Office of the Prime Minister has taken over policy
initiative, and that should continue.
I first came to IUJ as a corporate-sponsored student. After graduat-
ing from IUJ, I obtained a Ph.D. in the U.S. and came back to IUJ.
The reason why I chose to become a research fellow is nothing but the
joy I find in conducting research. As a researcher who mainly
analyses current issues, I am engaged in the task of explaining phe-
nomena that cannot be understood merely from press coverage. There
are two approaches of achieving that: to illustrate major changes
through macro analysis, and to explain details through micro analys-
is. I use the latter approach. For me conducting research is just
like fitting pieces of jigsaw puzzles, which cannot be completed only
with press coverage and research materials. I interview politicians
and government officials to fill in missing pieces, and I get intel-
lectually very excited when I elicit something new and unexpected
from such interviews. I feel very lucky to be professionally
engaged in something I truly enjoy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Tea Parties for Potential Applicants>>
If you are considering applying to IUJ, we would like to invite you
to a Tea party in one of 15 cities. The event will be hosted by a
recent IUJ Alumni and give you the chance to talk directly with
someone who has experienced IUJ. They can answer your questions,
provide you with a sense of what IUJ is really like, and help you
make your very important decision. You can also meet others
interested in applying to IUJ, and start to build friendships that
will strengthen while you are on our campus, and that will last
for many years to come. The 15 cities are listed on a special
invitation homepage, along with RSVP instructions. Please visit:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
and click on TEA PARTY in the left-hand menu, or go right to the
page at
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/web/iuj_section.cfm?category=0211
Our Alumni look forward to meeting you!
<<Alumnus Gives Seminar to His Junior Fellows>>
An IUJ alumnus is going to give a special seminar at his alma
mater. Mr. Takuya Kuwabara, MBA Class of 1999, is Manager of Risk
Management Department at Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. and will talk
on risk capital to his junior fellow students.
Date: Friday, January 21, 2005
Time: 2:40-4:10 pm
Venue: MLIC 3F Hall at IUJ Campus
Title: Risk Capital - Management Framework for Financial Institu-
tions
<<IUJ's On-Campus Recruiting Season launches>>
The early Bird Season for on-campus recruiting starts on January 17
and runs through February 25. This is the first time that compan-
ies are invited to come and give corporate presentations, then
interview candidates for jobs and internships. During these 6
weeks, 25-30 companies are expected to recruit on-campus or invite
students to Tokyo for interviews there.
The next session is in mid April to late May.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
January - February 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<IUJ Information Session>>
Date: Saturday, January 29
Time: 2:00-5:00pm (Subject to change. Please see our webpage for
updates at http://www.iuj.ac.jp/.)
Venue: IUJ Tokyo Office (15-21, Roppongi 6-chome)
Profs. Welfield (IRP), Baak (IDP), and Wakayama (MBA/E-Biz) will
give presentations on each program. Also, a tea party with alumni
is planned after the information session.
<<Extended Open Campus>>
Date: Friday, February 25 - Saturday, February 26
Venue: IUJ Campus (777 Kokusai-cho, Minami Uonuma-shi, Niigata)
IUJ Open Campus is held twice a year, but this one is special.
We are planning a two-day Open Campus so that participants can
experience our unique and difficult-to-obtain superb educational
environment. Participants are invited to a simulated class, a
study plan guidance session, a mini Open Day with international
students' performances, and many more, and they will be provided
accommodations in student dormitories. Details will be announced
in the next edition of emag. Please do not miss this golden
opportunity!
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP January 27 February 16 ==
MBA&E-biz February 4 February 18 February 19
<<Admissions Schedule for Overseas Applicants>>
Application Deadline
IRP&IDP February 25
MBA&E-biz January 28
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<The MBA Tour>>
The IUJ Business School now goes to India, UAE, and Turkey for
student recruitment efforts. If you live near the following
venues, please come and meet Dean Chet Borucki and alumni who will
give you first-hand information about IUJ.
New Delhi on January 27 (Thursday)
Bangalore on January 29 (Saturday)
Mumbai on January 31 (Monday)
Dubai on February 3 (Thursday)
Istanbul on February 5 (Saturday)
For details, please visit The MBA Tour official homepage:
http://www.thembatour.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Reports of Field Trip to Walt Disney>>
The "Internet Marketing" class made a field trip to Walt Disney
Internet Group in December. A few students submitted reports to
share their experiences at Walt Disney.
-*-
Mr. Satoshi Kurachi (E-biz Class of 2005, Japan, Daishi Bank)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Needless to say, Disney is the king of entertainment.
I wanted to catch something behind their success. Their strategy is
not challenging, but progressive.
In order to get ahead in the world, they always cooperate with
prestigious companies. When this linkage generates synergistic
effects, Disney can become more progressive. I feel that it may be
Disney's spiral formula for success.
Mr. Takeshi Shakano (E-biz Class of 2005, Japan, Fuji Xerox)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What amazed me the most during our recent trip to Walt Disney Inter-
net Group was the Walt Disney's strong brand awareness. Since they
were ranked first by general consumers in the Nikkei's survey for
2004, of course I had recognition to some extent, but I realized
that their brand strength overweighs much more than my notions
about it before this trip.
To be specific, firstly, many giant corporations such as Intel and
NTT approach them with "sweet" proposals for collaborative busi-
nesses; sweet because Walt Disney does not have to bear any
financial burdens, and the only thing they have to do is to approve
the use of characters they developed, which creates automatic
income for them as registration fees.
Needless to say, however, considerable effort is needed to maintain
such business models, and I heard that they assign many members to
their "branding" department. Mr. Justin Scarpone, Vice President
and Executive Producer, said, "Although I do not have the exact
figure with me, I would say more than 100 staff members world wide
are assigned to branding."
The second thing that impressed me was that everybody who gave us
presentations has total confidence in their businesses and them-
selves. As Mr. Geoffrey Wexler, Senior Counsel, pointed out, their
biggest strength lies on the collective efforts by these individ-
uals with clear awareness to and pride in the Disney brand.
I would like to add that I told them about my idea of "Disney Live
Birthday Card," in which animated characters read the message, and
they kindly gave me a very positive response! If it is ever
commercialized, I want to be the first user.
It was a very meaningful experience for me to have business ses-
sions with such front line global business people, both in terms
of comprehending a master course and of my career development. I
surely hope to participate in such a session if opportunities arise
again in the future.
Mr. Raafat Hamze (MBA Class of 2005, Lebanon)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As a part of the Internet Marketing class, we went on a class
company visit to the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG), where we
had several presentations from key managers in the company. WDIG is
the most successful content provider over the Mobile Internet plat-
form, as well as a very prominent player in Internet broadband
content. In the presentations, we heard about their business
strategies, their Internet and mobile marketing strategies and
programs, and well as the new "Dimo" character project for the
mobile platform.
In addition to being a pleasant and informative trip, it was very
valuable to interact directly with the most prominent movers and
shakers in (mobile) Internet content, to be able to ask freely, as
well as give our opinions and suggestions, which they asked for.
It was also an exceptional opportunity to physically be in the
premises of such an influential player in the entertainment busi-
ness. Reading articles and case studies can be very revealing, but
being there lets you feel the organizational culture, the energy
and personal attitudes of the people, the way they present them-
selves and their company. In a tour of the company offices, we felt
the uninhibited, dynamic yet not stressed out atmosphere, and we
were able to add one layer to our understanding of what sets a
winner apart from the rest of the pile.
The visit to the company is just a part of the learning style of
the Internet Marketing course. It is very lively and puts a lot
emphasis on real, current issues in e-biz, on seeing and under-
standing things as they happen. The company visit fits very well
with the general concept of the course, and we hope to see more of
that in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Prof. Fan Yang of the Graduate School
of International Management. She obtained her MBA from Tel Aviv
International School of Management, and received a Ph.D. in Finance
at the University of Alberta.
-*-
My name is Fan Yang. I obtained my Ph.D. degree from the Univers-
ity of Alberta, Canada. My research interest lies in financial
markets and corporate governance. I am teaching two courses in 2005
winter quarter, namely, corporate finance and financial management
(M&A).
What corporate finance does is to provide a market-oriented frame-
work for analyzing major types of financial decisions made by corp-
orate insiders ? managers. The course is structured into five
topics that are closely related to managers' decision making
process: topic one focuses on the valuation of financial assets,
namely, equity and debt; topic two concentrates on investing in
financial markets, portfolio and risk return relationship; topic
three deals with investing in alternative projects within a firm,
such as criteria in picking up "better" projects, and other capital
budgeting problems; topic four explores how capital structure
affects value of the firm and topic five dips into derivatives and
international finance, to provide the students with some idea on
the frontier of modern finance. I enjoy teaching corporate finance
because it is the basis for all other classes in Finance and a
good start means half done. Ambitious junior managers are primary
targets of this course because it will provide them with basic
tools of finance, and prepare them to be future CFOs.
My message to emag readers: a job in finance is exciting, challeng-
ing and rewarding. Although it takes some effort to get high marks
in finance class, the fun one obtains from practicing finance on
post will eventually pay all the effort back.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I do not have any knowledge about International Relations. Can I
apply to the International Relations program? "
-*-
Yes, you can apply. This question came from a GSIR applicant, but
if a GSIM applicant asks, "I have never taken business education
before. Can I apply to the GSIM program?" the answer will be the
same -- Yes, you can apply. We accept students with various
academic/professional backgrounds. We believe in cultivating divers-
ity in our student body, which is sure to enrich our programs and
contribute to creating a stimulating academic environment at IUJ.
Your academic and professional background will contribute to your
success at IUJ but previous related studies are not a required for
admission. In the screening process, it is much more important to
show your clear career goals, clear study plan and how important
studies at IUJ are to achieving your goals.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 6: The Interview (Part 2)
Last month I described a student who put down a company twice in one
sentence. This month's interview blunder is an example of how a
student put himself down.
He made himself sound like a total loser. To the question: "Why did
you choose to study at IUJ?" he answered "Because two other schools
rejected me so I had to take the IUJ offer." Why would a company
want to hire someone who has been rejected already? "If he was not
good enough for someone else, why would he be good enough for my
company" is the immediate question that comes to the interviewer's
mind.
Further, their respect for IUJ has now gone down. "If IUJ would take
this loser, their programs must not be very worthy and we probably
can't use this candidate." Another impression is that the student
has no real purpose for being at IUJ ? not directed or ambitious so
probably does not know what he wants in professional life. These are
all messages sent by answering a basic question without care.
Be careful to always seem positive, forward looking, and purposeful
in your choices. IUJ has so much to offer besides our quality degree
programs, that this question should be the chance to prove how unique
a candidate you are! How many other people can boast studying in a
mini-UN like IUJ graduates can!? But I won't go into all the great
things about IUJ today!
So let's practice together and avoid career stopping interview
blunders.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Hot Springs>>
It is a very relaxing and blessed experience to sit in an outdoor hot
spring bath looking at snowflakes quietly falling into the water.
We are going to introduce a couple of retro spas you can find only in
snow countries.
* Ikazawa Hot Spring (Yumoto-kan) *
Ikazawa Hot Spring is famous for its mixed bath. Whether you
are a man or woman, you can enjoy their huge outdoor bath, and a lot
of IUJ faculty members and students are their regular customers.
Don't be shy! Especially in the winter, it becomes so foggy that
you cannot see even yourself. Friends and couples enjoy conversa-
tions in this mysterious serenity. This hot spring was a location
site for a daily drama, "Kokoro" or "Heart," which was popular all
over Japan.
Entrance fee: 500 yen
Open hours: 10:00-20:00 (Only residents are accepted on Saturday
and the day before national holidays.)
Access: 15 minutes by car from Muikamachi interchange on the
Kan'etsu Expressway (20 minutes from the IUJ campus)
Homepage: http://www.joy.hi-ho.ne.jp/ma0011/T-Nigata21.htm
* Matsunoyama Hot Spring (Taka-no-yu) *
Matsunoyama Hot Spring, once called a solitary island on land due to
its heavy snow, boasts the highest content of boric acid in Japan
and is one of the 3 great medicated baths. They have been success-
full in reserving the atmosphere of a hot spring resort of old times.
Also, a famous festival, where a new groom is thrown down to snow
from 5 meters above and his face is painted with ink from the
jealousy
of other single men, is held in Matsunoyama Town.
Entrance fee: 400 yen
Open hours: 10:00-22:00
Access: About one-hour drive from Muikamachi interchange on
Kan'etsu Expressway via Tokamachi (1 hour 20 minutes
from IUJ)
If you take a train, get off at Echigo Yuzawa on the
Joetsu Shinkansen or Muikamachi on Joetsu Line, and
transfer to Hokuhoku Line and get off at Matsudai
Station. Then take a bus or a taxi. It takes about
1 hour from Echigo Yuzawa and 40 minutes from Muika-
machi
Homepage: http://www.matsunoyama.com/http://www.jalan.net/kanko/SPT_166168.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on February 7, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
February 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- We Will Answer Your FAQs
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<All IUJ Students Are Safe!>>
On December 26, 2004, when a big earthquake struck deep under the
Indian Ocean, triggering massive tsunamis, IUJ students were
scattered all over the globe vacationing. All IUJers were
concerned about students' safety. Very fortunately, every single
student came back to school after the winter vacation. We would
like to express our heartfelt condolences to those who lost their
lives. May their souls rest in peace.
<<GSIR Homepage To Be Renewed>>
A new website for the Graduate School of International Relations
will open in early February. Under the slogan of "Cultivate the
World! Cultivate Yourself!" the Homepage describes GSIR's concept
for better international relations, international cooperation, and
international development. The image of the blue earth throughout
the homepage suggests a brighter future. Please check it out at:
http://gsir.iuj.ac.jp/
<<IUJ's On-Campus Recruiting In Full Swing>>
IUJ on-campus recruiting running from January 17 through February
25 is currently in full swing. Just to give you a few examples of
the activities, on January 19 and 20 a headhunter and HR personnel
from a consulting firm visited IUJ to have interviews with
students for jobs and internships. Both of them were impressed
with the IUJ students they met. And on Sunday, January 23, an
alumnus from Singapore who graduated in 2004 and is working at a
Japanese company came back to campus to give advice to students
about job and internship search. He covered getting through
Japanese interviews and interviews with Japanese companies, the
general job situation in Japan, and and several other related
topics. His talk encouraged some of the students to focus on
Japanese companies as their target.
<<IUJ Ski Day Held>>
One of the events students really look forward to in the winter
term is the IUJ Ski Day. This year's Ski Day was held on Sunday,
February 6. More than 100 students participated and spent a day
on the slopes. Even those students who have never seen snow in
their whole life enjoyed skiing (and falling), with instruction
from students, faculty, staff, and local people with advanced
skills. Every year, some of the students cannot help going back
to slopes after this day on and grow into ski freaks!
<<IUJ Unplugged Night>>
"IUJ Unplugged Night," a music event, is held annually in the
winter term. This year it will be on Saturday, February 26 from
7:30pm at the MLIC Hall in the IUJ campus. Mr. Sohei Nakayama, a
founder of IUJ, wished that students, faculty, staff, and their
families and local people could interact actively through music,
and his wish came true in the form of a chorus group, "Nakayama
Singers." Everybody is welcome to this acoustic music event to
relieve stress from daily studies and work! Also, Nakayama Singers
is inviting musicians who would like to perform at this event. If
interested, please email at nsingers@... by Tuesday, February
22, with your name and title of the music you are performing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
January - February 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Expanded IUJ Open Campus>>
Date: Friday, February 25 - Saturday, February 26
Venue: IUJ Campus (777 Kokusai-cho, Minami Uonuma-shi, Niigata)
IUJ Open Campus is held twice a year, but this one is special.
We are planning a two-day Open Campus so that participants can
experience our unique and difficult-to-obtain superb educational
environment. Participants are invited to a simulated class, a
study plan guidance session, a mini cultural festival featuring
performances by international students, and much more, and they
will be provided accommodations in student dormitories.
For details and application, please go to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<IUJ Information Session>>
Date: Saturday, March 26
Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Venue: IUJ Tokyo Office (15-21, Roppongi 6-chome)
A tea party with alumni is planned after the information session.
For details and application, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP March 28 April 11 ==
MBA&E-biz February 4 February 18 February 19
March 25 April 8 April 9
<<Admissions Schedule for Overseas Applicants>>
Application Deadline
IRP&IDP February 25
MBA&E-biz March 25
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Students Give Consolation to Niigata Earthquake Victims>>
On October 23 last year, the Niigata Chuestu Earthquake hit IUJ.
Thankfully, campus experienced no injuries or structural damage.
Students, however, were not entirely happy, because they knew there
were a lot of local people who were victimized and lost their
homes. Students took this as a good opportunity to repay what
they owed to the local community by visiting these victims and
cheering them up. One of the students sent in a report of one of
such visits.
-*-
Ms. Muna Al Tarawneh (Jordan)
International Development Program
In Niigata prefecture, at the feet of the high mountains and bet-
ween the green fields, the International University of Japan (IUJ)
seems as an island that has different faces, languages and origins,
yet similar feelings and hearts. But actually this international
university is not a separated island at all; it is connected from
all sides with the local people of Minami Uonuma shi in Niigata
prefecture. The earthquake that happened in Niigata prefecture
last October 23rd, made this feeling obvious, though it was not
clear enough for some of us. The earthquake was big for most of
the international students who never experienced this kind of
natural phenomenon before. The first priority was to listen to the
news, where is the epicenter of the earthquake? Was it as big as
we felt it? What is the size of destruction? How can we help?
Some of us started to get worried about their friends in the other
areas or the nearby city of Niigata.
We, as foreign students in Japan, always get great help from the
local people. And during the days that followed the earthquake, we
felt that we should do something to help the people who were
affected by the earthquake. First we decided to hold the IUJ Open
Day as planned on November 13th just like any other year. Open Day
at IUJ is one day in which the local people visit the university to
chat with the students, try the food cooked by students from
different countries, and watch traditional cultural performances of
those international students. We wanted the local people to come
and participate with us to show that we overcame the earthquake's
effects together. Yet, some of the people could not attend the Open
Day, the elderly people of the area. The home for elderly people in
Kawaguchi town was totally destroyed, so the health authority
brought them to Yamato town hospital. When the Snow Flakes Club at
IUJ invited the students to visit the Nursing House in Yamato
Hospital, all of us felt that this was our opportunity to volunteer
and do something to support the local people who have supported us
continuously. This visit, organized by the Snow Flakes Club with
the participation of some students, faculty members and the
University staff to the old-age home in Yamato town mainly to do
some of the Open Day's performance in front of them, talk to them,
and to cheer them. The students performed dances from Latin America
and central Asia, and a dance performed by African and Middle
Eastern students. The students danced together with some of the
hospital staff to cheer up the elderly people of both Yamato town
and Kawaguchi town, and then drink some tea and have nice and
relaxing conversations with the elderly people who expressed their
happiness to have the international visitors, Japan's guests. Some
of us could not speak Japanese but feelings were more important
than words. We could interact, exchange smiles and support each
other much better than any language could do.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Natural Disasters and International Cooperation>>
Academic Spotlights usually features academic courses and instruct-
ors, but this month it talks about a current topic, for a change.
IUJ President, Dr. Ippei Yamazawa, shares his thoughts on recurrent
natural disasters worldwide and what we can do in tackling these
disasters.
-*-
Natural Disasters and International Cooperation
Dr. Ippei Yamazawa
IUJ President
Deadly tsunamis that rose as high as 10 meters in the Indian Ocean,
triggered by an earthquake with magnitude 9 on the Richter scale
(or seismic intensity of 8+) on October 26, 2004, hit large areas
including Aceh in Indonesia, Phuket in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India
and the Maldives, destroyed houses, roads, and many other facilit-
ies, and killed more than 210,000 people. Many of the residents
and tourists are still listed as missing. Rescue efforts are in
full swing.
While the TV was showing damage caused by the tsunamis, a memorial
service was held for the lost lives in the Hanshin Earthquake that
occurred 10 years ago on January 17, 1995. It was an inland earth-
quake of a seismic intensity of 7+, destroying 250,000 houses and
killing more than 6,400 people. Only last year, the population in
Kobe bounced back to the level before the earthquake, and the city
has been restored. However, there are still many people devastated
economically and psychologically after losing their family members
and friends.
In the evening of October 23 last year, an inland earthquake of a
seismic intensity of 7+ hit the mountain areas of central Niigata
Prefecture, and IUJ's surrounding towns had many houses destroyed
and suffered great damage from land slides. Luckily, there was no
injury or damage of buildings and facilities at IUJ. Yet, many of
the international students without any experience with earthquakes
were horrified with aftershocks that lasted for more than a month
and with the fear that another big quake might hit them again. The
plains in Niigata Prefecture were struck with a major typhoon last
July, causing flood that took away levees, water-logged houses, and
damaged most of farm crops of the area.
You can list this many natural disasters around Japan alone, and
they destroy in a split second the civilization human kind has
built. We can see many records of natural disasters in history,
and we lament over them thinking there is nothing we can do about
it.
However, there is a movement that has emerged in the last 10-20
years; an international cooperation in disaster prevention and
relief of victims. That is done not only by the government but
also by NGOs. Just to give you an example, after the tsunamis off
the coast of the Indian Ocean, the Government of Indonesia, the
epicenter of the earthquake, called NGOs for urgent relief support
after its emergency meeting on January 6. On January 17, a confer-
ence of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction was held in Kobe and they put together a proposal to
develop a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean region.
The bigger a natural disaster is, the less the governments can do
by themselves. Cooperation from private sectors will be critical.
Thanks to information technology, a regional disaster is instantly
broadcast worldwide and many groups of NGOs can head to the region
for relief. Good faith, however, is not enough. It is required to
act quickly knowing exactly what is needed in affected areas.
Organizing ability and precise know-how are essential in order to
deliver relief goods and needed personnel in time.
IUJ, founded in 1982 with the aim of educating future global
leaders, has been teaching international relations and internation-
al management. I think it is a good time for us to re-recognize
that international human resources are not just for businesses and
governments. People who can devote their time and effort to inter-
national cooperation for disaster reduction and victim relief are
truly needed. I would like to build in courses to foster such
personnel to the IUJ curriculum.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Mr. Yaoyu Yang (China)
MBA Class of 1996
CEO, Advast Investment Inc.
After 8 years with UBS and JP MORGAN in Tokyo, I decided to start
Advast Investment with my business partners. Advast Investment Inc
is an investment management firm based in Tokyo, focusing on Japanese
and Chinese markets, discovering undervalued private and public
companies, structuring transactions and partnering with overseas
strategic investors, with its partners in China, Japan and the US.
The firm is prepared to bring well-informed ideas, capital together
to achieve outstanding performance.
Advast Investment is dedicated to value addition and value creation.
Our investment thesis is to become large shareholders and substant-
ially enhance the value of investment companies and then realize our
goals through trade sales and listings. Since August 2004, we have
already had two successful exits. In October 2004 one portfolio
company was taken over and the other was ranked No. 1 undervalued by
a respected Japanese economic magazine. Both stocks doubled in the
following week, and this brief track record has further confirmed
our investment strategies. Our aim is to provide superior returns for
our clients, shareholders and other stakeholders. We want to be
socially responsible and good corporate citizens. In addition to
financial investment, we also plan to establish a media capital fund
to invest and export Japanese/Chinese content to help Japanese
companies reduce advertisement costs in China and contribute to
international cultural exchanges.
We make investments in companies with market caps up to $100 mm,
provide professional service without the expensive costs of large
firms and are confident in our competence. Part of Advast Investment
will be pledged as a donation to IUJ. Two IUJ alumni are on the board
- Han Jing (IM96) as corporate auditor, Hiroyuki Katsumi(IM99) as a
director. Our IUJ experience and network will add to our ability to
grow. We are still open to funds for equity and capital for manage-
ment. You or your company are welcome to talk to us at
yyy@... either to invest in Advast Investment as a venture
capital investor or have us as pension fund manager. We are also
available to discuss any investment opportunities in Japan or China
or Japanese and Chinese stock markets to our mutual benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We Will Answer Your FAQs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
During the last 10 months, we provided answers to frequently asked
questions. The following lists all these questions so that you can
go back to specific issues to find answers to your questions. Not
only that, we included FAQs we have been answering in our emags in
Japanese as well. Hope you will find them helpful!
-*-
[English emag]
March 04 ---- Where is the IUJ campus located?
April ------- I am from Singapore. All my education in my country
until my bachelor's degree has been conducted in
English. Am I exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement?
May --------- My TOEFL score is 530. Can I apply to IUJ?
June -------- I am not Japanese. I am in need of some financial
assistance or a scholarship to study at IUJ. Can I
apply for a scholarship to IUJ?
July -------- Do I need to submit GMAT/TOEFL scores to apply your MBA
Program?
August ------ I will soon graduate from an undergraduate program.
May I apply without work experience?
September --- I would like to know about your undergraduate program/
Ph.D program.
October ----- Due to my family financial situation, may I request for
an application fee waiver?
November ---- I saw an advertisement for the Asian Development Bank-
Japan scholarship program. Please send me an applica-
tion form for the ADB scholarship.
December ---- How do I travel from Narita Airport to Urasa/IUJ?
January 05 -- I do not have any knowledge about International Rela-
tions. Can I apply to the International Relations
program?
[Japanese emag]
March 04 ---- Do you have a cut-off score for TOEFL?
April ------- I have taken a TOEFL exam in the past. How long are
the scores for TOEFL/IELTS good for?
May --------- You have 4 admission intakes for domestic applicants.
Does each intake have a fixed number to admit?
June -------- I am finishing my undergraduate studies soon and do not
have any work experience. Can I still apply?
July -------- I cannot send in my TOEFL score by the admission dead-
line.
August ------ Do you accept scores for English tests other than
TOEFL?
September --- I do not have any knowledge in international
relations.
Can I still apply for the Graduate School of Inter-
national Relations?
October ----- I would like to see the IUJ campus.
November ---- Do you disclose interview questions from the past?
December ---- It is difficult for me to ask professors at the under-
graduate university to write me a letter of recommend-
ation as I have not been in touch with them. Can
the 2 recommenders be my bosses at work? Or can they
even be my acquaintances unrelated to my work?
January 05 -- What kind of jobs do graduates get?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 7: The Interview (Part 3)
Body language in an interview is very important. Good posture, an
interested expression, good eye contact are all important. Appear-
ance too counts. Sometimes an interview can be over within 2
minutes because these first impressions are bad. Clothing choices,
good hair cuts, and a nice smile are important. But sometimes a
great interview can turn bad with the last impression.
Take this example of a lady who was interviewing with a Japanese
company. The interview ended, and she got up to leave the room.
Her skirt had gotten caught underneath her chair, and as she tried
to stand, it tripped her and she went crashing into the door. A
positive 20 minutes ended in embarrassment.
One student was so nervous he never took off his coat during the
interview. Realizing his blunder at the end of the interview, quickly
took his coat off to shake hands before leaving the interview room.
But perhaps the worst exit I have witnessed was a student who
faithfully placed the interviewers' business cards in front of him
on the desk. A very professional and culturally astute move. But
at the end of the interview, he simply left the "meishi" on the
desk -- he forgot them. Even worse, another student stood up for
the interview table and swept the business cards across the room
with his hand as he prepared to leave.
Appropriate dress, good body language, and professional movements
count! Let's practice.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Winter Festivals>>
People in the snow country in the old days came up with the ways to
enjoy the cold season. Thanks to them, today we have various fun
festivals to appreciate outdoors in the winter. Let's put on warm
clothes and go to these festivals!
* Tokamachi Snow Festival *
Held on February 19 (Sat) and 20 (Sun) (Shortened this year because
of the earthquake. This is usually held for 3 days from the 3rd
Friday of February.)
All the snow festivals in Japan followed this festival in Tokamachi,
first held 56 years ago. The snow carnival, usually held on
Saturday,
is called off this year due to the earthquake disaster, but more
than 20 plazas will be set up here and there in town. Snow sculp-
tures in various sizes are made by town residents and stalls welcome
people with hot foods and drinks.
Access: 20 minutes by car from Muikamachi interchange on the
Kan'etsu Expressway (40 minutes from the IUJ campus)
If you take a train, get on Hokuhoku Line either from
Muikamachi or Echigo Yuzawa and get off at Tokamachi
Homepage: http://www.city.tokamachi.niigta.jp/snowfes/56/index.html
* Shiozawa "Seppu" Festival *
Held on Saturday, February 19 from 4:00-8:45 pm
Shiozawa, the home of Bokushi Suzuki (1770-1842), the author of
"Hokuetsu Seppu" or "Snow Country Tales: Life in the Other Japan"
illustrating the daily life in early 19th Century, holds "Seppu
Festival" on the 3rd Saturday of February every year, commemorating
Bokushi's work and life. This year's festival is the 21st. After
about 1,000 candles are lit, Buddhist sermons are given by mountain
priests and kabuki dances are performed in a very mysterious
ambiance. Also, people enjoy scrambling for rice cakes and having a
special soup called, "Seppu Nabe," in a big pot.
Venue: Shiozawa Community Center Ground
Access: 15 minutes by car from Muikamachi interchange on the
Kan'etsu Expressway (30 minutes from the IUJ campus)
10 minutes on foot from Shiozawa Station on Joetsu Line
Homepage: http://www.shiozawa-rta.gr.jp/
* Minami Uonuma-shi Snow Festival *
Held on Saturday, February 12, at 12:00 noon to Feb. 13 at 9:00 pm
Last November, Yamato-machi and Muikamachi merged to become "Minami
Uonuma-shi," and accordingly, "Muikamachi Snow Festival," changed its
name to "Minami Uonuma-shi Snow Festival." On the specially prepared
snow stage, historic local performing arts are exhibited. Off the
stage, there are various events happen such as a big bonfire, snow
caves, etc.
Venue: Next to Muikamachi Elementary School
Access: 5 minutes by car from Muikamachi interchange on the
Kan'etsu Expressway (20 minutes from the IUJ campus)
10 minutes on foot from Muikamachi Station on Joetsu Line
Homepage: http://www.yukiguni.ne.jp/mkanko/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on March 7, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
March 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- IUJ Trivia New!
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Students Explain the Status of Earthquake-Affected Areas>>
The Sumatra quake on December 26, 2004 killed many people. Two
months before that, there had been a big earthquake in Niigata
Prefecture where IUJ is located, and, being able to sympathize well
with the disaster-hit areas, people here started saying to each
other, "Is there anything we can do to help?" With that as a
trigger, on February 5, a symposium was held where IUJ students
from badly affected areas reported the status of India, Indonesia,
Sri Lanka, and Thailand and all participants sought ways to give a
hand to these countries. For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/SumatraSymposiumE.cfm
<<The Tsunami UONUMA Support Organization Set Up>>
At the February 5 symposium introduced above, the "Tsunami Uonuma
Support Organization (TUSO)" was founded to connect the two areas
-- the Sumatra and Uonuma region, both affected by natural
disasters. TUSO is raising funds for tsunami victims and the
fund-raising campaign will continue until March 20, as the first
phase. The date was set so that IUJ students from tsunami affected
countries can carry funds home during the spring vacation to
purchase needed items for children. For more details, please
access:
http://www.umex.ne.jp/E/new.cfm
<<IUJ Tea Parties Were Held in 15 Cities Worldwide>>
Tea parties hosted by IUJ alumni were held in 15 cities worldwide
in Bangkok, Beijing, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Istanbul, LA, London,
Manila, New York, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Toronto,
and Ulan Bator. Participants gave favorable comments, saying
they obtained a better understanding of IUJ's educational
environment and campus life.
<<Four Students To Graduate from GSIR>>
There will be four students graduating from the Graduate School of
International Management in March. Two of them are IDP students
sponsored by the Malaysian Government, and the other two are IRP
self-sponsored students. Everybody at IUJ wishes them success in
their new lives.
<<Many Seminars Offered in February>>
IUJ hosts many seminars and special lectures throughout the year.
Just to give you an idea, those seminars held in February were:
Feb. 10 GSIM Special Seminar
"Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at British American
Tobacco Japan"
by Ms. Patricia Bader-Johnston
Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs
British American Tobacco Japan Ltd.
Feb. 10 IUJ Convocation
"Structural Reform of the Japanese Economy"
by Professor Yoichi Okita
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Feb. 18 GSIM Special Presentation
"Foreign Business - Government in Japan and the issues
they negotiate"
by Mr. Donald Westmore
Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce, Japan
Feb. 23 IUJ Convocation
"The Pension Scheme in Japan: Problems and Reform Efforts"
by Professor Noriyuki Takayama
Hitotsubashi University,
Institute of Economic Research
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
March - April 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<IUJ Information Session>>
Date: Saturday, March 26
Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Venue: IUJ Tokyo Office (15-21, Roppongi 6-chome)
A tea party with alumni is planned after the information session.
For details and application, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP March 28 April 11 ==
MBA&E-biz March 25 April 8 April 9
<<Admissions Schedule for Overseas Applicants>>
Application Deadline
MBA&E-biz March 25
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Students Give Consolation to Niigata Earthquake Victims>>
IUJ has established exchange partnerships with many respected
schools in Asia, Europe, and North America. Mr. Kim went on
exchange to Yonsei University in Korea, and here is his report on
his life there:
-*-
Mr. Anton Kim (Uzbekistan)
International Development Program
My experience of being an exchange student at Yonsei University,
Korea is easily the most interesting, academically rewarding, and
challenging part of my life. Despite staying in a foreign country
for 4 months unavoidably means challenges, frustrations and dis-
appointments, what comes to my mind now when I think about it is
great professors, extraordinary personalities, Korea's natural,
cultural and architectural wealth and, of course, an omnipresent
sensation of discovery. You live the very short but intense life
of a butterfly that lives only one day and has to do and see too
much to get bored.
Yonsei University is a striking contrast with IUJ. It is Korea's
oldest, richest and one of the biggest universities with a student
body of approximately 30 thousand and an impressive campus, spread
over 100 acres of land in the center of Seoul. Surrounded by
several of Korea's major universities it represents a great place
in terms of academia, offering professors with Ph.D.s from
Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkley, as well as competent and
competitive classmates that come from all over the world. In this
kind of environment, I felt that the level of intellectual
activity is high and at times overwhelming. Koreans study more
than anyone I have seen and even though my attitude towards study-
ing has never been too serious, when you are in the crowd of 30
thousand people that run, you begin running yourself.
Despite the fact that I found a general choice of classes to be
quite rich, offerings were a little weak when it came to economics-
related subjects. I guess Yonsei is best fitted for those who are
into International Relations, rather than International Development
fields of study. There is a decent choice of MBA courses and many
regional courses that cover Asia, US, Japan, and of course Korea.
In fact, courses on Korean economy, politics, society, language
are taught by the world's most renowned experts and scholars so I
assume taking those classes could be fun. As for me, I took quite
a heavy load of 18 credits, which means that I had to allocate most
of my time to academic activities. Contrary to my expectations,
lectures were not dull and moreover I can state without any
exaggeration that my professors and classmates were the most
interesting people I have met.
In my leisure time, I derived a lot of utility from Yonsei's
favorable location at Shinchon district of Seoul, which is the
center for young people's life. There, choices are endless and
tempting, food is fabulous and cheap, the neon of the dance clubs
is dazzling and tempting, and your friends just keep pulling your
unaware body from bar to bar.
Korea is really small, and you can see all of it if you really want
to within one semester's time. Transportation is one world cheaper
than in Japan and places of stunning natural and architectural
beauty are conveniently clustered in only a few cities. English
language support of tourists in Korea is remarkable. I think any
tour guide can tell you more about it than I do, so I just refer
you to it from this point.
Of course, my life in Korea was not without challenges. The
language barrier was the most difficult one to overcome as well as
that strange feeling of being a foreigner that prevents you from
becoming really close to Koreans and isolates you in a way from
local people. Sometimes you just get tired of playing this expected
role, but there is not much you can do really, so in my case I had
to confine my communication to international students and
foreigners among who I was able to lose this feeling of being
"foreign."
To sum it up, life in Seoul and studying at Yonsei can be both
great and miserable. If you are a good planner, easygoing, ready
to live in a fairly conservative environment, then I would
recommend Yonsei to your attention. I would also recommend it if
you are none of these things but you like to study hard and are
looking forwards for quality learning.
P.S. Going to Yonsei is best if you like kimchi too :).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Course and Instructor>>
Dr. Ibrahim Kushchu
Graduate School of International Management
Professor Ibrahim Kushchu has been working for IUJ for more than
three years now and he is currently involved in teaching founda-
tions of web technologies, mobile business strategies and customer
relationship management courses. These courses are basically for
e-Business Management Program but they are also electives for MBA
students. He is also director of Center for Organisal Dynamics and
Innovation, one of the new research centers of IUJ Research Insti-
tute. His educational background is in business studies (BSc and
MBA) and he also holds an MSc (Edinburg) and a PhD (Sussex) in
artificial Intelligence.
Mobile Business courses are being very popular all around the
world and Dr.Kushchu's offering is also taking a lot of attention
from e-biz and MBA students but a significant attention from the
exchange students. Here is a brief about the course from the
syllabus:
"The move from e-commerce to e-business and recently to m-business
brings in various business applications and services through
internet enabled mobile devices. These are new technologies,
services and business models which are quite different from
traditional e-commerce or e-business. In many aspects m-business
is complementary to traditional e-business but its real value comes
from those applications and services which cannot be implemented
through wired devices and infrastructure. M-business is powered
through not only "anytime" but also "anywhere" concepts. Moving
even further m-business offers applications and services that are
"context-aware". Soon mobile devices will become our wallets or
id cards and be sensitive to our preferences and context of
business interactions."
Prof. Kushchu is a leading researcher on Mobile Government: an
umbrella of research involving e-government and mobile technolog-
ies. His dedicated efforts in this field lead to establishing
three major conferences (Euro, Americas and Asian mGov conferences)
on mGovernment, first of which, the EURO mGOV 2005, is to be held
in UK during July 10-12; a research center with an on-line mGov
resources site (www.mGovLab.org). He is editing the first book on
mobile government to appear late 2005. He has been giving inter-
national talks on various aspects of the mobile government, mobile
business and advances in web technologies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Mr. Bouna Ndiaye (Senegal)
IR Class of 1989
Program/Outreach Coordinator
Duke University
IUJ CHANGED MY LIFE
In May 1987 I decided to go to Switzerland to visit my sister on my
way to Senegal, knowing that after Senegal I was going to Japan to
pursue my graduate studies. That trip was stimulating and fun.
Seeing my young nephew was a treat. On my third day, my brother-
in-law who works at the UN Headquarters invited me to attend the
opening ceremony of the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference On Trade
And Development). He assured me that it was going to be very
interesting. The Keynote speaker is a very well known Japanese
scholar, he said.
I was very perplexed then, but knowing that I was going to Japan in
that Fall, I decided to go and find out what UNCTAD is all about,
and what can come out of those big forums. The speaker, Dr. Saburo
Okita eloquently gave his talk and received from the public a
standing ovation. It was then that he coined the term "Globali-
zation."
I went on to Senegal to spend part of my holidays with my family
and played soccer for my neighborhood team. Then, it was time for
me to come to Japan. I did all my orientation reading to avoid
culture shocks. When I arrived at Narita airport, my dear friend
Dr. Ken Chujo who went to Duke University was there to welcome me.
He then took me to my hotel where I slept for 24h. When he came
back to see me the next day, I was playing with my TV remote
control to find a program that can be of interest. Everything was
different and new. I ended up watching a Samurai movie in Japanese
even though I did not understand a word of Japanese. The theme
song of that program sounded so good that I later made a composit-
ion based of it. Then I took the shinkansen and arrived at Urasa,
the home of IUJ.
I never thought I would end up liking IUJ. The scenery is very
charming, but it takes a lot more to get me attached to an area.
I was unable to listen to the radio stations I knew, I was away
from friends and had no place to go. Thanks to my outgoing
personality, I was able to make friends rapidly, and started to
look at what needed to be done on campus what would make life more
interesting and meaningful.
My transition periods at IUJ would have been difficult if it was
not for the caring and devotion of Sato San who always worried
about our wellbeing and smooth integration. That led me to expand-
ing my different activities on campus by working for the computer
center, and leading a band "Bouna & Bounettes." Soon, I felt the
need to push my boundaries further, making friends in neighboring
towns and getting involved with the school systems in Shiozawa high
school where I volunteered teaching English, and inviting kids
from that school to come to visit me on campus so that we can play
soccer together. I went to Nagaoka with my friend Nasu San to
volunteer for the Anti Apartheid art exhibit.
After few months at IUJ, I attended the open lecture by Professor
S. Okita. I never met him before, nor did I know what the "S."
(his first name ) stood for. He entered the room soon after we
got in. And sure enough, he was the man who gave this memorable
address in Geneva. I was so happy and honored to be in his
presence again. At the end of his lecture, I went and talked to
him, reminding him of the talk he gave at the UN Headquarters in
Geneva. He was very pleased to learn that I was there.
IUJ gave me more than concepts and problem solving tools. It
taught me learning to live together with others, being involved
with the community and making a difference. When I left IUJ, I
went back to my country to work with Coopers & Lybrand, dealing
with USAID, the World Bank, and the UNDP development projects. I
enjoyed that part of my life, but wanted to change to a different
and less stressful industry. I was hired to look at the internal
controls of North Carolina Central University for six years before
joining Duke University where I currently work. My regular jobs
never kept me from my community involvement. I felt a great need
for cultural diversity in the area I live in North Carolina. I
then decided to create a radio program at WNCU 90.7 FM
(www.wncu.org). That was a difficult task because the station's
management was afraid that a change in programming lowers the
ratings of WNCU which was a jewel among the "straight ahead" Jazz
stations in the US. I taught myself everything I needed to know
to run my own show which is now The reference in the area.
Being a good citizen compelled us to think globally. When I
listened recently to a National Public Radio report on Malaria in
Sub Saharan Africa, I decided to run a campaign to help solve the
problem. It was a successful endeavor. I was able to send malaria
cure to my country. My 2005 Malaria campaign will start tomorrow.
I hope I will be more successful in saving people's lives. I am
not sure that all that would have been possible without the
exposure and guidance I had at IUJ.
No matter how far I roam, my heart will always return to IUJ. IUJ
has changed my life Ein a good way!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 8: The Interview (Part 4)
Preparing for a job or internship interview is the most important
research project you have at IUJ (well except for your Master's
thesisE). And how you go about it, the time you give it, can
cre-
ate your future or miss the chance of a life time.
I have seen students go into interviews without any preparation and
come out very embarrassed. One student, as he sat down for the
interview, thanked the recruiters for the chance to interview with
Company ABC, but he got the company name wrong! It had recently
merged with another company and the student had not taken the time
to keep up on the news surrounding this company.
In response to a simple interview question from a consulting firm,
"What do you know about the work of a consultant?" replied, "I don't
feel I need to fit into the traditional consultant model as I bring
a new way of looking at problems to the work place." What he implied
was, "I do not know, but think I would like to do it anyway."
One student asked, at the end of his interview: "Is your company a
Japanese one or a foreign one?" That is something you know before
going to the interview. At least 20 hours of research should go into
every interview. Resources on campus, from among our alumni
volunteers, and the Internet, can make research easy. But the time
and dedication must come from you.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia New!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"IUJ Trivia" is a new column to introduce IUJ from different angles
from what Homepage and brochures can tell you. Let's see what
treasure we can find in our search!
<<Founding Father of IUJ -- Mr. Sohei Nakayama>>
To commemorate the first "IUJ Trivia," we are going to take up
IUJ's Founding Father, Mr. Sohei Nakayama.
About 30 years ago, several well-wishers of the Japanese industrial
circles shared a strong desire to nurture "English-speaking Toshio
Dokos*" and that is where the idea of IUJ came from. IUJ was
founded in 1982 with a strong support from the Japanese industrial,
financial and educational communities and from the local communit-
ies. Many corporations advocated the concept and mission of IUJ
and have given tremendous support to IUJ in the forms of
donations and dispatching their employees as IUJ students, support
that continues even now.
Mr. Nakayama played the major role of bringing the IUJ concept
to reality. He was born on March 5, 1906, and has just turned
99. Currently, he serves as the IUJ Senior Advisor as well as
Chairman of the IUJ Promotion Committee, and is at work almost
every day at the IUJ Tokyo Office in Roppongi with strong wishes
for IUJ's steady growth based on IUJ's mission.
After Mr. Nakayama graduated from Hitotsubashi University (then
Tokyo University of Commerce) in 1929, he joined the then
Industrial Bank of Japan (IBJ). Being a special bank, the survival
of the bank was endangered soon after World War II. Mr. Nakayama,
however, was engaged in strenuous negotiations with the GHQ in the
capacity of Credit Manager or Reconstruction Finance Manager and
convinced them to keep the Bank after the war. IBJ ended up
achieving a very important task of supporting Japan's high economic
growth and economic recovery financially. Mr. Nakayama started
being called the "Kurama Tengu** of the business world," from
around this time. He continued to fill important positions in
IBJ; appointed as a Board Member in 1947 at the age of 41, and
President in 1961 when he was 55, and kept going as Chairman,
Advisor, and Senior Advisor.
Mr. Nakayam is a very important figure in Japanese industry. To
give only a few examples to back that up, he served as the Chairman
of KEIZAI DOYUKAI or the Japan Association of Corporate Executives,
he helped intensify the external competitive edge of Japanese
industry by reorganizing the securities businesses and maritime
industry, and he gave great contributions to promote international
cooperation and showed the direction Japan had to take.
* Toshio Doko was appointed the President of Ishikawajima-Harima
Shipbuilding (then) in 1960, the President of Tokyo Shibaura
Electric (currently Toshiba) in 1965, and the Chairman of Nippon
Keidanren or the Japan Business Federation in 1974. In 1981,
he took the position of the Chairman of the second temporary
council of research on public administration system and dis-
played his uncommon shrewdness in administrative reform and
financial reconstruction, especially in the areas of the
deficit of Japan National Railways and rice issues.
** "Kurama Tengu" is one of the most popular fictional heroes in
Japan, known as a master of sward. The author, Jiro Osaragi,
published 47 books on this figure for 40 years between 1924 and
1965.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Naked Men's Festival>>
March 3 is generally a girls' day in Japan, but NOT in Urasa. It is
the day for the "Naked Men's Festival," one of the Japan's three most
exotic festivals. The Naked Men's Festival is held in Urasa's
"Bishamon-do" temple grounds on March 3 every year. In prayer for
abandunt harvest and safety of the family to the principal image of
"Bishamon-do," men in minimal costumes push against each other
howling, "San-yo! San-yo!" IUJ students are found among these men
every year.
The pushing is said to originate in the people about 1,200 years ago
competing to give prayers to God Bishamon more quickly than others.
The participants in "Sarashi," a strip of white cotton garment to
wrap their bodies and white cotton short pants, march to the
precincts of "Bishamon-do" chanting "San-yo! San-yo!," jump into the
cold water in groups of 3 or 4 to purify their bodies, and enter the
main building with much excitement.
What warms up the festive spirits even more is the four big candles
set on the four pillars of "Bishamon-do." Inside the main building,
more than 50 men push against each other with steam coming out of
their bodies. It gets even more exciting when a group of young men
holding big candles comes into the building leading a man in a white
costume riding on other men's shoulders. This man in white throws
rice cakes and other things of good fortune at the pushing men, who
scramble for the goodies. "San-yo!" comes from this scattering
motion, which is "sanyo" in Japanese.
At about 10:00 pm, the festival's finale "Sasara-suri" starts.
"Sasara" is a Japanese traditional musical instrument made of thin
strips of bamboo bundled together. The "Sasara-suri" was started as
God Bishamon loved the sounds of rubbing "Sasara." A dance song
accompanied by "Sasara" has been inherited by the local people, and
every man at the festival walks inside the building in circles to
this dance song.
The festival closes in solemnity with embers of the candles.
Date and Time:
The festival starts from the evening of March 2 and
continues to the night of March 3. Although there are
day programs, highlights begin at around 7 pm on the 3rd.
Venue: Urasa Bishamon-do Temple
Access: 5-minute walk from JR Urasa Station on Joetsu Line
Homepage: http://www.town.yamato.niigata.jp/osiai1.htmhttp://www.jcc.co.jp/WWW/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on April 4, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
April 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
* EVERYONE AT IUJ EXPRESSES HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO THOSE WHO WERE
STRICKEN BY THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN SUMATRA ON MARCH 29.
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- IUJ Trivia
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Prof. Watanabe Assumes Vice Presidency>>
Dr. Shinichi Watanabe, Professor of the Graduate School of Inter-
national Relations, has been appointed IUJ Vice President effective
March 1, 2005. He will primarily assist President Yamazawa in
completing IUJ's self-assessment process and implementing reforms
in the University's curriculum and management.
<<IUJ's Actions Toward Protection of Computer Processed Personal
Data>>
A decade ago, it was not unusual at all to see Post-Its with a
password for email or online shopping affixed on a PC monitor. It
was as if to say, "Please steal my password!" Of course, we do not
see that any more, but it is worth reminding yourself of the
importance of managing your password safely.
As of April 1, 2005, the Act for Protection of Computer Processed
Personal Data is being enforced in Japan. IUJ has been handling
personal data in a very careful manner, but we realize the need to
protect these data through a securer system in a securer environ-
ment by securer people; ie, who understand the importance of
protecting personal information and are able to make responsible
actions accordingly. In order to achieve that, IUJ has given
workshops to its faculty and staff members who have access to
personal data to raise awareness and to teach people how to protect
personal data.
Personal data leaks can be brought about by floppy disks left
on the desk, computer memory, a PC that has been left on, or
misplaced documents. We recommend that YOU take a look around you
and check things out from the viewpoint of data protection. It is
certainly NOT enough to cross out your password on a Post-It stuck
on your PC monitor.
<<Interim Report of On-campus Recruiting>>
The first round of this year's "On-campus Recruiting" ended on
February 25. On-campus Recruiting provides students with
opportunities to interview for jobs and internships while at IUJ.
During the period, 15 corporations visited IUJ and 16 corporations
conducted telephone interviews. Fifteen students out of 50 intern
candidates have been placed or are expecting offers as of this
date. Four out of 47 job candidates received an offer and 9 are
nearing an offer. The second round of On-campus Recruiting is to
start in mid-April and will continue until the end of May. Best of
luck to those candidates!
<<IUJ Welcomes Two New Faculty Members>>
IUJ welcomes 2 new faculty members as of April 1. Associate
Professor Ryuta Kato with a Ph.D. in Economics from the University
of Essex, will teach in the International Development Program.
Assistant Professor Kerimcan Ozcan from Turkey has a Ph.D. in
Marketing from the University of Michigan and he will teach in the
MBA Program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
April - May 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<IUJ Information Session>>
Date: Saturday, April 16
Time: 2:00-5:00pm (tentative)
Venue: IUJ Tokyo Office (15-21, Roppongi 6-chome)
Just before the last admissions deadline for residents of Japan
for 2005 enrollment, this month's session features private
consulting sessions with faculty members. Don't miss this chance
to learn what IUJ offers you!
For details and application, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP April 26 May 12 ==
MBA&E-biz May 6 May 20 May 21
<<Admissions Schedule for Overseas Applicants>>
Applications for overseas applicants for 2005 have closed.
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of New Faculty Member>>
The Graduate School of International Management welcomed a new
faculty member effective January 1, 2005. Assistant Professor
Tomoaki Shimada will teach Operations Management and Supply Chain
Management.
Here are highlights of an interview with him:
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. I have been PhD Candidate in Management at INSEAD since 2000. I
expect to earn a PhD degree by the end of this academic year.
My research area includes supply chain management, electronic
data interchange, B2B e-Commerce, and buyer-supplier relation-
ships. Specifically, I am interested in information sharing in
a supply chain, opportunism in principal-agent relations, and
the evolution of electronic supply chain networks.
After completing my BEng degree in information science at Kyoto
University and my MSc degree in information science at the
University of Tokyo, I worked at A.T. Kearney in Tokyo. I then
worked in Singapore as a manager for a manufacturing company
(Framatome Connectors), an IT company (Fujitsu Computers), and
a venture company in the area of marketing and sales. During
this time, I also earned an MBA degree from the NUS (National
University of Singapore).
Q. How did you know about IUJ? And how did you decide to apply
for this position?
A. I got to know about IUJ when I was working for A.T. Kearney.
One of my colleagues had been a banker before he joined A.T.
Kearney, and he earned his MBA from IUJ.
I decided to apply for the academic position at IUJ for the
following four reasons. First of all, I can closely work with
the Japanese companies in Japan for my ongoing research
projects. In addition, I can develop new research opportunities
with Japanese companies. IUJ is not very far from Tokyo, where
many of my contacting companies are located. Secondly, I would
like to teach and write research papers in English, which is a
global standard for business studies. Thirdly, I like the
diversity in IUJ in terms of students and faculty members. In
INSEAD, we have a total of 73 PhD students from 23 nationalit-
ies, and 147 resident faculty representing 33 nationalities. I
would like to continue to work in an international environment.
The last reason is very personal. I would like to stay close to
my family members, that is, my wife and daughter. The accommoda-
tion inside the campus is ideal for me. In addition, I would
like to live and bring up my daughter in an environment full of
nature.
Q. What do you think you can bring to this campus?
A. I can contribute my expertise in OM/IS (Operations Management/
Information Systems) to research, teaching, and consulting
activities in IUJ. It seems that research is not very active in
IUJ except for several faculty members, and I would like to
stimulate research activities in IUJ. I believe research is
vital as it is one of the decision factors of the MBA ranking.
INSEAD is often ranked No.1 outside U.S.A. (e.g., in Business
Week, Financial Times, and Forbes). This is because INSEAD
could successfully move from teaching-oriented business school
to research- and teaching-oriented school at the beginning of
1990s. The active research environments attracted many well-
known faculty members from all over the world, and subsequently,
they attracted quality students. For example, IMD in Switzer-
land continued to be a teaching-oriented business school, and
as a result, IMD is normally ranked lower than INSEAD. In
contrast, the positive example might be NUS (National University
of Singapore). NUS's research activities increased its ranking
in Asia, though most of the MBA students are part-time.
Prof. Shimada's brief Bio
Education
- MSc Management, INSEAD, 2002;
- MBA, National University of Singapore, 2000;
- MSc Information Science, University of Tokyo, 1995;
- BEng Information Science, Kyoto University, 1993;
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
IUJ's student body boasts great diversity in culture, history,
religion, ethnic background, educational background, and career
path. As far as careers go, Mr. Vanndy Hem is a perfect example.
When not an Economic and Finance Officer for the Asian Development
Bank in Cambodia, he is running a unique Art Gallery out of his
home at #50, St. 432, Phnom Penh.
Mr. Vanndy Hem (Cambodia)
IR Class of 2002
Economics and Finance Officer
Asian Development Bank
"Sunrise Gallery" was established with the ideal of presenting the
best of Khmer paintings in an environment of comfort, appreciation
and satisfaction. It offers a variety of paintings from oil paint-
ings to watercolor, to acrylic, to impasto to pencil sketch. The
gallery offers a selection of Khmer renowned artists. It sells at
fixed prices to make customers' purchases more comfortable. The
paintings are also made by our master artists to meet the
standard international size and preference.
Within its facilities, it also offers a venue for appropriate art
exhibitions. Inspired by the concepts of e-commerce from the E-
business Management Program at IUJ, we are going online. But at
its very early stage of development, the first phase is merely to
make international orders available with local payment arrange-
ments. Our next step is to make online order and payment avail-
able. Please view our website at www.cam-sunrisegallery.com.
It was built and maintained with the support of my friends in
Japan, whom I still communicate with frequently to keep me abreast
of what is going on in my favorite place. The website contains all
major paintings and styles available at the gallery. I do not see
this only as a commercial venture, but as a way of getting the
world to see and appreciate the quality works of our local artists.
We are pleased to welcome IUJ's emag readers who will be visiting
Phnom Penh to our gallery. The gallery will exhibit a series of
paintings about Krama (the Khmer scarf) in the near future. You
will have the opportunity to appreciate its benefits and how it is
used in various circumstances in Cambodian society and daily life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 9: After the interview EFollow up (Part 1)
I have watched students lose job opportunities and miss internship
offers because of what they do, or DON'T do after an interview.
After all the work of preparing a great resume, a customized cover
letter, and preparing hard for the interview, some candidates seem
to stop moving after they leave the interview room. But it is now
the real campaign begins.
You have been face-to-face with people who can help decide your
future. Silence on your side is not how to proceed. Just recently,
7 students interviewed for one internship slot with a company. Only
1 student sent a thank you letter. Guess who got the offer? Thank
you letters for interviews are more than a professional courtesy.
They are a chance to express your heightened interest in having
learned about the company and met people inside it. You can rein-
force something you said, or mentioned something you forgot to say,
in the interview. And much more.
That said, there are topics you must avoid in this Thank you letter:
namely money. While you can ask what the next step is, that next
step will never come if you ask how much they plan to pay you!
Those few words have cost at least one student dearly.
So don't stop after the interview. The work has just begun to get
that job. But proceed with professionalism!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<What are the first IUJ degree recipients doing now?>>
IUJ has produced 2,055 graduates up to date. Among them, there are
the 3 people who received the very first IUJ degrees granted in MA,
MBA, and MEB. Let's see who they are and what they are doing now!
First person to receive an IUJ MA degree - March 1985
-------------------------------=========-------------
* Hiroyuki Abe *
CURRENT POSITION - Fuji Television Network, Inc.
Senior Director, News Center, Economic News
Fuji Television
Economic and Political News gathering
Bureau Chief and Correspondent in New York Bureau
News Anchor for 'News Japan', a nightly news show
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (1979-1992)
Export Division, Middle East
Corporate secretariat
Overseas Parts Purchasing
Overseas Business Planning Div.
Current initiative, project involvement . . .
News gathering in the Economic field
First person to receive an IUJ MBA degree - June 1990
-------------------------------==========------------
* Shoichi Asami *
CURRENT POSITION - Nippon Life Insurance Co.
Miyazaki Branch
General Relationship Manager of
Corporate Customers
A loan officer for 5 years till March 2004 in Toyama and Saitama,
and now engaged in corporate insurance sales including pensions.
First person to receive an IUJ E-biz degree - August 2002
-------------------------------============--------------
* Kyoko Asada *
CURRENT POSITION - Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
Project Leader, Business Planning Group
Broadband Business Dept. Unit
Current position is to plan and manage the product development
projects of our network outsourcing service, "beat"
http://www.net-beat.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Cherry blossoms viewing spots>>
After the very heavy snow, we at IUJ cannot expect cherry blossoms to
open up any time soon. Hopefully, the trees will start opening at
the end of April. IUJ has walkways lined with cherry blossoms,
generously donated by Japanese corporations and IUJ alumni. The
trees are still young and short, but IUJ might become a beautiful
cherry blossom viewing spot someday.
* Osaki Dam Park *
Osaki Dam Park near Hakkaisan Shrine, famous for its Fire-Walking
Festival has a sand control dam with thousands of carp in it lined
with cherry blossoms planted by the local people. The pale pink
cherry blossoms in clear contrast with the fresh green in the back-
ground can be appreciated. There is a very good soba noodle shop
nearby and this spot is one of IUJ students' favorite spots to
relax and appreciate nature.
Access: Within 10-minute drive from IUJ campus. Drive Route
219 toward Muikamachi and turn left at the Hakkaisan
Shrine sign. (20 minutes by car from Urasa Station)
Best viewed: End of April to beginning of May
Homepage: http://www.town.yamato.niigata.jp/damu1.htmhttp://www.yukiguni.ne.jp/explorer/077.html
* Koide Park *
Uonuma-shi, city next to Minami Uonuma-shi, where IUJ is located,
has Koide Park in its Aojima district. Situated on a hill, the Park
views the town of Koide, the Uono River, and the snow-patched mount-
ain range called the "Echigo Sanzan" or "three mountains in the
Echigo region". This Park is lit with lanterns at night, and people
enjoy viewing cherry blossoms then. There is a hot spring called
"Komami-no-Yu" within 10 minutes by foot.
Access: Within 20-minute drive from IUJ campus. Take Route 17
toward Nagaoka and turn left at the traffic light
near the Koide I.C. You will find a parking area of
the Koide Ski Slopes or of "Komami-no-Yu".
(If you take Kan'etsu Expressway, turn left and go
straight to cross Route 17.)
Best viewed: End of April to beginning of May
Homepage: http://woman.excite.co.jp/garbo/sakura/spot_50118.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on May 2, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
May 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- IUJ Trivia
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Team Among Top 8 in Worldwide Business Competition>>
An IUJ team of MBA students has successfully been short listed in a
business plan competition organized by the National University of
Singapore. The team members are Katrin Dziergwa (Germany), Liem
Thanh Nguyen (Vietnam), Farkhod Niyazov (Uzbekistan), and Hiroshi
Okasaki (Japan). This competition has two preliminary rounds,
plus Semi-Final and Final rounds. The IUJ team called "URASA"
cleared round two to become one of the top 8 out of 115 teams, and
proceed to the Semi-Final Round. Big Congratulations and good
luck with Semi-Final and Final!
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/NUSCompetitionE.cfm/
<<IUJ Foundation Day on May 14>>
IUJ was founded on May 14, 1982 and is turning 23 years old this
year. This year marks an IUJ's milestone, the introduction of new
and innovative curricula in 2006. Please keep your ears open for
announcements in the near future.
During its 23 year history, IUJ has graduated 2,055 students from
95 different countries. Currently there are 254 students from 51
countries.
<<Alumni Guest Speaker To Talk On Hedge Funds>>
Mr. James Fiorillo (IM Class of 1990) will be on campus for a
lunchtime presentation on Hedge Funds on May 20. He will be a
Career Services speaker and take questions on careers in finance
as well.
He has had a finance career with ING Barring, CommerzBank Securit-
ies, and has just launched his own hedge fund in Tokyo, Ottoman
Capital Japan, with an IUJ alum, Tom Steen, helping from Canada.
Title: "Hedge Funds - Yesterday vs. Today"
Speaker: Mr. James Fiorillo (MBA Class of 1990)
Managing Principal
Ottoman Capital Japan
Date: Friday, May 20
Time: 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Place: MLIC 3F Hall, IUJ Urasa Campus
Read more about Mr. Fiorillo and Ottoman Capital in the August 2004
e-magazine.
<<New GSO-EC>>
The former GSO-EC staff completed its term at the end of March.
Throughout difficult days with the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake and
the heaviest snow in the last 19 years, the members supported and
encouraged students through various events and just by being around
cheering them. The new GSO-EC members who will take over council
responsibilities as well as the "IUJ Spirit" of conquering
difficulties are:
PRESIDENT --------- Raza Kizilbash (MBA 1st-year, Pakistan)
SECRETARY GENERAL - Jessie Yaun (IRP 1st-year, USA)
TREASURER --------- Andrea Cervena (IRP 1st-year, Czech)
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS -- Satoshi Kurachi (E-biz, Japan)
CAMPUS AFFAIRS ---- Rudy Automo (E-biz, Indonesia)
DORM AFFAIRS ------ Nasir Uddin (IDP 1st-year, Bangladesh)
SOCIAL AFFAIRS ---- Nitin Kumar (MBA 1st-year, India)
SPORTS AFFAIRS ---- Nazgul Momunjanova (IDP 1st-year, Kyrgyzstan)
Rene Betancourt (IRP 1st-year, Ecuador)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
May - June 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IRP&IDP Applications for IRP & IDP have closed for 2005.
MBA&E-biz May 6 May 20 May 21
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
<<International Students To Give Presentation in Japanese>>
A "Nihongo Happyokai" or presentation in Japanese is to be held.
This event is to give those international students learning the
Japanese language an opportunity to exhibit the fruits of their
daily efforts and to interact with local people. A social gather-
ing will follow the presentations.
Date: Friday, May 13
Time: 6:30-8:00pm - presentations
8:00-9:00pm - social gathering
Venue: MLIC 3F Hall at IUJ campus
For details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/announce/show_announce.cfm?
ID=318&folder=announcements&TypeID=0&Folder=Announcements
<<IUJ's Spring Festivity, ASEAN Night, To Be Held>>
Again this year, IUJ ASEAN Night is going to be held to introduce
the cultures, traditions, and cuisines of the ASEAN countries.
Current ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam. IUJ has students from all these countries except for
Singapore. They will all be dressed up in their ethnic costumes
and exhibit their cultures and traditions. Please take this
opportunity to understand these countries better and meet our
smiley ASEAN students in person!
Date: Saturday, May 28
Time: 18:00-21:00
Venue: Gymnasium of IUJ Campus
(777 Kokusai-chi, Minami Uonuma-shi, Niigata
10 minutes by car from JR Urasa Station)
* Entrance fee is 300 yen (children under 12 will not be charged),
which includes cuisines prepared by students.
* Those who will enroll in IUJ in Fall 2005 or are considering IUJ
for their future studies are welcome to this event. Also, if
you are interested in meeting faculty and students and looking at
IUJ facilities, the staff at the Office of Student Recruitment
(OSR) will arrange it for you. Please contact OSR by May 20 at
025-779-1104 or osr@...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of New Faculty Member>>
The Graduate School of International Relations welcomed a new
faculty member effective April 1, 2005. Associate Professor
Ryuta Ray Kato will teach Public Sector Economics in Spring 2005.
Here are highlights of an interview with him:
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. Until March this year, I was teaching in the Faculty of Econom-
ics of Shiga University in Japan, one of the now-defunct nation-
al universities. My academic positions before that include a
year teaching at the Management School of Imperial College,
University of London, and 3 years serving as a research fellow
at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office,
for the Government of Japan. I obtained my Ph.D. in 2000 from
the Department of Economics at the University of Essex in the
UK. Before that, I finished my MA in Economics at Yokohama
National University, and I joined a Ph.D. Program at the
Graduate School of Economics of Osaka University, but after I
obtained full credits I left the Program and took the teaching
position at Shiga University. I specialize in public economics
and health economics, but I am interested in broader areas such
as applied macroeconomics and applied microeconomics.
Q. How did you know about IUJ? And how did you decide to apply
for this position?
A. A former IUJ professor told me about this institution. My
family lives in the suburbs of London and I frequently go back
and forth between the UK and Japan and I felt that the inter-
national environment of IUJ would suit me well. Also, you can
not find such a world standard research and educational environ-
ment as IUJ's anywhere else in Japan. IUJ provides the best
environment for me who received a world standard education in
the UK.
Q. IUJ is believed to be a very unique graduate school with a
truly international setting and diverse student and faculty
bodies. What was your first impression about IUJ and its
people?
A. I share the completely same thoughts. Not only faculty members
but also students are very international. As the language used
at IUJ is English, IUJ reminds me of the environment in the
UK. It is the fact, unfortunately, that an academic world
standard environment, which is taken for granted elsewhere, is
not taken for granted in Japan. IUJ is not the case, however,
and I truly love the international environment and atmosphere
of IUJ.
Q. What do you think you can bring to this campus?
A. Sharing my experiences and educational and research background
with my students and colleagues, I hope I can contribute to IUJ,
so it can be a more international academic institution. IUJ is
located in a very Japanese-like environment, but is a very
non-Japanese and international place. This wonderful mixture
cannot be found at any other university in Japan. I hope that
my experiences in various environments can be utilized for the
improvement of IUJ. I would like to talk with my students about
not only academic matters but also about their professional
careers in their near future and life.
Prof. Kato's brief Bio
Education
- Ph.D., Economics, University of Essex, 2000
- M.A., Economics, University of Essex, 1996
- M.A., Economics, Yokohama National University, 1990
- B.A., Economics, Chuo University, 1986
Major Academic positions
- Assoc. Prof., Shiga University, 1998-March 2005
- Visiting Senior (Research and Teaching) Fellow, Management
School, Imperial College, University of London, 2001-02
- Visiting Research Fellow, Economic and Social Research Insti-
tute, Cabinet Office, Gov't of Japan, 1999-2001
- Visiting Research Fellow, Economic Research Institute,
Economic Planning Agency of Japan, 1997-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Featured Courses and Instructor>>
We are happy to introduce Prof. Yuqing Xing of the Graduate School
of International Relations. As well as a dedicated instructor
teaching 3 courses, he is the next Director of the International
Development Program and Director of the Chinese Economic and
Business Center of the IUJ Research Institute. Here are highlights
of an interview with him.
-*-
Q. Please introduce yourself briefly.
A. I joined IUJ in 1996 as an Assistant Professor of GSIR after I
obtained my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. To enrich my professional experiences and
develop cooperation with other institutes, I had been a visiting
research fellow of the World Institute for Development Economics
Research (Helsinki), the Research Center of China Galaxy
Securities Company Limited (Beijing), and a visiting professor
of the Institute of Advanced Studies of the United Nations
University (Tokyo). My current research focuses on Japanese FDI
in Asia and China's exchange rate policy. For strengthening
research on China within IUJ and enhance the publicity of IUJ,
I initiated the China Economic and Business Center last year.
The Center will co-organize a conference, "WTO, China, and
Asian Economies", jointly with Xian Jiaotong University (China),
the University of Washington, and East-West Center, in June of
2005.
Q. Could you summarize your courses?
A. In addition to advanced seminars, I teach three content courses
for the International Development Program: "Chinese Economy,"
"Microeconomics," and "International Trade and Commercial
Policy."
"Microeconomics" is a required course for IDP students. It is
the foundation of Macroeconomics and other courses in finance
and management areas. Microeconomics provides basic interpreta-
tions and theory on the behaviors of individuals and firms. It
discusses how rational individuals/profit-oriented firms make
optimal decision in a market economy. The course covers not
only classic microeconomic theory, but also new developments
including game theory, uncertainty, and information.
"Chinese Economy" is an elective course. This course introduces
students to the Chinese economy after 1978. It focuses on
institutional changes behind the "China Miracle", structural
changes in the economy, and China's evolution from a central
planning economy to a market-oriented economy. In addition, it
analyzes the potential challenges China is facing in the trans-
ition. China has been a growth engine of the world economy.
Japanese economy as a whole and Japanese multinational enter-
prises have benefited significantly from the rapid development
of China. Understanding the Chinese economy is essential for
future global leaders and business managers. The experiences of
China should also be very valuable for other developing and
transitional economies.
Trade liberalization and global economic integration were the
most significant economic phenomenon in the last decade. With
the emergence of the WTO, the global trading system has entered
a new regime, affecting production and consumption in almost
every corner of the planet. The course "International Trade and
Commercial Policy" intends to introduce economic rationales
behind rising trade volumes and the tide of global trade
liberalization. The discussion on trade policies consists of
three parts: tariff and non-tariff instruments, trade policies
in developing countries, and strategic trade policies in
developed countries. The evolution of regional free trade agree-
ments and the new world trading system within the WTO are also
reviewed in the class.
Look at what we use and what we wear every day. This is an
example of globalization. To cope with intensified competition
associated with the globalization and to pursue new opportunit-
ies in an integrated world economy, you should know the rules
of the game. The "International Trade and Commercial Policy"
course is designed to serve the purpose. It is a basic for
anyone living in the age of globalization.
Q. How do you enjoy teaching these courses?
A. Frankly speaking, I enjoy working at IUJ very much. As we have
students coming from almost every corner of the world and their
background and experiences are so diversified, I have learned
many special and unique cases from them and improved my under-
standing on other cultures. This might not be possible in other
academic institutes. Also as we are a small campus, the relation-
ship between faculty and students is very close. Outside of my
classes, I consider them as my friends (hope students think so
too). Being with so many young friends, I feel young too, at
least psychologically.
Q. You physically look young, too! Now, do you have any difficult-
ies in teaching the courses?
A. Well, one difficulty I would like to mention is to read
students' names. As students come from more than 40 countries,
each country has a different way to name a person. Every time
I read my students' names, it is not easy to pronounce their
names correctly. The other challenge is how in one classroom
to meet the demands of students who have different educational
backgrounds and learning capacities.
Q. We heard that you will be the next IDP Director. In assuming
the directorship of the International Development Program, what
is your main goal?
A. IDP has been very successful since it started, thanks to the
commitment of the IDP faculty team. Now IDP is the largest
program in terms of hosting JICA sponsored students. From this
summer, IDP together with IEP will provide training in English,
Math, and Excel to IMF scholars before they start their formal
academic studies at the four designated Japanese universities.
As the next director, my first priority will be to continue the
success together with other IDP faculty. As you know, the ratio
of Japanese students in IDP is very low. Increasing the number
of Japanese students either private or company sponsored ones,
should be given high priority too. I understand that it is a
challenging task as development issues are not as attractive as
business ones to many potential students. We will try to enhance
the competitiveness of IDP through diversifying the curriculum
and establishing new exchange programs with academic institutes
in foreign countries. I just finished negotiations with the
University of International Economics and Business in China for
establishing an exchange program with IUJ. This will be the
first exchange program that GSIR will have with a Chinese univ-
ersity.
Q. Finally, please give emag readers of your message.
A. IUJ represents the best place for "the west meets the east."
Meeting the demands of our students for new knowledge, facili-
tating them to explore unanswered questions, and providing a
high quality education are the priority of our IDP faculty. The
curriculum and the quality of IDP faculty are compatible with
similar programs in other famous academic institutes in the
world. The educational experience in IDP will be truly reward-
ing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
Well, the time is ripe to spotlight our Career Counselor. Yes,
she is an IUJ alumna! Ms. Gretchen Shinoda shares her experiences
and thoughts about her long-lasting relationship with IUJ.
Mr. Gretchen Shinoda (USA)
IR Class of 1989
Director, Career Counseling and Services
International University of Japan
Q. What are your current professional responsibilities?
A. I am the Career Counselor at IUJ, and get to relive my student
days every day! Working with the IUJ students as they plan
their futures and search for their internships and jobs for
after IUJ reminds of my own thoughts, confusions and struggle
back in 1989! I also have the privilege of coordinating IUJ
Alumni Relations so I stay in very close touch not only with
those I went to school with at IUJ, but everyone who has passed
through our halls.
I am the lucky one who experienced IUJ in all ways Ewife of
student (my husband graduated in 1986), student, alumni over-
seas, and now staff! I guess you would say IUJ is my life
project.
Q. How did you come into that job after you left IUJ? What was
your career path?
A. I left IUJ's beautiful campus in Spring 1989 with tears in my
eyes. I was headed for Washington DC for my husband to pursue
his PhD. I was 25 years old, with a fresh MA in Japan Studies
heading for the major world hub of Washington DC., after 4
wonderful year of IUJ experience. I had a few friends there,
thankfully, but no real job experience to relate to what is
available in DC. I leveraged my research and publication
skills and lucked into a great 2 year project called the Commis-
sion on US-Japan Relations in the 21st Century. This commission
was really an amazing experience for me. With very top commis-
sion members like Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Volcker and Cyrus Vance
to name a few, I worked alongside a former ambassador as we
explored various issues and problems in the US-Japan relation-
ship.
My studies at IUJ prepared me well for this as I had done a lot
of research on US-Japan political relations, current topics,
and had written several articles for publication while at IUJ.
My MA thesis was on the Agricultural Cooperatives of Japan --
a group central to a couple of the topics the commission was
researching. I got to test my research and information co-
ordination skills, while learning how DC worked, learning about
grant writing and reporting, and getting to know amazing leaders
both in the US, and their counterparts in Japan. My Japanese
language, too, was well appreciated by the secretariat staff in
Japan as we coordinated the various conferences and Press
Releases, etc.
After this commission came to its 2-year end, I began to work
for another start-up project called Gateway Japan. This non-
profit project attempted to launch the newly developing power
of the Internet to provide information on Japan to an American
audience. I had the opportunity to network with and profile
over 100 organizations and academic institutions in the US and
Canada all working on Japan, trying to help them share resources
and learn about one another. We created a searchable database
of information, accessible by Modem and Internet connections
well before the Net was a household word! I gained management
and marketing skills in this work, while continue to publish
information, and distribute it to a selective public.
I lucked out in getting the chance to return to Japan and IUJ.
Actually I was told to return! IUJ had selected a new
President, Dr. George Packard, a long-time friend, who was
working closely with my husband in his PhD pursuit. He invited
us to come back to IUJ -- my husband to teach and help out the
research institute, and me to help his presidency. Joyfully,
we accepted and packed our bags.
While at IUJ, still a young school then, we identified several
gaps in student services. Two main ones were Career Services
and Alumni Relations. I volunteered to start these up for IUJ,
and have been at it for 10 years now. I am a pioneer in Japan
when it comes to Career Services at the Master's level in Japan
Emost MBA and MA programs do not help their students on an
individual basis but rely on faculty-student bonds and outsourc-
ing to headhunters. So I feel proud of the program I have
created at IUJ, and enjoy providing them to my "kohai."
Q. What recommendations would you give to those considering IUJ for
their masters degrees?
A. Come with a purpose. Know what lies ahead for you after IUJ,
and carefully craft your education here to help you attain it.
If you don't already have a job to return to, work closely with
me so I can support you. My goal is to create an outstanding
Alumni Association meaning each alum in a quality professional
job that is contributing to the global arena be it in finance,
development consulting, academe, government, manufacturing or
beyond. So every job hunt is vital, and I want the best for
IUJ students. I know what it is like to be on campus, and how
hard it is to job hunt, or even visualize your future sometimes.
If you can come here with a purpose (and good Japanese language
skills!) we can work well together. If you come confused
about the future and your role, I will help you discover it!
See you on campus!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 10: After the interview EFollow up (Part 2)
Last month, I related how important the thank you note is to getting
an offer after an interview. But what happens next? A question I
am asked all the time is how often a student should contact the
company after an interview and that initial thank you note. The
mistake so often made is to make no further contact with the company,
but sit back and wait. That says to the company -- "I guess he/she
really doesn't want this job." But how should you proceed?
My guidance is simple. Every chance you have to send them new
information, an update on your status as an IUJ student, or if you
see something in the news related to the company or the job, you can
use that as an excuse to contact the recruiters again. The contact
must be professional, and thought must go into it. I can help. But
silence is not how to follow up!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Why is IUJ located in Niigata?>>
In the early 1970s when the foundation of IUJ was being conceived,
almost all universities were located in big cities. In the U.S.
and European countries, however, it is not unusual to find good
universities in remote areas; eg, Dartmouth College in New Hamp-
shire in the U.S. In seeking such a place where students can
concentrate on studying free from the bustle of the big city, the
IUJ founders started looking for suitable land. About the same
time, the Joetsu Shinkansen, the second shinkansen in Japan, was
being built, and they figured that the shinkansen would make it
possible to bring in eminent professors and good students from
Tokyo to Niigata in a relatively short time. That was how Niigata
was chosen for the IUJ location.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Hiking spots>>
The mountains around IUJ still have some remaining snow. But, it is
high time for IUJer's to go outside after a loooong winter! One of
their amusements at this time of year is to go hiking. We are going
to feature a couple of popular hiking spots.
* Ikazawa Camp Ground and Tenjiku-no-Sato *
Ikazawa Camp Ground in Minami Uonuma-shi is a huge camp site, 35,000
square meters, at the foot of Mt. "Makihatayama" and stretches
around the beautiful Ikazawa mountain streams. The nearby forest
park, "Tenjiku-no-Sato," is a great location to find various plants
and watch wild birds. This park's facilities are barrier-free with
universal design and people of all ages can enjoy hiking. (Due to
heavy snow this winter, the opening of the park is expected to be
delayed. Please get the schedule information prior to your depart-
ure.)
Access: 20-minute drive from IUJ campus. Go toward Muikamachi
on Route 291 for about 10 minutes, and make a left
turn toward Sagurigawa Dam and Ikazawa Camp Ground.
Keep on going until you see a big sign of the camp
ground.
Homepage: http://www.ikazawa-camp.jp/http://www.yukiguni.ne.jp/ikazawa-camp/tenjiku/
* Mizunashi Gorge *
The upstream reaches of the Mizunashi River lie in the Mizunashi
Gorge. As you go into the valley, you face the awesome view of Mt.
Komagatake, one of the "Echigo Sanzan" or "three mountains in the
Echigo region". You can drive upstreams, and enjoy fishing and cook
the fish you just caught in a gazebo. It is a healthy option to
enjoy cycling from the Minami Uonuma municipal Cycling Terminal into
the valley.
Access: 10-minute drive from IUJ campus to the parking area at
the back of Mizunashi Gorge. Take Route 291 toward
Koide, turn right at the sign of "Hakkaisanroku Ski
Resort, and keep going until the road stops. The road
narrows halfway.
Homepage: http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~yamakan/outdoor.htmlhttp://www.yo.rim.or.jp/~sanroku/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on June 6, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
June 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- IUJ Trivia
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Class of 2005 Representatives Elected>>
In order to help IUJ alumni maintain strong ties with their fellow
classmates after graduation, IUJ Alumni Relations assigns 2 class
representatives for each Graduate School; 1 Japanese resident and 1
overseas resident. Representatives are chosen by fellow classmates
by election. The students who have obtained their classmates'
strong trust and been elected are the following four:
* GSIR Japan Representative ------ Shunsuke Okano (Japan)
* GSIR Overseas Representative --- Alistair Kambobe (Zambia)
* GSIM Japan Representative ------ Yusuke Sugawara (Japan)
* GSIM Overseas Representative --- Seda Arat (Turkey)
Here is a comment from Seda, MBA Class of 2005:
It's difficult to believe that two years passed by so quickly and
that finally we're going our separate ways. Although we were frust-
rated to live in such an isloated place, we made lifelong friends
thanks to this remoteness. I hope that we remain connected no
matter where we are and share each other's sorrow and happiness.
Wish you all the best!
<<IUJ Finance Club's Fruitful Trip>>
The IUJ Finance Club took its annual trip to Tokyo on April 28,
and visited the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Lehman Brothers, Bloomberg,
and Capital Servicing Co., Ltd. The trip was a great success and
students earned valuable hands-on experience that cannot be taught
in the classroom. To read more, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/FinanceClubTrip2005E.cfm
<<Activities of New GSO-EC>>
As announced in our May issue, the new GSO-EC started this Spring
term. On behalf of the new team, President Raza Kizilbash sent in
a report of their vigorous activities.
Raza Kizilbash
President, GSO-EC
MBA Class of 2006
The start of this Spring term has seen a new and very active GSO-
EC. Before moving on, let me introduce our team:
Jessie Yaun (Secretary), Andrea Cervena (Treasurer), Satoshi
Kurachi (External Affairs), Rudy Automo (Campus Affairs), Nitin
Kumar (Social Affairs), Rene Bentancourt and Nazik Momunjanova
(Sports Affairs) and Nasir Uddin (Dorm Affairs).
The first task that we took on as a new team was the cleaning of
the GSO office, transforming it from a historical dump-yard into a
nice, clean and spacious office. We worked out our budget for the
calendar year and allocated money to various areas for this term.
This has led to a decrease in unnecessary delays in executing pre-
approved tasks. It has also given the members more authority/
accountability to get things done quickly. Besides this, we have
incorporated the efforts of the students more openly towards the
management of events to be hosted. This has allowed us to work in
small teams overlooking the larger teams of student volunteers
managing on-campus events and reporting back to the other GSO
members, thus reducing the workload on the handful on members them-
selves and increasing student participation. We have also taken a
new approach by deciding the events for the term at the beginning
of the term and advertising them in advance so that the students
know what to expect and schedule their activities accordingly.
The Spring term will have events such as parties, rock concerts,
ASEAN Night, the Olympics, farewell celebrations and BarBQs by the
tennis court.
All in all, I am very happy with the way the team has gelled
together and managed to stay on top of things in its first term
together. Everyone has taken ownership of their areas and things
are coming along smoothly. The students are the life of this
University and we have taken it onto ourselves to encourage and
support them by actively taking their suggestions to make campus
more interesting for everyone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
June - July 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Graduation Ceremony on June 29>>
The 2005 IUJ graduation ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June
29. 110 students (53 from GSIR and 57 from GSIM) representing 33
countries are going to graduate.
Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Time: 10:30-
Venue: Community Center SAWARABI Hall
Guest Speaker: Mr. Yoshito Hori, Chairman & CEO of GLOBIS Group
The Day's Program:
10:30-12:20 Conferment of Master's Degree Certificate
at Community Hall SAWARABI
12:50-14:00 Celebration Party
at IUJ MLIC 3F Hall
14:00-14:20 Class Tree Unveiling Ceremony*
at IUJ Alumni Forest
* Class Tree Unveiling Ceremony is a new part of the official
graduation events. The GSIR and GSIM Classes of 2005 have a
zelkova tree designated to each Class. Students will decorate
their tree with a plaque, commemmorating their graduation, and
this will be their very first activity as IUJ Alumni.
<<IUJ Olympics>>
A 3-day event, the IUJ Olympics, is going to be held on June 10-
12. The GSO-EC member in charge of sports affairs said, "In
modern times the concept of the hero has changed. There are no
longer heroes of war but of peace, such as the Olympic Games. The
GSO-EC wishes to challenge and present such heroes, and for this
reason it is organizing the IUJ Olympics 2005." Their passion
brought the following program:
June 10 -- Inauguration Ceremony, Lighting of the Torch and more
June 11 -- Beginning of the games
June 12 -- Final games
The sports that are included are soccer, volleyball, basketball,
mini-ekiden, badminton, tennis, and ping pong. Come and see IUJ's
athletes!
(Events at other venues)
<<"MANABI" Fair 2005>>
IUJ is going to have a booth at the "MANABI Fair 2005". This will
be a very good opportunity not only to get information about IUJ
but to meet with other people seeking graduate education and to
further your motivation! (MANABI means "learning" in Japanese.)
Date: Saturday, June 18
Time: 13:00-18:00
Venue: Shinjuku L-Tower 30F
(6-1, Nishi-Shinjuku 1-chome, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of New Faculty Member>>
The Graduate School of International Management welcomed a new
faculty member effective April 1, 2005. Assistant Professor
Kerimcan Ozcan received his Ph.D. in Marketing from University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA, in 2004. He will teach Marketing
Strategy, Marketing Research, and Customer Relationship Management.
Here are highlights of an interview with him:
-*-
Q. How did you know about IUJ? And how did you decide to apply
for this position?
A. I first heard about IUJ back in 1991 or 1992. One of my class-
mates from Bogazici University (Turkey) was taking Japanese
language classes and learning about Japanese culture. I was
surprised but didn't ask him what his intentions were. Other
than the 1980s TV classic Shogun and the Japanese economic
miracle everybody talked about, I knew little about Japan. He
later told me that he was going to attend the MBA program at
IUJ. I got curious. A year later two more classmates headed for
this mysterious destination far away. Now this was getting more
interesting. Around that time I started studying and applying
Japanese management techniques too. I was also planning for an
MBA but since I didn't know Japanese I didn't explore the Japan
option very hard. Then, I ended up in the USA for my MBA. I con-
tinued my studies in the US with an MA in Economics and a PhD in
Marketing. I met Japanese students in all those places. But
Japan pretty much stayed in the background all those years...
Until 2004 that is, when I started looking for a full-time
academic position. I was getting disillusioned with the US and
at the same taking note of the economic, social, and cultural
emergence of the Asian region. My advisor at Michigan was from
India and he was making frequent trips to Asia and telling me
about the momentous transformations there. So, I decided to look
for international opportunities. When I saw an ad by IUJ, I
immediately applied. As I found out more about the mission of
the university, the background of the faculty, and the quality
and diversity of students, my interest in IUJ grew. When I
received job offers from six universities in four countries, IUJ
came out as the clear choice.
Q. IUJ is believed to be a very unique graduate school with a
truly international setting and diverse student and faculty
bodies. What was your first impression about IUJ and its
people?
A. I have to first recognize the administrators and employees for
being extraordinarily helpful and welcoming. I am almost over-
whelmed by the level of patience they have shown to me all this
time. Also the faculty members I met here are very friendly and
extremely professional. Last but not least, the students are
very mature, highly motivated, and a quite diverse yet cohesive
community. I feel very fortunate and privileged to be in this
unique environment.
Q. Could you tell us a little bit about your personal interests?
A. I have long had an interest in music. Back in junior highschool,
I had to learn flute and solfeggio but that was quite dry and
uninteresting. Then in highschool, I started to develop an
interest in rock music and picked up playing the guitar. I
played in various bands and genres like rock, heavy metal, punk,
blues, and jazz. We played in concerts, recorded some songs.
However, during my last year in college, I had to make some
hard choices as to where I should seriously concentrate my time
and energies. Back then music was a risky career path. So, I
chose to pursue science&engineering which was my other passion.
My bandmates were making similar decisions, so we stopped
rehearsing altogether. Some of my friends actually made very
successful careers in music. Some in Turkey, some in Europe,
and some in the US. Now, I am just a discriminating consumer of
music. I enjoy classical and jazz. I also enjoy ethnic/world
music. More recently I also developed a serious interest in
visual arts, especially modern and contemporary. I am very
intrigued by minimalist aesthetics to which Japanese artists
and architects have made significant contributions. That also
intersects with my curiosity in Eastern philosophies and
religions. I would like to experience and learn more about
Japanese culture and traditions.
Q. Thank you for sharing a bit of your personal life with us. Now
our last question. What do you think you can bring to this
campus?
A. My research is guided by mathematical and computational modeling
and looks at dynamic, interactive processes of marketing
phenomena. I have been studying consumer networks and word-of-
mouth. Coupling these experiences and interests with the exist-
ing research strength in mobility here at IUJ seems to be the
next logical step for me. As regards to teaching, great teachers
are great not because they are excellent at putting knowledge in
students' minds, instead they are great because they light a
fire in students' minds: a passion to learn and actively criti-
cize, and a frame to organize knowledge, a roadmap to explore
further. Being a passionate, critical, and modeler kind of
person myself, I hope to light small fires in all my students'
minds.
Prof. Ozcan's Brief Bio
Education
- Ph.D. in Marketing, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), 2004
- M.A. in Applied Economics, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor),
2000
- M.S. in Management, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta),
1996
- B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bogazici Univ-
ersity (Istanbul), 1992
Previous positions
- Adjunct Lecturer, Robert Morris College (Chicago), 2004-2005
- Adjunct Lecturer, Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago),
2004
- Adjunct Lecturer, University of Michigan (Dearborn), 2004
- Instructor, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), 1999-2003
- Research Assistant, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), 1996-
2004
- Research Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta),
1995-1996
- Process Control and Instrumentation Engineer, Unilever
(Turkey), 1992-1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Deans' Messages to Graduating Students>>
Dean Akita, Graduate School of International Relations
======================================================
I offer my warmest congratulations to all the members of the Class
of 2005 on your graduation. You have spent two years with IUJ
community members who come from different countries with different
cultures, languages, and religions. I am sure your experience of
living in such diversity has given you many opportunities to know
each other, to learn about similarities and differences, and to
develop understanding and respect for each other's values and
beliefs. The severe earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that
occurred in this area last year must have been a frightening ex-
perience to all of you, especially to those who have never had an
earthquake before. Very fortunately, no campus members were in-
jured seriously in this earthquake. You have worked together with
other IUJ community members and Yamato-machi people to recover
from the earthquake. I am sure this is a valuable experience for
all of you. You are about to embark on a professional career of
your choice, but in a world that seems quite difficult and complex.
In order to succeed in this kind of world, one needs the right kind
of expertise, flexibility, and adaptability. I believe your studies
at IUJ and your experience of living on the IUJ campus among its
people and the surrounding environment have proven to be a very
good training ground for the next chapter of your life. I wish you
all good health and happiness, a very successful career, and a lot
of prosperity.
Dean Borucki, Graduate School of International Management
=========================================================
Dear Graduating Class of 2005:
I will always have good memories of this graduating class as the
IM students and I began our journeys together two years ago.
Your hard work, and willingness to share your experiences, native
cultures, hopes and concerns, both inside and outside of the class-
room have certainly left me with a good impression. Having endured
an earthquake and record snowfall in Urasa this past year in addi-
tion to your studies and thesis work, you should be well prepared
to tackle the professional challenges that await you in your
careers!
But now we will travel on different roads with different responsi-
bilities -- you to apply your newfound knowledge, skills, and
abilities to address the key challenges confronting business and
society and myself, with my colleagues and our staff, to begin the
process anew of preparing todayfs students for tomorrow's chal-
lenges. As we part company, I offer you some other words of advice.
Please work hard to distinguish yourselves in your careers with
dedication, honesty and respect for others. Your education is a
gift and I urge you to "give back" by teaching others, passing
along the knowledge and wisdom you have gained through your
studies, and through active support of IUJ once you embark on your
careers. Finally, please remember to thank your loved ones and
others who have supported you throughout your studies.
It's customary to offer graduates well-wishes, so I say "omedetoo
gozaimasu" to all of you who are graduating, whether from the GSIR
or GSIM programs!!! May your personal and professional dreams
become fulfilled! Mae muki ni, gambarimashiyo!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
We are going to introduce a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Nick
Rossiter, who took full advantage of his IUJ connections in his
consulting firm.
Mr. Nick Rossiter (Australia)
MBA Class of 2004
Partner, Mithras Consulting Group
2004 ALUM LAUNCHES BUSINESS & CONSULTS TO
CHINA'S LARGEST SOFTWARE COMPANY
When coming to IUJ in late 2002 after a career in Australia, MBA
2004 alum Nick Rossiter says he had no idea of the extent of the
opportunities that an IUJ education would open. Following his first
year of IUJ studies, Nick completed two internships in Singapore
and Shanghai (both assisted by Gretchen Shinoda at the IUJ career
development center), as well as an exchange program to the CEIBS
business school in Shanghai, China. After graduating from IUJ in
June last year he returned to China to establish a consulting firm
with two business partners, both of whom had been fellow exchange
students to CEIBS. Hailing from top business schools in Europe and
the U.S, as well as IUJ, the three partners had combined experience
throughout the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific with companies such as
Motorola, Oracle, Infosys and Bank of America. They formed Mithras
Consulting Group to provide management consulting in the area of IT
& Business Process Outsourcing, as well as Shared Services Centers
in China.
Most recently, Mithras completed a milestone project for China's
largest software company, Shanghai Stock Exchange listed UFIDA,
helping them with their global expansion through re-branding. At
the opening of their new Hong Kong regional headquarters, which
will oversee the company's expansion throughout Asia, excluding
Japan, the company, formerly known as UF-Soft, took the occasion to
officially launch their new corporate brand, UFIDA. Leading up to
the announcements, Mithras had been working with UFIDA on this for
several months.
In making the announcements, Mr. Wang Wen Jing, Chairman and Found-
er of UFIDA, which is China's largest ERP software vendor, said:
"The goal of UFIDA is to become the largest management software
enterprise in Asia-Pacific by 2006, and to become one of the top
international management software suppliers by 2010".
Nick Rossiter added: "UFIDA are a key client with a dominant
position in China's ERP market, global enterprise software ambit-
ions, and a promising platform for providing high-quality, low-cost
offshore outsourcing services internationally".
Commenting on Mithras's role, Mr. Wu Qiang, Vice President of
International Markets at UFIDA, said: "Mithras offered valuable
insights into branding and UFIDA's expansion, providing global
perspectives and relevant recommendations."
With this project, UFIDA was added to the list of Mithras' multi-
national clients which also includes Samsung, Bayer, Johnson &
Johnson, and Infosys, among others. The next twelve months has
them contracted to manage the entire China market entry for a
substantial IT outsourcing provider, and apart from this, Nick
also expects several major projects in the area of Shared Services
and IT-enabled Outsourcing. According to Nick: "IUJ provided the
perfect platform to pursue business and career opportunities in
Asia after graduation. The challenge is really just to identify
all the opportunities that IUJ can offer, and then to seize and
make the most of them".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 11: Salary Negotiations
Congratulations. You got a job offer! Now, don't blow it! Be
careful with next stage -- the dreaded salary and benefits package
negotiations.
I have seen companies withdraw offers because of the unprofessional
behavior they find at this stage, or because of the unrealistic
expectations in salary requirements. Students, too, have withdrawn
from the offer because they feel they are worth more than is on the
table.
Avoiding this situation is very difficult. The best thing to do is
to know as much about the salary levels possible in both the company
industry and based on the type of company. The Internet offers a
number of salary and salary converting sites. Asking professionals
in the field, especially executive search firms, or your career
counselor on what fair starting salaries are can give you a range.
One student turned down an offer because he felt it was too low.
The company could not meet his demands in the first year and the
student was unwilling to invest the time before a salary review was
possible. But in fact, the offer was a good one: his own expectations
turned out too high. He did not get any other offer before gradua-
tion and had to start the job search again after graduation.
Other students have not learned the entire salary package and turned
down offers hearing only the base salary. They compare one company's
base salary with the total package of the other and neglect to
understand the true picture. Bonuses, housing allowance, commuter
fees, etc. especially in how Japanese companies handle salary
payments, can often total a very nice total salary package.
So before you even apply, know the range you can expect from the
company for that position.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<How many alumni are married to each other?>>
There have been 51 couples up to date, including those who came to
IUJ already married and who married an exchange student. 102 out
of all 2,055 alumni makes the marriage rate of 5%! Not bad, is it?
The most recent couple is Adam Bergman from the US and Julia Parton
from the UK (both IR Class of 1997). They wed in England and they
are making their home in New York City. Very IUJ-like internation-
al couple.
IUJ couples, live happily ever after!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Oze Information>>
"Oze" is one of the spots that are very dear to the heart of Japanese
people. It is loved so much that there exists a song called "Summer
Memory" that is solely about the place.
Oze is a huge area situated in the borders of 3 prefectures; Fukushi-
ma, Gunma, and Niigata, and includes a broad moorland called "Ozega-
hara" (at a height of 1,400 meters above sea level, extending for 6
kilometers from east to west, and 2 kilometers from south to north),
a lake called "Oze-numa" (at a height of 1,600 meters above sea level
and 13 kilometers around), and Mt. Hiuchi-dake, Mt. Shibutsu-san,
and Ayame Daira Plain surrounding the lake. It is an argosy of rare
swamp vegetation and alpine flora, which have been reserved by the
country as a part of National Nikko Park since about 70 years ago.
Skunk Cabbage, Oze's signature plant, and various other flowers can
be enjoyed between late May and late September.
There are 3 entries to Oze. Two popular entries start from Numata
Interchange in Gunma Prefecture, but we are going to talk about the
third entry starting from Niigata Prefecture, which takes a little
longer but not as crowded as the entries from Gunma and provides
spectacular views.
* Access by car
Get on Route 352 in Yunotani, Uonuma-shi, and drive toward "Ginzan
Daira" through Okutadami Silverline. Go further from "Ginzan Dai-
ra" along "Okutadami Lake" up to "Miike" parking area.
-- Takes about 3 hours on foot to go to "Ozegahara" from "Miike."
-- Takes about 2 hours to go to "Ozeganuma" by bus from "Miike" to
"Numayama Toge" and on foot from Numayama Toge. (A reservation
is needed to take this bus.)
* Access by bus and boat
Take a bus to "Okutadami" from JR Urasa Station or Koide Station.
Go aboard a boat to "Ozeguchi" at Okutadami Lake and after a 40
minute cruise, you will be at "Ozeguchi." Take a bus at Ozeguchi
to "Miike and Numayama Toge" for about an hour. (A reservation is
needed to take this bus.)
If you are planning a day trip, it is recommended to choose one of
the two destinations; "Ozegahara" or "Ozenuma." It is expected to be
very crowded at weekends, and a trip during weekdays will be more
relaxing and enjoyable. If you would like to visit both of those
destinations or to hike up to Mt. Hiuchi-dake and Mt. Shibutsu-san,
a stay at a lodge for a night or two is highly recommended. There
are steep spots and the weather can be very changeable. Get dressed
properly and have a fun and memorable trip to Oze!
Homepages:
Oze info: http://www.tgn.or.jp/oze/menu/menu-oze.html
Okutadami Liner: http://www.okutadami.co.jp/ship/route/ozeguchi.htm
Transportation: http://www.oze-fnd.or.jp/kotusyudan.html
-*-
This is the last "Area Spotlight." Thank you for enjoying this
column for the past 12 months. There are other spots we could not
cover, and we would love to welcome you to visit this area and see it
yourself. We assure you that you will be amazed by the breathtaking-
ly beautiful nature around IUJ!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on July 4, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
July 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ's Computer Network Improved Further>>
Two of the 4 IUJ student dormitories have had broadband Internet
access so far, but the remaining 2 will have it soon! The instal-
lation started on June 30 to be completed on July 14. Every IUJ
student dormitory resident will be able to access the Internet and
the campus LAN from his or her own room.
<<Summer Intensive English Program Starts>>
IUJ's Summer Intensive English Program (IEP) is going to be offered
for 8 weeks from July 18 through September 9. This year's IEP is
a little different from prior programs and has a few additions.
IEP Participants for the 2005 program include employees of Japanese
corporations and organizations and IMF scholars who will enroll in
other graduate schools in Japan, as well as those who will enroll
in IUJ in the fall. They will all take the same English courses
taught by 3 IUJ English professors and 11 visiting English teach-
ers.
<<Cooking Heaters Donated by Matsushita Electric>>
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., one of the best support-
ers of IUJ in the form of sponsoring students and endowments, has
donated 3 Induction heating cooking appliances to IUJ.
Kitchens at IUJ dormitories are frequently used by students, and
tend to get rather messy at times. In the spring of this year, a
"Kitchen Clean-up Operation" was launched with the initiative of
the GSO-EC, Office of Operation Management, Office of Student
Services, and IUJ's new cleaning service provider, "Niigata Build-
ing Service." The brand-new induction heating cooking surfaces
symbolize this clean-up Operation and are expected to be fully
utilized.
The 3 cooking appliances will be installed in SD1, SD2, and SD3,
and the electrical work for the one in SD1 will be completed by
July 10 so it will be ready for the participants of the Summer
Intensive English Program beginning on July 18.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
July - August 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Graduation Ceremony for E-biz Class of 2005>>
The E-biz graduation ceremony 2005 will be held on Friday, August
26 at the MLIC Hall on campus. Twenty-one graduating students are
from 9 countries; Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy,
Japan, Myanmar, Philippines, and Tanzania.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Japanese Culture Introduced to International Students>>
On Saturday, May 21, 36 Japanese students held "Japanese Night"
with the purpose of introducing Japanese culture to the inter-
national students at IUJ, who chose Japan for their graduate
studies. Mr. Satoshi Kurachi (E-business Management Program) who
played an active leading role on this effort submitted a report.
-*-
"Thoughts on Japanese Night"
"We want to disseminate Japanese culture to students from other
cultures." "We need to introduce Japanese culture to those
students coming from all over the globe who chose to study in
Japan." These passions of the Japanese students brought about
"Japanese Night" on Saturday, May 21.
Under the theme of "experiencing the real thing," the main attract-
ion of this event was pounding mochi (or rice cake). We, with
great help from members of the UONUMA Association for Multicultural
Exchange (UMEX), did it from scratch; the special "mochi" rice
grown in this nationally-renowned Uonuma region was cooked at the
event, participants took turns in pounding the cooked rice in a
big wooden bowl with wooden mallets. The pounded mochi was
appreciated in soup-Uonuma-style, with sweet bean paste or with soy
flour around it. This main attraction was a big hit, and there was
a big crowd around the wooden bowl at all times, with exuberant
smiles and sweat on everybody's faces. It truly was a festive
event, and we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to UMEX
members!
Very talented Japanese students in Kendo (Japanese fencing), calli-
graphy, and Kendama (a toy with cup and ball) boasted their techni-
ques. With a little help and instructions from these Japanese
students, international students had a chance to experience skills
and techniques of Japanese art and culture. Their interest in
Japanese art and the spirit of challenges by their Japanese class-
mates to achieve the same results were very strong, and every booth
was full of life and energy.
It seems to me that cultural features unique to Japan are being
lost, because of today's excessively promoted urbanization and
changes in life style. At the end of Japanese Night I re-
discovered how important and wonderful it is to uphold, nurture,
and introduce Japanese culture to others, while listening to songs
by the Nakayama Singers and JOYERS describing Japan's 4 seasons,
and joining in the circle with foreign students dancing along local
folk music, "Urasa Yoi Toko (Urasa - Wonderful Place)." I sincere-
ly hope that, through such events as this, Japanese students at IUJ
remain interested in our own culture, and can play the role of
protecting, nurturing, and introducing them to international
students in the years to come.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Perspectives on IUJ Mobile Communication Symposium 2005>>
The "IUJ Mobile Communication Symposium 2005" was held on Wednes-
day, May 25 at the Faculty House of Komaba Campus, the University
of Tokyo. Professor Philip Sugai of the Graduate School of Inter-
national Management served as one of the panelists and the students
in his "Mobile Marketing" class attended the symposium. Here are
reports from 2 students:
Mr. Venkata R. Desai (India)
MBA Class of 2005
The mobile marketing class of Spring 2005 had the opportunity to
attend the 2nd IUJ Mobile communication symposium held on May 25th,
2005. The symposium was held at the Faculty House in the Komaba
Campus of Tokyo University. It started at 10:15 AM with keynote
speech from Dean Chet Borucki, later followed by opening remarks
from Ludovico Ciferri, a visiting Professor at IUJ.
For us students, it was a very exhilarating experience, as we got
first-hand information from industry experts. Inside the class,
we had lot of debate on TV getting embedded into the mobile device
and we thought that it is not a good idea to have one. But the
industry experts gave a different perspective and we were surprised
to note that lot of work is going on in the area of TV-Mobile
Device convergence. As usual Mr. Ted Matsumoto from Qualcomm was at
his best delivering lecture on "Broadcast and Wireless Network
Marriage". It was a short speech but very effective. This was
followed by a speech from Dr. Tomihisa Kamada, CTO, Access. He was
nostalgic about his student days at Todai, and also made a remark
that the campus which was not so good during his student days. He
spoke about how full internet access on mobile devices will drive
up the revenues for the telecom carriers. 20 minutes before coffee
break, we got to hear from Mr. Chiaki Fujino, President and CEO of
NanoMedia. NanoMedia operates more than 70 websites on 3 mobile
phone carriers with over 1 million subscribers. His speech was in
accordance with earlier speakers about "Radio&TV on Mobile". He
further delved into his company's research into convergence of
Broadcast and Communication especially digital terrestrial TV for
mobile phones in Japan.
After a coffee break, Ms. Keiko Iida, President & CEO, Gigno-
systems, spoke about relevance and effectiveness that FM broadcast
had on mobile compared to TV. It is very rare to see a woman at a
young age occupying an important position in the Japanese corporate
world, which is mostly male dominated. The final speech was from
Mr. Hiroshi Nakata, Chief Corporate Strategist, Yoshimoto Kogyo on
content delivery to mobile devices. He focused more on the content
part of TV watched over mobile devices and how important it is for
companies to focus on that especially for companies like his,
which holds the rights for most of the Japanese comedy on TV. In
the end we had a Q&A session between the speakers and students.
Mr. Carlos, an exchange student from the University of Florida had
a question for Mr. Ted Matsumoto on the future of Qualcomm. As it
holds most of the patents in the CDMA arena, how will it address
the issue of competitiveness? To this question, Mr. Ted answered
emphatically that Qualcomm is in an advantageous position as it
developed most of the applications for the peripherals of the CDMA
technology. However he cautioned that CDMA is not the only techno-
logy and it will not be as dominating as it is today. To another
open ended question to all the speakers on how TV on mobile would
be a chief driver, most of the speakers were of the opinion that
content has to change when it comes to the mobile platform. It
cannot be the same as for regular TV.
When Prof. Ciferri, raised the issue of declining ARPU, speakers
did not feel that they should be worried about that issue as WIN
ARPU is increasing. "This is because when once the customer is
moved from 2G, through 2.5G to 3G the revenue potential increases.
The reason is: expanded use of rich content such as music, video,
e-books etc. to name a few", echoed one of the speakers.
-*-
Mr. Rudy Automo (Indonesia)
E-biz Class of 2005
It was truly a wonderful experience for me to participate in the
mobile communication symposium. Having high level speakers from
technology providers, software developers and content providers
share their visions and outlooks for the mobile industry was
certainly a rare occasion. The event gave me practical understand-
ing about what is happening out there and what these influential
people are doing to shape the mobile industry. It has also inspired
me to create a business model for the mobile industry in my
country. I am sure that the contacts that I got from the event will
be beneficial for my future endeavors in the industry.
I would like to encourage Prof. Sugai to hold similar events in the
future as a part of the coursework to provide the students better
understanding about what they are studying in the class.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
We are very pleased to introduce Mr. Tsutomu Shirakawa, one of the
first graduates from the Graduate School of International
Relations. Mr. Shirakawa has been engaged in the energy business
at Mitsubishi Corporation, one of the Japan's most prestigious
multi-national corporations.
Mr. Tsutomu Shirakawa (Japan)
GSIR Class of 1985
General Manager
LPG Business Integration Task Force
Energy Business Group
MITSUBISHI CORPORATION
Q. Please tell us about your strongest memory of IUJ.
A. My field research is the strongest memory above all things. One
of the educational principles of Prof. Kuroda, my supervisor,
to his students was that students must plan and conduct field
research independently without any help from their sponsoring
companies. While staying with an Egyptian family for two
months, graciously mediated by the University of Cairo, I
visited professors with whom I set up appointments in advance
and paid frequent visits to book stores with an Arabic diction-
ary in my hand, looking for bibliographies for my thesis. As
very well expected, after one week I ended up in a doctor's
office with diarrhea and a high fever. The doctor prescribed
quinoform, which was banned in Japan then, and he told me
to drink whiskey straight as much as I could (meaning I should
drink whiskey so much that my stomach cannot absorb it any more)
to sterilize my intestines. I took that advice and very surpri-
singly I was cured completely the next day!
The theme of my master's thesis was "Relativity of Arabism
('Urubah) and Islam." I came across this topic when I was in a
bookstore called "Madbouil" in Talaat Harb trying to read book
titles in Arabic with my head tilted 90 degrees and with an
Arabic dictionary in my hand. (This bookstore is famous for
its free distribution of collected papers by Nasserites in the
past.) The word "'urubah" is not limited to mean Arabism as a
political term, but indicates something Arabic or an Arab ethos
that includes all such things as scent emitted from their
bodies, the unforgettable taste on their dining tables, their
beliefs existing somewhere between their throat and liver,
their elegance hanging just above 3 centimeters off the scalp of
the back of their head, the ethics that they would not let go
from their firmly clasped fist, the happiness they unconsciously
grope when wakening from a nap, and their belief that there are
things they have to preserve no matter what. Islam is what
continuously provides the value system granting differences,
similarities, mutual understanding, and awareness of their
communality, directly and/or indirectly affecting the "Arab
characteristics" in every possible way.
With the Western connotation of nationalism (wataniyyah) based
on nation-states that England and France marked off after the
World War I by simply drawing lines on a two-dimensional map
(How disrespectful it is! Invaluable people live on that land),
we tend to misunderstand that we have to westernize our value
system for modernization, and as a result, we have lost our
identities. The Arab people found the value system of the
Islamic community ('umma) was the one of Arab nations (quamiy-
yah) based on 'urubah. While drinking a local beer, "STELLA",
at the Nile river side with Mr. Satoshi Iwai, my IUJ classmate,
we discovered that this awareness of the issues is completely
applicable to us. This is the exact moment of my strongest
memory of IUJ.
Q. Please tell us about your career path after IUJ and what you do
today. What knowledge and skills you earned at IUJ are most
useful?
A. Being affiliated with the Energy Business Group at a trading
company, I always wished strongly to obtain a deep knowledge and
understanding of the Middle East. Without hesitation, there-
fore, I majored in Middle-Eastern Area Studies and studied
under Prof. Toshio Kuroda, who became an IUJ Professor Emeritus
this year. Prof. Kuroda had a very strong influence over my
life through his consistent educational principles of viewing
the world of post-modernism by relativizing Japan (and its
people) through studies of the Middle-East as another culture.
Right after IUJ, I was engaged in trading crude oil at our head-
quarters for two years. In 1987 I was assigned a post in Abu
Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and stationed
there through the first Gulf War until 1992. I was responsible
for doing business with the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait,
and Yemen. In each country, I asked various people how they
understood the Iranian revolution and what they thought about
the Arab world after Nasser. Their responses varied. In the
meantime, Iraq invaded Kuwait and President Bush (41) had a
meteoric victory that looked more like a computer game than a
war.
I returned to Tokyo and joined the Planning Division (My job
involved building oil refineries in Asia, with the prospect for
an increasing demand for oil and overwhelming shortage of oil
refinery facilities as a result of China's openness policy
under Deng Chao Ping). After 3 years in the Planning Division,
I was stationed in Bangkok, Thailand, the Land of Smile, for a
project of building an electric power plant. As soon as I got
there, the Asian Financial Crisis, originating in Thailand,
broke out. Our project was held up, Japan ran into deflation
after the collapse of the bubble economy, and a situation
immediately developed where the U.S., after the Soviet breakup
built a new type of society on a worldwide scale, placing
excessive emphasis on academic records such as MBAs entailing
M&A, and dominated the world economically and militarily. Not
only Japan but all of Asia except for China ran into the "Lost
10 Years." I realized that we were definitely experiencing what
I discovered drinking STELLA lager at the Nile riverside in
Cairo.
There have been many incidents such as 9.11, the Iraq War,
conflicted relationships among Asian countries, and the pullback
of the EU. Under such circumstances, while being engaged in the
task of providing propane gas, on which half of the 50 million
households in Japan depend, I think of the future of the Middle
East and Japan. I learned this view of trying to understand
issues from Prof. Kuroda at the IUJ Middle-Eastern Studies, and
I sincerely appreciate his guidance.
Q. Finally, could you give advice to those who are considering IUJ
for their graduate studies?
A. I believe that most of you take an entrance examination, wishing
to become a person able to be effective in a global arena, and
for that purpose, hoping to obtain the cutting-edge knowledge
and skills. I believe that progress is made by rehabilitating
tradition as if you climb up a spiral staircase rather than
a linear staircase. If you look down spirally from the top, not
only you can see recent developments but also you can see your
starting point right beneath you; whereas if you keep soaring in
a linear staircase, you leave your starting point way behind.
In order to achieve your goals, it is necessary to sway, turn
around, go back, go down, get lined up, go up, and so on and so
forth. Trying not to see only ahead or above might deliver the
fastest and best result. My understanding is that IUJ's mission
is not to produce people who get twisted around the cutting-edge
knowledge and skills in the short run, but to nurture people who
can be effective anywhere they go and in anything they do.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to Mr. Shirakawa's interview, Prof. John Welfield, one
of the veteran professors at IUJ who knows Mr. Shirakawa as a
student, contributed a message. Prof. Welfield has given distin-
guished services for the growth of the International Relations
Program together with Professor Emeritus Kuroda and other profes-
sors.
-*-
Shirakawa-san's comments convinced me, even more, that the founding
ideals of this university, and the educational principles we have
followed, have been sound ones, the IUJ has established its
position as one of the truly great tertiary institutions in this
country, and that so long as we remain true to ourselves we will
continue to produce graduates who combine a passion for learning
with a spirit of adventure, a powerful sense of comradeship,
practical common sense and a commitment to society. We will also
lose much of what we have achieved if we succumb to the desire to
conform slavishly to "global standards", to keep pace with trans-
ient academic fashions and attach too much importance to those
fortresses of intellectual orthodoxy, "refereed journals."
I hope this university will always honour men like our Emeritus
Professors, who have contributed so much to this institution
through their rich experience, their vast knowledge and their deep
humanity. I hope we will always have students who rummage through
old bookstores in Cairo, cure diarrhea with large doses of whiskey,
write theses on esoteric but immensely profound topics, discuss
the state of the world with their friends while sitting on the
banks of historic rivers, swimming in remote seas, or climbing
mighty peaks, then go on to build solid, socially meaningful
careers in government, business, education, the media and else-
where. Societies, nations, civilizations are built around such
things.
The first sentence of Shirakawa-san's memoir, in which he recalls
that Professor Kuroda forced him to plan and conduct his field
work independently, without any assistance from his sponsoring
company, made me remember the lines of the Australian national
poet Henry Lawson:
"They roved away in the ships that sailed
ere science controlled the main,
When the strong, brave heart of a man prevailed
as 'twill never prevail again;
They knew not whither, nor much they cared
-let Fate of the winds decide-
The world of the Great Unknown they dared
in the days when the world was wide.
They raised new stars on the silent sea
that filled their hearts with awe;
They came to many a strange countree
and marvelous sights they saw.
The villagers gaped at the tales they told,
and old eyes glistened with pride-
When barbarous cities were paved with gold
in the days when the world was wide."
Shirakawa-san's Cairo was not paved with gold, but Professor
Kuroda's guidance, first hand, direct experience with a rich,
sophisticated and ancient civilization, the old bookstores, the
diarrhea, the high fever and the long conversations with Iwai-san
on the banks of the Nile brought him something infinitely more
valuable. His world did become so much wider and his life, both
personal and professional, remains, to this day, profoundly affect-
ed by the experience.
John Welfield
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's Mistakes Job Hunters Make
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistake 12: Never starting
As the IUJ Career Counselor, the worst mistakes I have witnessed on
campus come from those who wait. They wait for the golden egg to
appear on the Career Bulletin Board offering them their dream job.
But it never comes. And 1 week before graduation they come sit at
my desk with one of two expressions: Panic or Anger. They realize
they should have been active early on, or are angry that I did not
deliver their job to them.
I have a sign on my desk that reads: "A lack of preparation on your
part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Those that wait,
don't get organized early, don't understand what they want after IUJ,
and those that don't try several different routes to their dream
career can find themselves in late June without a job offer. The
biggest mistake you can make as a job hunter at IUJ is to never visit
the career office, and never read the career board.
When you join IUJ, and if you are in the job hunt, I hope we become
very good friends and work closely together toward your future. My
door is always open!
* This is the last mistake of the series. I hope you learned from
the mistakes IUJ students have made. From the next edition, "The
World of the Job Interview Series" will start. Our Career
Counselor will introduce you to different styles of interviews and
give you tips on how to handle each of them. Stay tuned!
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<How many books does MLIC hold?>>
Approximately 120,000 volumes. About 30% of the books are in
Japanese and 70 % in English and other languages. Sixty percent
of our collection covers the broad subject areas of International
Relations, International Development, MBA Studies and E-business
topics, including management, economics, business, finance,
accounting, international relations, international development,
political science, and Asia studies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on August 1, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
August 2005
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview New!
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Admissions Schedule for 2006 Finalized!>>
For Details, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/AdmSchedule06E.cfm
Online applications will be available in mid-September.
<<Internship Results for Summer 2005>>
Internships are a vital component of IUJ students' career develop-
ment. Every year many students get an internship to test out their
new skills, network with professionals in their target field, and
better define themselves before their second year academic special-
ization studies. In Summer 2005, 100% of the MBA students and 91%
of the MA candidates secured internships. There are 5 students
with multiple internships, and 10 students received multiple offers
but took 1 internship. Companies and organizations who accepted
IUJ students include AEON, ANA, British American Tobacco, Credit
Suisse First Boston, Ford Motors, Lehman Brothers, Merril Lynch,
Standard Charterd, Tokyo American Club, UN International Criminal
Tribunal, UNCRD Environment Group, UN Headquarters, and more.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
August - September 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Graduation Ceremony for E-biz Class of 2005>>
The E-biz graduation ceremony 2005 will be held on Friday, August
26 at the MLIC Hall on campus. There are 19 graduating students
from 9 countries; Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy,
Japan, Myanmar, Philippines, and Tanzania.
<<Worldwide IUJ First Friday on September 2>>
The 3rd annual "Worldwide IUJ First Friday" is scheduled on Sept. 2
this year. Last year the event was held in 30 cities all over the
globe, and this year it will expand to be held in 55 cities! A
"Virtual Reunion" is planned, too.
This event is for IUJ alumni to network, to stay in touch with old
friends, make great IUJ connections with new ones, and relive their
IUJ days. It is a very good opportunity for prospective students
as well to learn what IUJ is really like. If you are interested in
joining, please send an e-mail to "Alumni@..." with the
headline, "September 2 Event Information Request," including your
name, contact address, program of interest (IDP, IRP, MBA, or
e-Biz), and the city you wish to attend.
<<IUJ Entrance Ceremony 2005>>
The IUJ Entrance Ceremony 2005 will be held as follows:
Date: Wednesday, September 28
Time: 10:30-11:30 (to be followed by a reception on campus)
Venue: Community Hall SAWARABI (Urasa 5175, Minami Uonuma-shi,
Niigata)
(Events at other venues)
<<The MBA Tour>>
The IUJ Business School will participate in "The MBA Tour" in 8
cities in Asia. This will be a very good opportunity for prospect-
ive applicants to meet with IUJ faculty and alumni and discuss your
graduate studies and future careers!
* Fair Schedule
Tokyo ------- September 8 (Thursday)
Seoul ------- September 10 (Saturday)
Beijing ----- September 13 (Tuesday)
Shanghai ---- September 15 (Thursday)
Taipei ------ September 17 (Saturday)
Manila ------ September 20 (Tuesday)
Bangkok ----- September 22 (Thursday)
Singapore --- September 24 (Saturday)
For more information, please access The MBA Tour official page:
http://www.thembatour.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<2005 Valedictorian Speeches>>
On Wednesday, June 29, IUJ's 2005 Graduation was held. Valedictori-
ans for GSIR and the MBA Program in GSIM delivered the following
speeches.
-*-
Ms. Chu Thi Trung Hau (Vietnam)
Valedictorian, IR Class of 2005
Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, distinguished guests, faculty and
staff, friends, ladies and gentlemen.
At this moment, when I have only 2 days left at IUJ and almost one
week in Japan, I am having mixed feelings of happiness, excitement
and sadness. I am happy to be here, in this town hall today, to
receive my Master's degree certificate after 2 years of hard work,
and to deliver this valedictory speech on behalf of our graduating
2005 GSIR class. I am excited about going home to see my loved ones
and to find a new job. At the same time, I am feeling sad to say
goodbye to you, to IUJ, to my 2-year stay full of joy and friend-
ship.
Graduation is about moving on with our lives. However, as we
graduate we are leaving behind what has been a very intense experi-
ence at IUJ. Certainly, we have so many memories of our time here
that it is very difficult to mention them all but they will surely
live on forever, something that can never be taken away from us.
Today I just want to pick up the three best rewards that we have
earned for our 2 years at IUJ.
First of all, it is our privilege to have been studying in a truly
international environment of IUJ. It is indeed a rare opportunity
for one to sit besides classmates coming from more than 40 coun-
tries and to learn from professors of about 10 nationalities. And
imagine how nice it will be when you will be able find IUJ friends
in almost every corner of the world that you travel to, from Asia
to Africa, from America to Europe. Such networking is really unique
and hard to obtain anywhere else.
Second is the countless out-of-classroom interactions with faculty
members and fellow students on campus. Living in a rather small but
very warm dormitory with classmates around and professors nearby
has been a truly precious experience. Our interactions have there-
fore not been limited to within the classroom. In fact, what I
found especially appealing was that we can discuss with professors
and chat with friends anytime we run into them in the shokudo and
caf$B!&(Bno problem, in the gym, on the tennis court, in the corrid-
ors, the lifts, kitchens, on the way to the class and so forth.
Through such opportunities, our learning from our knowledgeable
professors during the last 2 years has gone far beyond what we
gained from their inspiring lectures in the classroom.
Also through numerous interactions with friends around the dorm-
itory, we got to know them very well. We know not only about their
family, experience, and future plans including things as specific
as when to get married and where to go for honey moon. But we also
know their favorite food and sports, and even their daily routine.
We learn others' language, try others' food, and watch others'
movies. We even call each other with funny and sweet nicknames.
During the last 2 years, I myself have been very lucky to receive
so many nicknames from you guys, my dear friends. I will definitely
remember them all and miss your calling very much.
Last but not least is a wonderful 2 year stay in the countryside
with vast open space, fresh air, and beautiful scenery. We really
cannot ask for a better natural environment. And it is in this
countryside that we have been able to enjoy Japan's superb natural
beauty, to concentrate on our study, and more importantly to
establish our close friendships.
Our 2-year stay here has been an extremely rewarding experience
indeed. On behalf of the graduating GSIR class, I would like to
express our sincere gratitude to all faculty members, staff and
management of IUJ for their dedication and support during the
course of our degree programs. I would also like to thank you, my
dear fellow graduates, for your close companionship during the last
2 years that made my stay in IUJ the most memorable part of my
life. I wish you all the very best for your future endeavors.
Let's remember the good times that we have all shared. Please keep
in touch, stay close, and make our friendship a really long lasting
one.
Thank you.
-*-
Mr. Tomoyuki Yamashita (Japan)
Valedictorian, MBA Class of 2005
Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow students, parents, family members,
friends and alumni, it is indeed a great honor for me to stand
before you at high noon to deliver the valedictorian speech as a
representative of IUJ's MBA Class of 2005.
First of all, we would like to express our deepest appreciation to
Mr. Hori, the Chairman of GLOBIS Corporation, for having just given
a wonderful Congratulatory Address. I believe that his message was
very inspiring to us all. We would also like to thank Chairman
Kobayashi, President Yamazawa, Dean Borucki, former Dean Raja-
sekera, as well as all the faculty members and administration
staff here at IUJ. Each and every one of you has done so much to
make both our academic and living environment comfortable and
conducive to our graduate management education. Thanks to you all,
during the past two years we have been greatly encouraged by your
efforts. You have truly assisted us in facing and successfully
conquering the arduous challenges of our two-year MBA Program.
There are no words to express how grateful we brand-new MBA holders
feel about your attendance in helping us celebrate our accomplish-
ments today. We could not have done it without your fast and
continuous support during the past twenty-four months.
In my case, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to my
employer, Tokyo Electric Power Company, for providing me with the
fantastic chance to go for my MBA at IUJ and to spend last fall
semester at New York University's Stern School of Business on an
exchange scholarship. I am also really grateful to my wife and our
parents who have mentally supported me during my stay here on
campus as each season came and went in its turn.
About two years ago, when I first came to our countryside campus
from metropolitan Tokyo, I was quite surprised at what I regarded
then as a totally isolated environment. Even if I wanted to obtain
daily commodities that I could get at any local convenience store
back in Katsushika Ward, I needed to walk off campus more than 20
minutes to get to the nearest shop.
Before coming here, I also heard that Niigata's Minami Uonuma was
one of the places in Japan having the heaviest snowfall every
winter. So, I honestly wondered whether I could survive two long
winters here in taking on IUJ's rigorous MBA education. Since
survival under such difficult conditions would be very tough even
for native Japanese, I imagined that my foreign classmates,
especially those from semi-tropical nations, would also be facing
a big challenge in accustoming themselves to this environment.
However, I gradually realized that our so-called "closed" environ-
ment, having to live in close quarters with each other in this
isolated place, actually positively contributed to making the
relationships among the members of the Class of 2005 even that much
stronger. It was truly a blessing in disguise. Even the earth-
uake that hit Niigata last October, as terrible as it was, somehow
contributed to the spirit of camaraderie among us and with the
members of the Minami Uonuma community.
The most important thing I have learned in going for my IUJ MBA is
the importance of taking leadership. As classmates of the host
country, all Japanese students are expected to exercise leadership,
such as on IMP projects, and to assist foreign candidates both in
and out of the classroom. Through working together with us
Japanese classmates as we all burned the midnight oil on group
assignments, I believe that foreign classmates were able to gain a
firsthand experience of Japanese culture and way of doing business,
while we Japanese students were able to learn about foreign
cultures and how to unify different opinions --- by exercising
leadership skills.
As the most senior classmate from the host country, I tried to be,
in some small way, a role model in both my personal and academic
life at IUJ during these two years. Since Japanese society is
famous for its seniority-based culture, I always thought that if I
behaved wrongly, foreign classmates might think that something was
wrong with me! So, although I never thought of myself as a
positive role model before I got here, I made it a rule to behave
as the epitome of an international business professional while I
was here. I am confident that all of my classmates, both Japanese
and non-Japanese, will go out into the world from today as leaders
in their personal, community and business life.
I still remember a very interesting point that Professor Mayhew
made in our first year's marketing class. Do you remember it? It
was when we were doing a case study about a greenhorn Harvard MBA
regarding the new business of contact lenses for chickens to
prevent cannibalization. During our class discussion, Professor
Mayhew asked us to consider whether the chicken business was worthy
of a Harvard alumnus. It had neither social value nor offered the
chance to earn big money. So, Professor Mayhew wondered if it
might not be worthy of a highly educated business professional.
At this moment, I do not want to argue whether the chicken contact
lenses business was worthy or not. However, I do think that we
should keep in mind that, whatever we decide to do in our business
life, we should consider things carefully before taking action
based on its inherent social value, ethical standards, and business
norms, as we have learned at IUJ. From now on, we will be judged
as business professionals. Let's do everything we can to be worthy
of our IUJ MBA education!
Although we have already entered the 21st Century, there are still
many intractable conflicts existing among nations. These conflicts
include struggles to win concessions for energy, or battles about
religion, or the unfortunate legacy of history, among others. We
members of IUJ's MBA Class of 2005 have been educated in Japan, the
world's only nation that is governed by a war-renouncing Constitu-
tion and the only country that has suffered from nuclear destruct-
ion. Our culture and norms are a unique mixture of those facts and
the weight of a long tradition as an island nation.
Based on your life here in Japan for the past two years, I think
that you have all realized that the Japanese people regard world
peace as all-important and that we are eater to support developing
nations to become increasingly prosperous. I hope all our foreign
classmates will consider themselves as messengers of goodwill and
friendly international feeling as they convey our eternal commit-
ment to world peace, and as agents of change who deeply understand
Japanese culture, norms, and way of thinking as you do good busi-
ness in your home countries.
In closing, please allow me to offer my most sincere congratulat-
ions to each and every one of the members of the Class of 2005!
From now on, each one of us will be eyeing our own lofty goals as
we pursue different business fields in different countries. How-
ever, all of us always share one outstanding qualification as a
truly international business professional. That is, all of us have
the coveted IUJ MBA under our belt. Let's achieve our lofty goals
with whatever it takes as representatives of a first-class Japanese
business management education and thus as true IUJ alumni.
Thank you very much for your kind attention and please accept my
best wishes for the great success of all our future endeavors!
* Please read about the graduation ceremony at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/news/Graduation2005E.cfm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Profile of IEP Visiting Faculty Members>>
In addition to the 3 IUJ English language faculty members, 11
visiting faculty members are here to help IEP students brush up
their English skills. Wishing to get to know them during their
short stay at IUJ, we asked them the following questions, and 9 of
them kindly responded:
1) What is your name and how do your colleagues call you?
2) Where are you from?
3) What is your home institution?
4) What course are you going to teach in the IEP? And please tell
us about its highlight.
5) Please introduce yourself briefly and tell us about your goals
in the IEP.
Here are their answers:
Prof. Christian Stuart
1) Name: Christian Stuart, Call Name: Christian
2) American.
3) University of Washington.
4) Text Skills--centers on academic writing
5) I'm originally from California but currently live in Seattle.
I have an MA TESL from the University of Washington and I'm
currently working on a PhD. I'm interested in the teaching of
writing, in both first and second languages. I hope to prepare
students to gain more control over their writing as they enter
their graduate work here at IUJ in the fall.
Prof. Christopher Muffett
1) My name is Christopher Muffett and people call me Chris.
2) I am English.
3) I teach at the Warsaw School of Economics.
4) I teach on the OCSVALS summer course and its highlights must
be the social events: The mid term party at the posh Japanese
restaurant amd the final party at the hotel Okabe in Urasa.
5) I've been teaching for twenty years and I still enjoy it. I
did an MA in English language and literature at Edinburgh
Univerity and I am now a freelance university English teacher
in Poland. I also examine for the British Council. I just got
married on the 8th July 2005. My Polish wife, Gosia is with me
now, so this is our honeymoon. This is her second time in
Japan. I have a total experience of 4 years here. But my
Japanese language skills, I'm ashamed to say, are awful. My
wife is addicted to the Water melons here and I'm addicted to
the superior rice and sushi in Niigata.
My goals are to help the students prepare for the difficult
English lectures ahead but also to reassure them that they
will succeed if they try hard. I feel humbled to be in the
company of such experienced and hard working students. This
is my third summer here and my happiest.
Prof. Corey Muench
1) Corey Muench, call name: Corey
2) American
3) Indiana University
4) Text Skills. Highlight: being able to read interesting
writings from some very brilliant students
5) I am originally from Missouri (near the Mississippi River) and
did my graduate work at Indiana University in Bloomington. I
have studied and taught in France and I am currently living in
Vancouver, Canada. When I'm not teaching Text Skills, I enjoy
hanging out with the other IEP teachers, riding my bike, and
studying Japanese!
In the IEP, I hope to help my students improve their reading
and writing skills in English and have fun doing it.
Prof. Gary Ockey
1) Gary Ockey
2) U.S.
3) University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
4) Oral Communication Skills, Vocabulary, Academic Listening
Skills
5) I have been teaching English for nearly twenty years and have
taught in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and the US. I am currently
working on a doctoral degree at the University of California,
Los Angeles in language testing. This summer, I hope to
motivate students to make English an important part of their
lives.
Prof. Gwenan Richards
1) Gwenan Richards - my preferred call name is Gwenan
2) Welsh, i.e. from Wales (U.K)
3) Have been teaching EAP at the University of Birmingham
(England) for the past 3 years.
4) Text Skills teacher
5) I have very much enjoyed my first week at IUJ and, indeed,
Japan. I look forward to exchanging ideas with IUJ students,
both inside and outside the classroom.
Prof. Lindsay Morley
1) My name - Lindsay Morley (call me Lindsay)
2) Nationality - British
3) Home Institution - I work for the London Language Centre
4) I teach Text Skills as I am particularly interested in
Academic Writing
5) I am pleased to be in such a beautiful place and this summer
I am looking forward to walking, cycling and running in the
mountains. I am also keen to learn more about Japan and all
the participants' countries. I think we are in for a great
summer!
Prof. Michael Krapin
1) Michael Krapin - Michael
2) American, from the US
3) Pace University in New York
4) OCSVALS: Oral Communications Skills-Vocabulary-Academic
Listening Skills
Course Highlight: Oral Presentations and Group Discussions
5) I've been an English teacher in the US, Japan, Korea, Taiwan,
Turkey, Brazil, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. I'm delighted to be
in such lovely surroundings here at IUJ and look forward to
hiking in the nearby mountains, visiting onsens, and taking
advantage of some of the many cultural and recreational oppor-
tunities available. More importantly, I hope to help the
students learn as much from me as I'll surely learn from them.
Prof. Ronald Fuentes
1) Ronald Fuentes, call name: Ron
2) Canadian
3) University of Washington--Seattle, WA, USA
4) OCSVALS
5) I am currently pursuing doctoral studies in language policy
and language and identity* in Seattle, WA. I wish that
students will not only learn as much as possible but also
enjoy themselves in the process.
("Language and identity" regards the effects of learning a
language on an individual's identity. For example, learning
a language may affect a person acts and thinks in social,
academic or professional environments. A person whose parents
are Japanese and is growing up in the United States may have
difficulty in identifying himself/herself with being Japanese
or American.)
Prof. Tina Ying
1) Name: Tina Ying
2) Nationality: American
3) Teachers College, Columbia University
4) Text Skills; writing, reading and grammar
5) I was born in Taipen, Taiwan but I grew up in California.
After college, I studied at Beijing University for one year
then went on to teach English in Japan for three years on the
JET Program. Currently, I am a graduate student at Teachers
College in New York City. I like New York very much but my
favorite place to live is still the San Francisco Bay Area!
I'm very happy to be at IUJ for the summer because it's such
a nice campus, surrounded by beautiful mountains...something
that I truly miss in NYC!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
We are happy to introduce an entrepreneur, Mr. Neelakanth P. Phadke
from India. Taking advantage of his experiences with a Japanese
insurance company, Mr. Phadke started his own insurance company in
his country.
Mr. Neelakanth P. Phadke (India)
MBA Class of 1992
Chairman & CEO
Nipun Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd.
After I completed my MBA at IUJ, I returned to India and worked in
my earlier government-owned insurance company for four years. In
April 1996, I joined Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. as
the Advisor for India. We tried our best to start a joint venture
non-life insurance company in India. Unfortunately, Sumitomo Marine
& Mitsui Marine merged in October 2001 and Sumitomo Marine ceased
to exist and thus the initiative for starting a JV. Hence I resign-
ed and formed my own company for insurance brokering in Feb 2003,
as insurance brokers were being introduced in the Indian market
beginning in January 2003.
The name of my company is "Nipun Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd."
"Nipun" is a Sanskrit word which means "an expert." Since I have
a background in Sanskrit (MA in Sanskrit), I wanted to give the
company a Sanskrit name. Nipun also means Japan and Puna (Pune)
when it is written in Japanese script. This is to acknowledge my
debt to Japan and Pune - the two places which have deeply influen-
ced me.
We sell the products of more than 20 life and non-life insurance
companies in India. This is the best platform, but people are not
yet aware of it, since brokers were not there earlier in this
market. We started making cash profit this year and God willing,
we may post a small net profit as well! The company has grown to
8 people now! Our future looks promising.
I have no doubt that without my IUJ MBA, I would have had no confi-
dence to start this venture. Late Prof. Otsuki, Prof Quinn, Prof.
Park, Prof Hiraki and other faculty members were key to my
education at IUJ and current success.
The IUJ MBA has also helped me in stock market operations for my
own portfolio. When I started the company, I had to raise about
Yen 16 million for equity capital. I had hardly any cash, as my
investment was in stocks. I raised lot of debt as I hated to sell
my shares in a depressed market since the Bombay Stock Exchange
index was around 2800, almost at its nadir. Now today it is 7300.
Holding on to my portfolio has proved a very profitable decision.
I take a very meager salary from my company. However, I have been
helped by the rising stock market and it has virtually paid for my
family expenses during these three financial years. It has also
made me debt-free.
I would be happy to give 26% equity (maximum allowed as per current
laws) in my company to any Japanese company since I wish to conti-
nue my association with Japan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview New!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The World of the Job Interview: Series Introduction
Welcome to the world of the unexpected. That critical few moments
after you have successfully landed an interview and prepared yourself
to meet the interviewer $B!&(Band you walk into the interview room
and
have to quickly adjust yourself to the interview style to follow.
Unless you are lucky and are told what to expect, many who go into
an interview don't know what will come from the interviewer. There
are many styles of interviews, and many kinds of interviewers. This
new series to the IUJ E-magazine will look at the various kinds of
interviews IUJ students have experienced and profile a few interview-
er personalities we have seen. I hope to give you some advice on
how to succeed no matter what you find after you are invited to sit
down in the interview hot seat.
In the next 13 months, I will help you learn about the following
interview styles I see on campus and in Tokyo. When you are here as
a student and I am working with you as your Career Counselor, I will
do my best to get you information on the style of interview to expect
from each campus recruiter. We can even practice the various styles
before you experience the real thing.
Interview Styles:
1) The Screening Interview
2) Structured Interview
3) Unstructured Interview
4) One-on-One Interview
5) Panel Interview
6) Group Interview
7) HR vs Supervisor Interview
8) Stress Interview
9) Case Interview or Case questions in an interview
10) "Blank" Interview
11) Telephone Interview
12) Second and Third Interviews
13) Salary negotiations Interview
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<What does the "IUJ Blue" stand for?>>
You see a very deep and clear blue in the IUJ logo, brochures and
Homepage. This blue color, a.k.a. "IUJ Blue," stands for the sky
and the ocean. It symbolizes the sky and the ocean that surround
and unite the world as one. Pretty suitable choice of color for
the diverse IUJ, wouldn't you say?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on September 5, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
September 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ Curriculum Reformed>>
IUJ is launching new curriculum in September 2005. For details,
please read "Academic Spotlights."
<<Online Application Becomes Available on September 12>>
IUJ's online application system will be activated on September 12.
Please access the following on the 6th and beyond:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
September - October 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<IUJ Entrance Ceremony 2005>>
The IUJ Entrance Ceremony 2005 will be held as follows:
Date: Wednesday, September 28
Time: 10:30-11:30 (to be followed by a reception on campus)
Venue: Community Hall SAWARABI (Urasa 5175, Minami Uonuma-shi,
Niigata)
For those interested in IUJ, this would be a good opportunity to
visit our campus and feel the dynamism of IUJ. If you are
interested, please send an email to info@.... We would
arrange a campus tour and a meeting with faculty in addition to
participation in the ceremony and reception. Look forward to
welcoming you to our diverse campus!
(Events at other venues)
<<The MBA Tour>>
The IUJ Business School will participate in "The MBA Tour" in 8
cities in Asia. This will be a very good opportunity for prospect-
ive applicants to meet with IUJ faculty and alumni and discuss your
graduate studies and future career!
* Fair Schedule
Tokyo ------- September 8 (Thursday)
Seoul ------- September 10 (Saturday)
Beijing ----- September 13 (Tuesday)
Shanghai ---- September 15 (Thursday)
Taipei ------ September 17 (Saturday)
Manila ------ September 20 (Tuesday)
Bangkok ----- September 22 (Thursday)
Singapore --- September 24 (Saturday)
For more information, please access The MBA Tour official page:
http://www.thembatour.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Internship Reports Part I>>
This summer again many students had their internships to develop
their future careers and build networks in their chosen fields.
In the next two months, we are going to have internship reports
from students.
-*-
Ms. Joshi Aditi Shrirang (India)
IDP Class of 2006
Interned at the United Nations Center
for Regional Development
<<My Internship Experience>>
I am doing my internship at the United Nations Center for Regional
Development (UNCRD) Nagoya. I joined on July 1 and will continue
until the end of August.
My experience has been just incredible: It exceeds my expectations
in every way. I am learning a great deal and get to be a part of
this international environment that is pretty special. It is all
hard to imagine before you experience it.
I am working with the Environment group here and helping the staff
at UNCRD with their project on Environmentally Sustainable trans-
port. Being here gives me the opportunity to learn about activities
of the UNCRD from close quarters. In this short span I have been
challenged with a variety of tasks from some administrative support
jobs to substantial work, like assisting the research staff in
their research for a paper being presented at a conference on En-
vironment Sustainability in Brisbane. This research support experi-
ence has been the most valuable as it helped me understand and
learn not only about environmentally sustainable practices, polic-
ies, etc. but also I have learned so much about writing a paper for
a journal.
In addition to learning new things, this internship gave me an
opportunity to use what I had studied at IUJ in the International
Development Program so far. It gives me so much satisfaction to
actually get a chance to implement what I have learned so far on
campus in this real-world setting. It just makes all the hard work
and study I put in the last one year worthwhile!
Fortunately for me the coordinator at the environment group gave me
the chance to participate in a Regional EST forum and International
Environment Conference in Asia held by UNCRD jointly with the Jap-
anese ministry that handles environmental issues. At the conference
I met and interacted with so many important people in this field
and found out first hand what it takes to make it in this field. I
also received advise on what I should focus on in my second year at
IUJ before I graduate etc.
This chance was also one of the best things that has so far happen-
ed to me, since I got to talk to the experts and do my bit of "Net-
working" - some people from a few research institutes actually have
asked me to get in touch with them after my graduation! What more
could I ask for?
This internship at UNCRD has enabled me to understand the UN syst-
em, see the benefits of independent work and also to participate
in a multi-cultural environment. The work place is not only fun
(fun is when my colleagues try to teach me Kansai ben and my
attempt at trying to learn it!!!) but also intellectually stimulat-
ing.
I couldn't have asked for anything better!
-*-
Mr. Kohei Takashima (Japan)
MBA Class of 2006
Interned at Merrill Lynch Japan
<<My internship experience at Merrill Lynch Japan>>
For two months starting in July, I have been an intern at the
Finance Department of Merrill Lynch Japan. Right now (as of early
August), I am engaged in the NFRR (Non-Financial Regulatory Report-
ing) unit with 3 senior members. Our main responsibilities are to
submit reports to regulatory organizations inside and outside of
Japan on businesses conducted by our clients and by the Merrill
Lynch Group worldwide, and on unsettled balances. As almost all
products of the Group are subject to report, not only can I obtain
knowledge about each and every financial product the Group offers
but also I get to have a bigger picture of the operations of
securities companies through interactions with self-regulatory
organizations such as the Japan Securities Dealers Association,
the Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency.
I am very lucky to have opportunities to gain experiences I could
not normally get out of day-to-day operations: I have had dinner
with the Director who gave me this internship offer, Managers, and
the CFO, and had lunch with the Chairman and President of Merrill
Lynch Japan and the HR Chief Executive in Asia. They talk about
the culture and principles of Merrill Lynch and share their wisdom
on financial circles in general and their advice as forerunners of
life. These words are truly thought-provoking to me in planning my
future careers. In reaching the final point of this internship, I
am hoping to find out what is needed to be successful in this field
and to study to achieve it in my remaining year at IUJ and build
the foundation of my future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<The New IUJ --- Introduction of IUJ's New Curriculum>>
Preparing for its 25th anniversary, IUJ is launching a new curriculum
design where the graduate student becomes an active researcher
contributing to the IUJ challenge of Global Issues.
The following new programs and initiatives make IUJ a unique and
dynamic place to study where students from over 50 nations can
contribute while preparing for their future careers:
1) IUJ has added a new MA degree track: International Peace Studies
Program (IPSP). This degree will provide students with a base of
knowledge on what contributes to peaceful societies and the avoid-
ance of conflict Esustainable development, poverty reduction,
balanced economic and social environments, etc. The role of busi-
nesses, government and organizations will also be explored. This
degree is expected to draw students from both the public and pri-
vate sector as fostering peace requires trained specialists across
the board.
2) The Business School, with its MBA and Masters of E-business
Management degrees, will begin to emphasize Societal Responsibili-
ty as a core value of business leaders. Learning to lead on the
global stage requires sensitivity to the environment and the
people in the region the business operates.
3) In addition to academic studies in the core degree programs
(MBA, MA in International Development, MA in International
Relations, MA in Peace Studies, and Masters of E-business Manage-
ment), students will also participate in a specific research
module that focuses on a pressing Global Issue. Research into
these world challenges will cross degree lines and involve both
public and private sector specialists in multicultural, multi-
functional teams. These teams will involve not only campus
faculty and students, but the global network of IUJ alumni parti-
cipating in person and via online discussions, special advisors
from the professional world, and outside research specialists.
IUJ students will participate as active researchers first learning
from those engaged in one of the 8 themes, then contributing with
their own thesis on a topic needed to understand a specific part
of the overall theme. The research will culminate in symposia,
publications and will contribute to solving Global Challenges from
the business and public sector perspectives.
IUJ will concentrate on the following Global Challenges, or research
"Platforms":
(Public Sector Platforms)
Requirements for Peace Building and International Cooperation
Human Security and Economic Development
Medical Service and Health Care for Human Security
(Private Sector Platforms)
New Leadership
Corporate Restructuring and Governance
Market Evolution and Value Co-Creation
Restructuring of Innovation Dynamics
(Common Platforms)
Globalization and Innovation of Organizations and Systems
Change to Global Society of Resource Cycling
Through these 3 new offerings, we will exploit the multicultural
environment of IUJ as well as the wide spread of professional inter-
ests of our students and faculty. IUJ hopes to better prepare prof-
essionals who are able to take on leadership on multicultural teams
with sensitivity and effectiveness, and who have deep knowledge in
their degree area as well as a challenge facing the world. When an
IUJ student leaves campus and enters their professional lives, they
will be well equipped to make a significant contributions in their
chosen capacity as global leaders.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
We are happy to introduce Mr. Toru Iwasaki. Mr. Iwasaki has been
engaged in healthy youth development for a long time. As part of
his activities, he formed the very first national baseball team
of Myanmar this year to promote young people's independence in one
of the poorest countries in the world.
-*-
Mr. Toru Iwasaki (Japan)
IR Class of 1988
President
Iwasaki Musou Initiatives (IMI)
In 2005 marking 60 years after World War II, the first National
Baseball Team came into existence in Myanmar, a country in South-
east Asia once called, "Burma." It is a national team in name but
the reality is that it is the only team in the country and has only
16 players. In the past 11 years, I have been a drug control
specialist starting as a representative of UNDCP (United Nations
Drug Control Programme) in Myanmar and many other positions, and I
observed and was shaken by the environment surrounding young people
in this country. I strongly felt that we need to foster them as
responsible members of society.
As a way of cultivating a sense of responsibility in them, I had
this wish of forming a "baseball team." Coincidentally, a Myanmar
native came to me and said, "Please teach boys how to play base-
ball." Then boys came to me after hearing the rumor. With finan-
cial support from Japanese voluntary supporters, these "shoeless"
boys cleared the waste land and turned it into a baseball field in
2002. Thus, the history of baseball in Myanmar started in 2000.
My primary responsibilities lie on youth development, including
drug control, and nurturing internationally-minded people, and the
baseball team formed with the aim of achieving these goals has
improved with support from the Baseball Federation of Asia, the
Japan High School Baseball Federation, the people in Japan and
Myanmar, and many others.
Five years ago, I started coaching the Myanmarese boys and taught
them from scratch as they had no knowledge whatsoever of baseball
rules. These young people from one of the poorest countries in the
world encounter difficulties in focusing on baseball with hardships
in carrying on their daily lives. During the 4-year period, more
than 1,000 youths visited the field and left it struggling to
survive to live, and only 16 people stayed. These are the 16
members of the current team. My real goal is to have them stand on
the mound at an international baseball game! My initial goal of
forming a Myanmar Baseball Federation finally came true in February
this year after 5 years, and the "Myanmar Baseball Federation" was
founded and the Myanmar National Baseball Team was brought into
reality.
To my delight and excitement, this baseball team is going to repre-
sent the country in an international game in November 2005. This
unknown Myanmar team will make an international debut at the ASEAN
game called SEA GAME to be held in Manila, the Philippines, carry-
ing Myanmar people's hopes and dreams.
Unfortunately, Myanmar goes through a very severe monsoon season
from June through October. The baseball field is in no condition
for use and the team members have no place to practice. I thought
of an alternative, and that is a "camp in Japan." I decided that
an intensive camp in Japan during the monsoon season is essential
for the Myanmar team to play well in the international game.
With a strong belief in kind cooperation and support from the
people and organizations in the baseball society, I landed in Japan
on August 2 with the team members thrilled with their first ever
expedition to Japan, and our 2-month intensive camp began. I often
asked myself, "Are people born in a poor country not allowed to
even have a dream?" Of course, they are! Dreams exist for every
young person!
The team members' battles to obtain a dream have just started.
They have made much effort in improving their baseball skills in
spite of their poorest environment. I firmly believe that if their
dreams about baseball come true, that will give them confidence in
themselves and help them lead a healthy and sound life. They
endured practices in the heat of 50 degrees Celsius, and they soon
will be standing proud in the field in front of an international
audience. In response to my request for helping them have their
victory in their first international competition, people and
organizations in the baseball society extended great support and
hence our camp in Japan has been fulfilled and I am very thankful.
If you are interested in our activities, please access the Myanmar
National Team cheering site supported by well-wishers, and the
Homepage of the Iwasaki Musou Initiatives (IMI).
Myanmar National Team cheering site:
http://www.11card.jp/myanmar/
IMI Homepage: http://www.iwasaki-musoujuku.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The World of the Job Interview: Part 1 - Screening interview
"Well, that was a waste of time . . . what did he possibly accomplish
from that interview?" That is a common comment heard from students
who have experienced a professional screening interview. They are
often left feeling that nothing specific enough was covered, no facts
were revealed and all the interview preparation they did was for
naught. But in fact, the interviewer as learned a lot about you.
Your communication style, your facial expressions, your aura, manner-
isms and corporate culture fit. The screening interview serves as a
filter to find from the long list of applicants, those that have the
best natural fit for the type of company/organization or position
being offered. It makes no decisions as to who will get the job
offer, but serves to save the main interviewers time in meeting
people who, for whatever reasons, just would not fit.
Maybe it is your communication style, or maybe you do not appear
confident and able to handle stress. Maybe you are too out-going,
over qualified, or overconfident to accept the more humble position
available. For whatever the reason the interviewer can feel you
should not be sent to the next round. This means, as an interviewee,
you must quickly assess the fact that this is a screening interview
and provide a simple, confident and open appearance so you get moved
on to the next interview. Answer questions directly and simply and
go into detail only if asked. Be friendly and create a good rela-
tionship with the interviewer so you get called back. Don't try to
"win" the job in this interview. You can't. But strive to provide
just enough information and personal presence to go onto the next
round.
Who gives such interviews? In general, HR folks who are meeting a
LONG list of candidates in rather short interviews give screening
interviews. But do not get caught unprepared, because often the
screening interview turns immediately into a different kind of inter-
view. If you pass the initial screening, the interviewer shifts
styles (or if you do not pass simply thanks you for your time). See
next month for what other styles to look for.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<What is the average temperature around IUJ?>>
Around IUJ, where you can see seasons change the air and colors,
the temperature varies from hot to relatively cold. Here are the
average temperature in 4 different seasons:
Spring (March through May) 14 degrees Celsius
(57 degrees Fahrenheit)
Summer (June through August) 23 degrees Celsius
(73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Fall (September through November) 9 degrees Celsius,
(48 degrees Fahrenheit)
Winter (December through February) 1.5 degrees Celsius
(35 degrees Fahrenheit)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CORRECTION FROM THE AUGUST EDITION
In the "Alumni Spot <<After IUJ>>" in the August edition, there was
an error. We apologize for it and wish to correct it as follows:
(Wrong)
Mr. Phadke started his own insurance company in his country.
(Correct)
Mr. Phadke started his own insurance brokering company in his country.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on October 3, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
October 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-magazine is sent to registered members. IF YOU DID NOT
REQUEST TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, or no longer wish to, please
send a blank email message to: iuj-emag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Another Successful IUJ Worldwide Friday>>
IUJ's worldwide network of Alumni proved an exciting source of
friendship and fun in September. IUJ Worldwide Friday, officially
held on September 2 but with events throughout the month, brought
together over 300 alumni in over 35 cities from Barbados (with a
gathering of just one and some friends) to Yangon. More cities
will report in shortly, and October will see another 5 cities host
gatherings of IUJ alumni. WorldWide Friday 2005 saw events from 1
alum kampai-ing IUJ with his family and friends to groups of 35 in
Indonesia celebrating a weekend together and over 50 sharing a beer
in Tokyo. Several professors and even entering or prospective
students attended dinner parties in Kuala Lumpur, Beijing,
Shanghai, Bishkek and beyond. Three events in Japan alone (Tokyo,
Osaka and Nagoya) were all held on the official Sept. 2 date. 25
in New York City gathered on Sept. 16 for a Japanese dinner party.
For a full list and a slideshow, please see
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/alumni/events/
<<New Students' Profile>>
In Fall 2005, IUJ welcomes 127 new students from 42 countries.
Countries represented by the biggest number of students are
Indonesia and Myanmar with 10 students each. Nine students from
Vietnam, 8 from China, and 5 from the Philippins follow. Among the
127 new students, 2 IDP students, 5 MBA students, and 5 E-biz
students are corporate-sponsored. Their sponsoring companies are:
== International Development Program ==
NSK
Toyo Construction
== MBA Program ==
Matsushita Electric (2 students)
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance
Shinko Securities
TEPCO
== E-business Management Program ==
Daishi Bank
Fuji Xerox
Ryosan (2 students)
Victor-JVC
<<Exchange Students for Fall 2005>>
IUJ welcomes 13 exchange students in this fall term. Here is the
list of their home schools:
((Asian Institutions)) - 3 students
National Chengchi University (Taiwan, 1 student)
Seoul National University (Korea, 1 student)
Thammasat University (Thailand, 1 student)
((European Institutions)) - 7 students
Aarhus School of Business (Denmark, 2 students)
Bocconi University of Milan (Italy, 1 student)
E.M. Lyon (France, 1 student)
ESADE (Spain, 1 student)
Koc University (Turkey, 1 student)
Manchester Business School (UK, 1 student)
((North American Institutions)) - 3 students
Carleton University (Canada, 1 student)
Syracuse University (USA, 1 student)
University of Washington (USA, 1 student)
<<GSIM Announces New Dean and Associate Dean>>
Vice President Shinichi Watanabe has assumed the GSIM deanship and
Dr. Yoshitaka Yamazaki the associate deanship respectively as of
September 15, 2005. We thank the former Dean Chet Borucki and 2
former Associate Deans Toshiro Wakayama and Glenn Mayhew for their
service through September 14.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
October - November 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Information Session on International Peace Studies Program>>
Date: Saturday, October 15
Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Venue: IUJ Tokyo Office (15-21, Roppongi 6-chome)
Under the new IUJ curriculum launched in September 2005, IUJ aims
to train leaders who can solve global issues in the publice sector,
the private sector, or the issues common in both sectors, while
offering Masters degree programs.
This information session is two-fold, although with special focus
on the new International Peace Studies Program, and presents the
programs in the two graduate schools. The schedule is as follows:
2:00pm- 1) Overview and curriculum of the International Peace
Studies Program and expected career paths
2) Curriculum of the International Development and Inter-
national Relations Programs in the 2006 academic year
4:00pm- Curriculum of the MBA and E-business Management Programs
in the 2006 academic year
Another information session is scheduled on Saturday, November 5.
We look forward to welcoming you to these sessions!
For details and application, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<IUJ Open Day & Open Campus>>
IUJ Open Day, one of IUJ's biggest festivals organized by
students, is scheduled on Saturday, November 19. We are planning
to combine this event with an Open Campus event, where prospective
applicants can meet faculty and students, observe a class, and have
a true IUJ experience staying overnight at the dormitory.
Watch for details to be announced in the next edition!
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IPSP,IDP&IRP October 6 October 26 ==
October 27 November 15 ==
November 21 December 1 ==
MBA&E-biz November 4 November 18 November 19
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<IUJ Information Meeting at SUNDAI>>
Date: Saturday, October 8
Time: 1:00-2:00pm
Venue: SUNDAI College of Foreign Languages (1-5-8 Kanda Suruga-
dai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062)
Program: IUJ Overview
Presentations on Masters Programs
2006 Admissions
If you are interested in attending this meeting, please provide
the following information to SUNDAI directly via e-mail, fax, or
telephone:
1) Date of the meeting
2) Your name
3) The program(s) of your interest
4) Your phone number
5) Your e-mail address
SUNDAI contact address
Tel.: 03-3233-3331 Fax: 03-3233-2469
@ http://www.sundaigaigo.ac.jp
@@ E-mail: ryugaku@...
<<World Grad School Tour>>
The Graduate School of International Relations (GSIR) will partici-
pate in the "World Grad School Tour" in Taipei, Shanghai, and
Bangkok. Those who are interested in furthering your studies in
international peace studies, international development and inter-
national relations, please don't miss this rare opportunity to
hear first-hand advice from IUJ faculty and alumni.
* World Grad School Tour *
Taipei on November 9 (Wednesday)
Shanghai on November 14 (Monday)
Bangkok on November 24 (Thursday)
For further information, please access the World Grad School Tour
official homepage:
http://www.topgraduate.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Internship Reports Part II>>
Mr. Success Mao (Cambodia)
IDP Class of 2006
Interned at the United Nations Headquarters
Having worked for a short-time with the United Nations office in
Cambodia, I hoped I could visit the UN headquarters in New York one
day. This opportunity was given to me when I was selected to the
summer internship program of the United Nations Secretariat in
which I was assigned to work in the office of the High Representa-
tive for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing
Countries, and Small Islands Developing States. I could not believe
that my application was selected among the 5,000 others which were
sent from graduate students all over the world. I must admit that I
feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be among
the lucky ones.
My assignment was to prepare for a follow-up meeting to a conferen-
ce on remittance to Least Developed Countries. I did research
through booklets, websites, resolutions, and other available docu-
ments in the office to produce position papers for the conference.
I also drafted several invitation letters to the UN system organi-
zations, and the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of
finance of countries concerned.
I will never forget my first day here when I bumped into a govern-
ment official from Africa at the UN cafeteria and only a day later
I got to know that he is the President of Benin who chaired the
conference on financing for development which I was allowed to
enter and listen to. I could not believe that he was just standing
in front of me, as if nothing.
It is such an exhilarating experience to meet high profile UN
actors and observe significant decisions taken in large meetings,
and be positively influenced by the international culture. The most
interesting part of this internship are the visits to the many
permanent missions of member states to the UN in which we have
chance to ask questions to ambassadors and their officials regard-
ing current world affairs from the reform of the Security Council
to the financing of the Millennium Development Goal. The working
environment itself is very multi-cultural. In the office that I am
working there are 22 people and all of them are from different
countries.
And what can I say about New York? Living in the financial hub of
the United States, I have come to find this fast-paced city to be
completely unpredictable. I am occasionally alone, rarely rested,
and with hope, never bored. While all this is exciting, it can also
be frustrating, claustrophobic, and stressful. However, it is the
coming together of the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ug-
ly, the opportunity and the problems that make living in New York
the experience it is.
Now, at 24 years old, I am just starting to compose my life and
can't decide yet which field for sure I want to get in. Whether I
end up in diplomacy, humanitarian affairs, politics, or business I
will always remember my experience from this summer.
-*-
Mr. Goutham Mullaguru (India)
MBA Class of 2006
Interned at Merrill Lynch Japan
I am interning at Merrill Lynch Japan and work gets more and more
exciting everyday. I am spending maximum time in the office to
maximise my learning. Mr. Raj is doing his best to make our intern-
ship here as exciting as possible. Mr. Raj has asked us to enroll
in the Training classes conducted by Lehman. These classes focus
on industry practices are very useful for my career goals.
I am very indebted to my manager Mr. Greg Ito. He was very kind to
allow me to enroll in all the classes(almost 77 hours of lectures
over two weeks). At the start, I was thinking, developing a website
might not add much value to my career path. I was very wrong in
that. This project demands a very clear understanding of the termi-
nology and the practices of the Treasury of Lehman. I have under-
stood some of the unique and best practices of Lehman's Treasury.
Mr. Greg Has given me enough Independance and Guidance when requir-
ed. I am enjoying and learning a lot working with him.
I should thank Mr. Ian Walker for accommodating the changes I have
proposed for the work assigned to me initially. I am working on
automating some of the work of the Cash Management group that is
done manually. Mr. Ian also assigned me a project to redesign a
data collection template and a management report that is based on
the template. This is a very challenging project and I am enjoying
the challenge. This is a great experience.
Mr. Craig offered me help with my thesis. I had a brief convers-
ation yesterday and he explained to me what the Treasury of Lehman
does in terms of Forex Risk management. He also said that he can
explain various functions of risk Management in more detail some
time in the next week. As my interests match with his areas of
expertise I wish to learn a lot from him. Learning from an
Industry practicioner is a totally different experience.
The internship with Lehman is a great experience and it maximises
our learning. I sincerely thank Mr. Greg, Mr. Ian, Mr. Craig and
all others for this opportunity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ's "Platform" Part I>>
As announced in the last edition, IUJ has introduced a new
curriculum.
IUJ is going to address global issues in the public sector, the
private sector, and issues common in both sectors and try to solve
them through particular research areas, which we call "Platforms."
We have 9 platforms, and are going to present one platform a month in
the next 9 months.
This month's Platform:
"Requirements for Peace Building and International Cooperation"
Overview:
This Platform aims to prevent armed conflicts among people with
different values and interests, and studies various regimes and
mechanisms to develop understanding among and bring benefits to
these people. Students from more than 50 countries, many from East
Asia, with various professional backgrounds including those in the
public sector, gather at IUJ to study and research with a strong
interest in solving very critical global issues.
IUJ provides the best possible educational environment that no
other institution in Japan can offer for those students studying
"Requirements for Peace Building and International Cooperation."
With the understanding of and respect for different values and
historical backgrounds, how can students develop mutual understand-
ing while comparing each others' values and histories, and how can
they build cooperative relationships for mutual benefits in the
future? The ultimate mission of this Platform is to provide a
forum for research and studies for bringing peace, stability and
prosperity to East Asia.
This Platform is comprised of the following two Platform Programs:
** "Study toward ODA's Role in a Reconstruction Process"
Armed conflicts destroy infrastructures that economic and social
activities depend upon. No matter how much it is critical to
reconstruct them, however, countries hit by armed conflicts lack
sufficient funds to do so. ODA plays a big role in re-building
peace after such conflicts.
This Program analyzes problems that occurred during the process
of peace re-building after conflicts in Indonesia, East Timor,
Afghanistan, and Myanmar, and it investigates what role Japan's
ODA played in solving these problems. It also examines what kind
of risks the companies who engaged in re-building infrastructures
encountered and what measures they took to avoid such risks from
the viewpoints of safety of employees, finance of projects,
implementation of projects, and various other aspects.
Through these studies, students can obtain basic knowledge and
skills needed to control risks and to develop cooperative
relationships with diverse sectors including the government of
partner countries, Japanese government, international organiza-
tions, former armed units, civilians, etc.
** "Study of Requirements for Establishing an East Asian Community"
This Program tries to clarify conditions for an East Asian Commu-
nity comprised of ASEAN countries, Japan, China, Korea, and
possibly North Korea to be approved. Compared to its counterpart
in Europe, the East Asian Community faces many deviations and has
a lot of hurdles to clear to be approved. Common understanding
among the member countries about their relationships historical-
ly, however, has not been reached and not much effort has been
made up to date.
IUJ provides a very advantageous educational and research envi-
ronment to make up for this research deficiency with students
from more than 50 countries with various professional backgrounds.
This Program seeks ways for people with different values and
histories, subject to these differences, to establish mutual
understanding and to build cooperative relationships for the
common benefits for the future.
-*-
Next month's Platform will be:
"Human Security and Economic Development"
For inquiries about Platforms, please contact:
"Platform Promotion Office" TEL: 025-779-1523
E-mail: platform@...
URL: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/platform/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumni spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<After IUJ>>
We are happy to introduce Mr. Bobby Wilde. He experienced a
company's acquisition and will tell us about his first-hand
experience.
-*-
Mr. Robert Wilde (USA)
MBA Class of 1997
Senior Manager of Business Operations
Yahoo!
Musicmatch, a software startup where I had worked since returning
to the United States in 2000, was purchased by Yahoo on October
18th, 2004. This last year has been professionally edifying and I
would like to share some personal thoughts about the period - the
months leading up to and following the acquisition.
"Most mergers and acquisitions fail to create shareholder value."
While I am not saying that the acquisition of Musicmatch will not
prove atypical, my experience at Musicmatch and now Yahoo has been
quite illustrative of the details that underlie this Business
School apothegm. Given the numerous pitfalls that await any organ-
ization attempting such an endeavor, one should have no doubt about
the statement's general validity.
Difficulties generally seem to stem from two root challenges:
information exchange and cultural reconciliation. The trusted ex-
change of knowledge presents the first hurdle to a successful trans-
action; particularly, as in the case of Yahoo, where the possible
acquirer is also a competitor.
In February 2004, an away team from Musicmatch met with Yahoo's
senior management in Sunnyvale to discuss our business and the
possibility of being acquired. My role at that meeting was to
present Musicmatch's revenues and performance to date as well as
future expectations. On the one hand, the goal of selling the
company required a critical acceptance of the business forecast as
grounded in reality. At the same time, to maximize the value of
the company, that forecast needed to capture the opportunity of
future growth prospects.
To establish credibility in our aggressive business models, we pre-
pared to discuss the rationale for every assumption, the breakdown
and trends among distribution partners, the market share and royal-
ty rates among label license providers, etc. This near complete
transparency built confidence towards our numbers on Yahoo's side,
but it was also a risky move. Such a detailed financial model pro-
vides a fully-enabled plan of operation for any party interested in
replicating our business. Regardless of NDAs or other legal pro-
tections, a certain amount of trust generally needs to be establi-
shed between the two parties before that degree of information
transparency can exist. In our particular case, the presence of
other bidders (with the strong expectation that one of the deals
would be consummated by year's end) allowed us to move quickly to
that level of openness.
As it so happened, those initial talks with Yahoo in February 2004
did sputter. And, indeed, to some degree or another, the knowledge
Yahoo gained from us was probably utilized by their music business
unit. However, executing on a particular roadmap can require
skills beyond simply understanding that business plan. As a
result, Yahoo came back and re-opened negotiations during the
summer. That delay provided Yahoo the opportunity to evaluate our
original forecasts against nearly half a year's actuals (though,
technically, all the information from February's talks should have
been destroyed). It also allowed Musicmatch to raise our valuation
around 10% higher given our in-line revenue performance.
That resultant trade-off between risk and valuation could be seen
as a transactional win for both organizations (the extra 10% not
terribly important from Yahoo's point of view relative to two
additional quarters of positive cash flow). At the same time
though, in my opinion, it did hurt the longer term value Yahoo
will be able to extract from this merger given time-to-market
delays and other factors.
Prior to the acquisition's close, one important process that faci-
litates both information exchange and an accurate representation of
the company to the buyer is the Company Disclosure Letter (CDL).
The CDL is as integral to the transaction as the actual purchase
agreement and represents a catalog of all the caveats, exceptions
and potential issues relating to the sale. The purchase agreement
makes representations, while the CDL qualifies those representa-
tions. At sale, a portion of the purchase is held in escrow, in
our case for one year, rather than immediately distributed to the
shareholders. The acquiring company can use the escrowed funds to
cover any unknown liabilities or damages it may have inherited with
the acquisition. However, the shareholders of the purchased com-
pany are protected from liabilities resulting from any fact that
was disclosed in the CDL. As a result, the CDL is essentially an
exercise in "airing dirty laundry" in which every assumed immateri-
al data loss, missed payment date, potential contract dispute, etc.
is fully disclosed. The preparation and review of the CDL is one
of the more time consuming aspects of an acquisition.
For example, a purchase agreement may represent that Musicmatch has
no outstanding tax liability, while the CDL may state that no
European Union VAT has ever been paid because of the belief that
the company's sales to users located in the EU were not subject to
VAT. If, during the year following Musicmatch's sale, the US
Internal Revenue Service were to find that Musicmatch stilled owed
US taxes, then Yahoo could pay those taxes out of the escrow fund
(and the pocket's of Musicmatch's shareholders). If, however, the
EU taxing authority were to make a similar determination, the
escrow fund would remain intact and Yahoo would be fully responsi-
ble for that inherited liability because it was aware of the under-
lying facts.
In a successful acquisition, the buyer will be comfortable with
their understanding of the acquired company's operations prior to
the deal's close. As a result, cultural acclimation and integra-
tion tends to replace knowledge transfer as the primary hurdle at
about this time. While everyone must cope with a new environment
during any job change, the process of merging is additionally dif-
ficult precisely because of the presence of groups from both organ-
izations. Providing a bridge between those two communities and
methods of doing business presents a challenge that all of us, as
graduates of IUJ, are prepared to excel at.
The skills we learned, working successfully with fellow students
from different backgrounds and cultures, combining the best of
competing business approaches and strategies, and constantly adapt-
ing and achieving precisely from the diversity of our colleagues
are rare. They are both essential, valuable skills in the inter-
national business world, but are also of great worth even should
you never leave your native shores again. That is the unique com-
petitive advantage that IUJ confers to all its graduates, and I
urge all of us to fully utilize these skills wherever our careers
take us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The World of the Job Interview: Part 2 - Structured Interview
Either as part of a Screening Interview (see last month's article),
or as a standard company-wide interview process you will find a
Structured Interview. This means the interviewer has a list of
questions that he/she must ask. They often have an evaluation sheet,
or scorecard to check off points or somehow provide feedback to
others on your interview. This style is often used when several
people are interviewing a large group for one or two positions. It
helps keep the interview process fair, and comparable at the end of
the day. Often times they are looking for specific answers.
For example, a very basic question in a Structured Interview may ask
for your future career plans. The interviewer is looking to see
1) if you know where you are headed and confident AND reasonable in
your self assessment; 2) to see if your include the company/organi-
zation in your future; and 3) to see if the position available helps
you achieve your future goal so you are a good match. Answers must
be carefully crafted to win each point. They may also ask questions
like "What do you know about our company/organization and why do you
want to work for us?" Here they look to see if you are
knowledgeable,
motivated and excited about what is happening, of if you are just in
"another interview."
The good thing about a Structured Interview is that the questions are
very predictable so you can prepare very well. The bad thing is if
you are unprepared it shows very blatantly. Study, know yourself
well, and practice are the keys to successfully concurring the Struct-
ured Interview. But what if the interviewer is NOT using a formula
and the questions are not pre-determined? Learn next month about
Unstructured Interviews.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IUJ Trivia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Who took those beautiful photos in IUJ literature?>>
Most of the photos used in IUJ literature were taken by IUJ
graduates; Mr. Christopher Dommitter, IR Class of 1995, and Mr.
Christian Buck, IR Class of 1997. Mr. Hiroomi Kawae, MBA Class of
2003, contributed some of his work. Administrative staff members
also take photos on various occasions, such as seminars, classes,
extracurricular activities, etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next edition will be published on November 7, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would love to hear from you. Please contact us:
* For comments, requests, inquiries: ecampus@...
Phone: 81-25-779-1116
* Change of Subscription: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/Ecampus/IUJEmagE.cfm
Subscribe: iuj-emag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Copyright(c)2003 International University of Japan,
All Rights Reserved.
There was a mistake in the emag sent out earlier. Please disregard
it and replace it with this version.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:E: :-:Campus:/ :IUJ E-Campus IUJ is the name we chose
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ for this publication. The name is a
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::/ play on words as the sound "E" in
:::/ :::/ :::/ ::| Japanese means "good", and indeed IUJ
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| :::| is a good, well, great, campus for
:::/ :::/ :::/ :::| ::: your graduate studies!
::::/ ::::::::/ :::/:::/
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
International University of Japan
(Published on the First Monday of Every Month)
October 2005
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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=== Table of Contents ===================
-- News and Topics
-- Upcoming Event Information
-- Campus Personalities
-- Academic Spotlights
-- Alumni Spotlights
-- Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview
-- Area Spotlights
-- Announcement for Next Issue
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Topics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Another Successful IUJ Worldwide Friday>>
IUJ's worldwide network of Alumni proved an exciting source of
friendship and fun in September. IUJ Worldwide Friday, officially
held on September 2 but with events throughout the month, brought
together over 300 alumni in over 35 cities from Barbados (with a
gathering of just one and some friends) to Yangon. More cities
will report in shortly, and October will see another 5 cities host
gatherings of IUJ alumni. WorldWide Friday 2005 saw events from 1
alum kampai-ing IUJ with his family and friends to groups of 35 in
Indonesia celebrating a weekend together and over 50 sharing a beer
in Tokyo. Several professors and even entering or prospective
students attended dinner parties in Kuala Lumpur, Beijing,
Shanghai, Bishkek and beyond. Three events in Japan alone (Tokyo,
Osaka and Nagoya) were all held on the official Sept. 2 date. 25
in New York City gathered on Sept. 16 for a Japanese dinner party.
For a full list and a slideshow, please see
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/alumni/events/
<<New Students' Profile>>
In Fall 2005, IUJ welcomes 127 new students from 42 countries.
Countries represented by the biggest number of students are
Indonesia and Myanmar with 10 students each. Nine students from
Vietnam, 8 from China, and 5 from the Philippins follow. Among the
127 new students, 2 IDP students, 5 MBA students, and 5 E-biz
students are corporate-sponsored. Their sponsoring companies are:
== International Development Program ==
NSK
Toyo Construction
== MBA Program ==
Matsushita Electric (2 students)
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance
Shinko Securities
TEPCO
== E-business Management Program ==
Daishi Bank
Fuji Xerox
Ryosan (2 students)
Victor-JVC
<<Exchange Students for Fall 2005>>
IUJ welcomes 13 exchange students in this fall term. Here is the
list of their home schools:
((Asian Institutions)) - 3 students
National Chengchi University (Taiwan, 1 student)
Seoul National University (Korea, 1 student)
Thammasat University (Thailand, 1 student)
((European Institutions)) - 7 students
Aarhus School of Business (Denmark, 2 students)
Bocconi University of Milan (Italy, 1 student)
E.M. Lyon (France, 1 student)
ESADE (Spain, 1 student)
Koc University (Turkey, 1 student)
Manchester Business School (UK, 1 student)
((North American Institutions)) - 3 students
Carleton University (Canada, 1 student)
Syracuse University (USA, 1 student)
University of Washington (USA, 1 student)
<<GSIM Announces New Dean and Associate Dean>>
Vice President Shinichi Watanabe has assumed the GSIM deanship and
Dr. Yoshitaka Yamazaki the associate deanship respectively as of
September 15, 2005. We thank the former Dean Chet Borucki and 2
former Associate Deans Toshiro Wakayama and Glenn Mayhew for their
service through September 14.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Event Information
October - November 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Events at IUJ)
<<Information Session on International Peace Studies Program>>
Date: Saturday, October 15
Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Venue: IUJ Tokyo Office (15-21, Roppongi 6-chome)
Under the new IUJ curriculum launched in September 2005, IUJ aims
to train leaders who can solve global issues in the publice sector,
the private sector, or the issues common in both sectors, while
offering Masters degree programs.
This information session is two-fold, although with special focus
on the new International Peace Studies Program, and presents the
programs in the two graduate schools. The schedule is as follows:
2:00pm- 1) Overview and curriculum of the International Peace
Studies Program and expected career paths
2) Curriculum of the International Development and Inter-
national Relations Programs in the 2006 academic year
4:00pm- Curriculum of the MBA and E-business Management Programs
in the 2006 academic year
Another information session is scheduled on Saturday, November 5.
We look forward to welcoming you to these sessions!
For details and application, please access:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/
<<IUJ Open Day & Open Campus>>
IUJ Open Day, one of IUJ's biggest festivals organized by
students, is scheduled on Saturday, November 19. We are planning
to combine this event with an Open Campus event, where prospective
applicants can meet faculty and students, observe a class, and have
a true IUJ experience staying overnight at the dormitory.
Watch for details to be announced in the next edition!
<<Admissions Schedule for Domestic Applicants>>
Application Deadline Interview Written Tests
IPSP,IDP&IRP October 6 October 26 ==
October 27 November 15 ==
November 21 December 1 ==
MBA&E-biz November 4 November 18 November 19
For details, please refer to:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/admis/
(Events at other venues)
<<IUJ Information Meeting at SUNDAI>>
Date: Saturday, October 8
Time: 1:00-2:00pm
Venue: SUNDAI College of Foreign Languages (1-5-8 Kanda Suruga-
dai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062)
Program: IUJ Overview
Presentations on Masters Programs
2006 Admissions
If you are interested in attending this meeting, please provide
the following information to SUNDAI directly via e-mail, fax, or
telephone:
1) Date of the meeting
2) Your name
3) The program(s) of your interest
4) Your phone number
5) Your e-mail address
SUNDAI contact address
Tel.: 03-3233-3331 Fax: 03-3233-2469
@ http://www.sundaigaigo.ac.jp
@@ E-mail: ryugaku@...
<<World Grad School Tour>>
The Graduate School of International Relations (GSIR) will partici-
pate in the "World Grad School Tour" in Taipei, Shanghai, and
Bangkok. Those who are interested in furthering your studies in
international peace studies, international development and inter-
national relations, please don't miss this rare opportunity to
hear first-hand advice from IUJ faculty and alumni.
* World Grad School Tour *
Taipei on November 9 (Wednesday)
Shanghai on November 14 (Monday)
Bangkok on November 24 (Thursday)
For further information, please access the World Grad School Tour
official homepage:
http://www.topgraduate.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Campus Personalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<Internship Reports Part II>>
Mr. Success Mao (Cambodia)
IDP Class of 2006
Interned at the United Nations Headquarters
Having worked for a short-time with the United Nations office in
Cambodia, I hoped I could visit the UN headquarters in New York one
day. This opportunity was given to me when I was selected to the
summer internship program of the United Nations Secretariat in
which I was assigned to work in the office of the High Representa-
tive for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing
Countries, and Small Islands Developing States. I could not believe
that my application was selected among the 5,000 others which were
sent from graduate students all over the world. I must admit that I
feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be among
the lucky ones.
My assignment was to prepare for a follow-up meeting to a conferen-
ce on remittance to Least Developed Countries. I did research
through booklets, websites, resolutions, and other available docu-
ments in the office to produce position papers for the conference.
I also drafted several invitation letters to the UN system organi-
zations, and the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of
finance of countries concerned.
I will never forget my first day here when I bumped into a govern-
ment official from Africa at the UN cafeteria and only a day later
I got to know that he is the President of Benin who chaired the
conference on financing for development which I was allowed to
enter and listen to. I could not believe that he was just standing
in front of me, as if nothing.
It is such an exhilarating experience to meet high profile UN
actors and observe significant decisions taken in large meetings,
and be positively influenced by the international culture. The most
interesting part of this internship are the visits to the many
permanent missions of member states to the UN in which we have
chance to ask questions to ambassadors and their officials regard-
ing current world affairs from the reform of the Security Council
to the financing of the Millennium Development Goal. The working
environment itself is very multi-cultural. In the office that I am
working there are 22 people and all of them are from different
countries.
And what can I say about New York? Living in the financial hub of
the United States, I have come to find this fast-paced city to be
completely unpredictable. I am occasionally alone, rarely rested,
and with hope, never bored. While all this is exciting, it can also
be frustrating, claustrophobic, and stressful. However, it is the
coming together of the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ug-
ly, the opportunity and the problems that make living in New York
the experience it is.
Now, at 24 years old, I am just starting to compose my life and
can't decide yet which field for sure I want to get in. Whether I
end up in diplomacy, humanitarian affairs, politics, or business I
will always remember my experience from this summer.
-*-
Mr. Goutham Mullaguru (India)
MBA Class of 2006
Interned at Lehman Brothers
I am interning at Lehman Brothers and work gets more and more
exciting everyday. I am spending maximum time in the office to
maximise my learning. Mr. Raj is doing his best to make our intern-
ship here as exciting as possible. Mr. Raj has asked us to enroll
in the Training classes conducted by Lehman. These classes focus
on industry practices are very useful for my career goals.
I am very indebted to my manager Mr. Greg Ito. He was very kind to
allow me to enroll in all the classes (almost 77 hours of lectures
over two weeks). At the start, I was thinking, developing a website
might not add much value to my career path. I was very wrong in
that. This project demands a very clear understanding of the termi-
nology and the practices of the Treasury of Lehman. I have under-
stood some of the unique and best practices of Lehman's Treasury.
Mr. Greg Has given me enough Independance and Guidance when requir-
ed. I am enjoying and learning a lot working with him.
I should thank Mr. Ian Walker for accommodating the changes I have
proposed for the work assigned to me initially. I am working on
automating some of the work of the Cash Management group that is
done manually. Mr. Ian also assigned me a project to redesign a
data collection template and a management report that is based on
the template. This is a very challenging project and I am enjoying
the challenge. This is a great experience.
Mr. Craig offered me help with my thesis. I had a brief convers-
ation yesterday and he explained to me what the Treasury of Lehman
does in terms of Forex Risk management. He also said that he can
explain various functions of risk Management in more detail some
time in the next week. As my interests match with his areas of
expertise I wish to learn a lot from him. Learning from an
Industry practicioner is a totally different experience.
The internship with Lehman is a great experience and it maximises
our learning. I sincerely thank Mr. Greg, Mr. Ian, Mr. Craig and
all others for this opportunity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Academic Spotlights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<<IUJ's "Platform" Part I>>
As announced in the last edition, IUJ has introduced a new
curriculum.
IUJ is going to address global issues in the public sector, the
private sector, and issues common in both sectors and try to solve
them through particular research areas, which we call "Platforms."
We have 9 platforms, and are going to present one platform a month in
the next 9 months.
This month's Platform:
"Requirements for Peace Building and International Cooperation"
Overview:
This Platform aims to prevent armed conflicts among people with
different values and interests, and studies various regimes and
mechanisms to develop understanding among and bring benefits to
these people. Students from more than 50 countries, many from East
Asia, with various professional backgrounds including those in the
public sector, gather at IUJ to study and research with a strong
interest in solving very critical global issues.
IUJ provides the best possible educational environment that no
other institution in Japan can offer for those students studying
"Requirements for Peace Building and International Cooperation."
With the understanding of and respect for different values and
historical backgrounds, how can students develop mutual understand-
ing while comparing each others' values and histories, and how can
they build cooperative relationships for mutual benefits in the
future? The ultimate mission of this Platform is to provide a
forum for research and studies for bringing peace, stability and
prosperity to East Asia.
This Platform is comprised of the following two Platform Programs:
** "Study toward ODA's Role in a Reconstruction Process"
Armed conflicts destroy infrastructures that economic and social
activities depend upon. No matter how much it is critical to
reconstruct them, however, countries hit by armed conflicts lack
sufficient funds to do so. ODA plays a big role in re-building
peace after such conflicts.
This Program analyzes problems that occurred during the process
of peace re-building after conflicts in Indonesia, East Timor,
Afghanistan, and Myanmar, and it investigates what role Japan's
ODA played in solving these problems. It also examines what kind
of risks the companies who engaged in re-building infrastructures
encountered and what measures they took to avoid such risks from
the viewpoints of safety of employees, finance of projects,
implementation of projects, and various other aspects.
Through these studies, students can obtain basic knowledge and
skills needed to control risks and to develop cooperative
relationships with diverse sectors including the government of
partner countries, Japanese government, international organiza-
tions, former armed units, civilians, etc.
** "Study of Requirements for Establishing an East Asian Community"
This Program tries to clarify conditions for an East Asian Commu-
nity comprised of ASEAN countries, Japan, China, Korea, and
possibly North Korea to be approved. Compared to its counterpart
in Europe, the East Asian Community faces many deviations and has
a lot of hurdles to clear to be approved. Common understanding
among the member countries about their relationships historical-
ly, however, has not been reached and not much effort has been
made up to date.
IUJ provides a very advantageous educational and research envi-
ronment to make up for this research deficiency with students
from more than 50 countries with various professional backgrounds.
This Program seeks ways for people with different values and
histories, subject to these differences, to establish mutual
understanding and to build cooperative relationships for the
common benefits for the future.
-*-
Next month's Platform will be:
"Human Security and Economic Development"
For inquiries about Platforms, please contact:
"Platform Promotion Office" TEL: 025-779-1523
E-mail: platform@...
URL: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/platform/
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Alumni spotlights
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<<After IUJ>>
We are happy to introduce Mr. Bobby Wilde. He experienced a
company's acquisition and will tell us about his first-hand
experience.
-*-
Mr. Robert Wilde (USA)
MBA Class of 1997
Senior Manager of Business Operations
Yahoo!
Musicmatch, a software startup where I had worked since returning
to the United States in 2000, was purchased by Yahoo on October
18th, 2004. This last year has been professionally edifying and I
would like to share some personal thoughts about the period - the
months leading up to and following the acquisition.
"Most mergers and acquisitions fail to create shareholder value."
While I am not saying that the acquisition of Musicmatch will not
prove atypical, my experience at Musicmatch and now Yahoo has been
quite illustrative of the details that underlie this Business
School apothegm. Given the numerous pitfalls that await any organ-
ization attempting such an endeavor, one should have no doubt about
the statement's general validity.
Difficulties generally seem to stem from two root challenges:
information exchange and cultural reconciliation. The trusted ex-
change of knowledge presents the first hurdle to a successful trans-
action; particularly, as in the case of Yahoo, where the possible
acquirer is also a competitor.
In February 2004, an away team from Musicmatch met with Yahoo's
senior management in Sunnyvale to discuss our business and the
possibility of being acquired. My role at that meeting was to
present Musicmatch's revenues and performance to date as well as
future expectations. On the one hand, the goal of selling the
company required a critical acceptance of the business forecast as
grounded in reality. At the same time, to maximize the value of
the company, that forecast needed to capture the opportunity of
future growth prospects.
To establish credibility in our aggressive business models, we pre-
pared to discuss the rationale for every assumption, the breakdown
and trends among distribution partners, the market share and royal-
ty rates among label license providers, etc. This near complete
transparency built confidence towards our numbers on Yahoo's side,
but it was also a risky move. Such a detailed financial model pro-
vides a fully-enabled plan of operation for any party interested in
replicating our business. Regardless of NDAs or other legal pro-
tections, a certain amount of trust generally needs to be establi-
shed between the two parties before that degree of information
transparency can exist. In our particular case, the presence of
other bidders (with the strong expectation that one of the deals
would be consummated by year's end) allowed us to move quickly to
that level of openness.
As it so happened, those initial talks with Yahoo in February 2004
did sputter. And, indeed, to some degree or another, the knowledge
Yahoo gained from us was probably utilized by their music business
unit. However, executing on a particular roadmap can require
skills beyond simply understanding that business plan. As a
result, Yahoo came back and re-opened negotiations during the
summer. That delay provided Yahoo the opportunity to evaluate our
original forecasts against nearly half a year's actuals (though,
technically, all the information from February's talks should have
been destroyed). It also allowed Musicmatch to raise our valuation
around 10% higher given our in-line revenue performance.
That resultant trade-off between risk and valuation could be seen
as a transactional win for both organizations (the extra 10% not
terribly important from Yahoo's point of view relative to two
additional quarters of positive cash flow). At the same time
though, in my opinion, it did hurt the longer term value Yahoo
will be able to extract from this merger given time-to-market
delays and other factors.
Prior to the acquisition's close, one important process that faci-
litates both information exchange and an accurate representation of
the company to the buyer is the Company Disclosure Letter (CDL).
The CDL is as integral to the transaction as the actual purchase
agreement and represents a catalog of all the caveats, exceptions
and potential issues relating to the sale. The purchase agreement
makes representations, while the CDL qualifies those representa-
tions. At sale, a portion of the purchase is held in escrow, in
our case for one year, rather than immediately distributed to the
shareholders. The acquiring company can use the escrowed funds to
cover any unknown liabilities or damages it may have inherited with
the acquisition. However, the shareholders of the purchased com-
pany are protected from liabilities resulting from any fact that
was disclosed in the CDL. As a result, the CDL is essentially an
exercise in "airing dirty laundry" in which every assumed immateri-
al data loss, missed payment date, potential contract dispute, etc.
is fully disclosed. The preparation and review of the CDL is one
of the more time consuming aspects of an acquisition.
For example, a purchase agreement may represent that Musicmatch has
no outstanding tax liability, while the CDL may state that no
European Union VAT has ever been paid because of the belief that
the company's sales to users located in the EU were not subject to
VAT. If, during the year following Musicmatch's sale, the US
Internal Revenue Service were to find that Musicmatch stilled owed
US taxes, then Yahoo could pay those taxes out of the escrow fund
(and the pocket's of Musicmatch's shareholders). If, however, the
EU taxing authority were to make a similar determination, the
escrow fund would remain intact and Yahoo would be fully responsi-
ble for that inherited liability because it was aware of the under-
lying facts.
In a successful acquisition, the buyer will be comfortable with
their understanding of the acquired company's operations prior to
the deal's close. As a result, cultural acclimation and integra-
tion tends to replace knowledge transfer as the primary hurdle at
about this time. While everyone must cope with a new environment
during any job change, the process of merging is additionally dif-
ficult precisely because of the presence of groups from both organ-
izations. Providing a bridge between those two communities and
methods of doing business presents a challenge that all of us, as
graduates of IUJ, are prepared to excel at.
The skills we learned, working successfully with fellow students
from different backgrounds and cultures, combining the best of
competing business approaches and strategies, and constantly adapt-
ing and achieving precisely from the diversity of our colleagues
are rare. They are both essential, valuable skills in the inter-
national business world, but are also of great worth even should
you never leave your native shores again. That is the unique com-
petitive advantage that IUJ confers to all its graduates, and I
urge all of us to fully utilize these skills wherever our careers
take us.
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Career Counselor's The World of the Job Interview
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The World of the Job Interview: Part 2 - Structured Interview
Either as part of a Screening Interview (see last month's article),
or as a standard company-wide interview process you will find a
Structured Interview. This means the interviewer has a list of
questions that he/she must ask. They often have an evaluation sheet,
or scorecard to check off points or somehow provide feedback to
others on your interview. This style is often used when several
people are interviewing a large group for one or two positions. It
helps keep the interview process fair, and comparable at the end of
the day. Often times they are looking for specific answers.
For example, a very basic question in a Structured Interview may ask
for your future career plans. The interviewer is looking to see
1) if you know where you are headed and confident AND reasonable in
your self assessment; 2) to see if your include the company/organi-
zation in your future; and 3) to see if the position available helps
you achieve your future goal so you are a good match. Answers must
be carefully crafted to win each point. They may also ask questions
like "What do you know about our company/organization and why do you
want to work for us?" Here they look to see if you are
knowledgeable,
motivated and excited about what is happening, of if you are just in
"another interview."
The good thing about a Structured Interview is that the questions are
very predictable so you can prepare very well. The bad thing is if
you are unprepared it shows very blatantly. Study, know yourself
well, and practice are the keys to successfully concurring the Struct-
ured Interview. But what if the interviewer is NOT using a formula
and the questions are not pre-determined? Learn next month about
Unstructured Interviews.
You can view the page of the Career Counseling & Services at:
http://www.iuj.ac.jp/career/
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IUJ Trivia
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<<Who took those beautiful photos in IUJ literature?>>
Most of the photos used in IUJ literature were taken by IUJ
graduates; Mr. Christopher Dommitter, IR Class of 1995, and Mr.
Christian Buck, IR Class of 1997. Mr. Hiroomi Kawae, MBA Class of
2003, contributed some of his work. Administrative staff members
also take photos on various occasions, such as seminars, classes,
extracurricular activities, etc.
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Announcement for Next Issue
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The next edition will be published on November 7, 2005.
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