Department of Languages

Japanese faculty member begins international exchange with Kansai University

Kansai University Professor Keiko Ikeda (left) welcomed Professor Philip Ngyuen (center) and Clemson University Professor Kumiko Saito (right) to IIGE in preparation for their Fall 2019 "Business and Japanese People" COIL collaboration. Photo courtesy of IIGE.
Kansai University Professor Keiko Ikeda (left) welcomed Professor Philip Ngyuen (center) and Clemson University Professor Kumiko Saito (right) to IIGE in preparation for their Fall 2019 “Business and Japanese People” COIL collaboration. Photo courtesy of IIGE.

Kumiko Saito, assistant professor of Japanese, visited Kansai University’s International Plaza and Institute for Innovative Global Education (IIGE) on June 11, 2019 to discuss plans for Kansai and Clemson’s new collaborative endeavor in international virtual and physical exchange. Her trip was made possible thanks to a Global Learning Seed Grant awarded by Clemson’s Office of Global Engagement. Kansai University is a private university located in Osaka, Japan.

Saito will teach a new course on business and Japan starting in the Fall 2019 semester in which 6-8 weeks of virtual exchange, known as COIL (collaborative online international learning), will be embedded. During the COIL period, students will collaborate online with students at Kansai University to learn about Japanese business and management through hands-on experiences.

Students who wish to expand this virtual exchange to on-site experiential learning in Japan will be able to participate in “Clemson in Japan,” a new short-term summer program at Kansai University which Saito will start in Summer 2020. This summer program, open to all Clemson students, will include an intensive Japanese course and optional internship in Japan. Students who enroll in the COIL course in Fall 19 and participate in the summer program in 2020 will be awarded a JASSO scholarship, which pays approximately $800/month toward expenses in Japan thanks to IIGE’s support.

IIGE also reported the news on their website.