ISC’s Mission
“A Gateway to Japan, A Gateway to the World”
The International Student Center (ISC) represents Kyushu University’s campus-wide effort for internationalizing its education and facilitating global student exchange.
Since its establishment in the early 1990s as an integral part of Kyushu University’s internationalization effort, the ISC has ceaselessly contributed to the University’s pursuit of one of the core missions – nurture coming generations of leaders and advanced professionals in academia, industry, and government in a rapidly globalizing world. To contribute to this campus-wide mission, the ISC has served as a primary force to facilitate the whole University’s international student mobility – both inbound and outbound – mainly through providing quality international education, research advising, and guidance and support in order for the students to develop a foundation of knowledge, skillsets, and cross-cultural competencies necessary to thrive in and contribute to a global society today and in coming decades.
The ISC’s distinctive mission: To serve students as “a gateway to Japan and a gateway to the world.” Through its education activities, the ISC serves as a gateway for international students committed to deepening their understanding of Japanese culture and society including the language. It also serves as a gateway to the rest of the world for Japanese students passionate about expanding the horizons of their academic study, personal growth, and career prospects beyond their home base. Together, the ISC aims to help both international and Japanese students to take an effective step toward continuing to grow as Japan-based or Japan-familiar global leaders.
Educational Activities
The ISC’s ‘gateway’ educational activities are grouped into three main areas as follows:
1. For International Students:
To facilitate inbound student mobility from outside Japan to Kyushu University, the ISC offers various short-term, credit-conferring study programs, lasting for up to one year, mainly for non-degree-seeking international students including exchange students from the University’s overseas partner institutions. It also offers top-rate curricula in Japanese language learning, both for credit and for training purposes, for all international students enrolled at any school of the University. Cross-cultural counseling services and other resources are also part of the support the ISC provides for all international students across campuses.
Click here to browse ISC’s educational activities for international students:
For INTERNATIONAL Students
To facilitate cross-cultural, mutual learning between international and Japanese students on campus, the ISC coordinates opportunities for Japanese students not only to study together in the classroom but also to get involved in a variety of extracurricular activities with international students. Opportunities arranged for regular interaction between international students and local residents also allow both sides to experience cross-cultural exchange beyond the campus.
Click here to see opportunities for cross-cultural exchange on campus:
On-Campus EXCHANGE & Beyond
To promote the outbound international mobility of degree-seeking students at Kyushu University as a whole, Japanese students in particular, the ISC offers a range of courses for credit to facilitate those students’ international, cross-cultural, and global learning in the classroom. Available to all students across campuses, these courses are designed, at least in part, to prepare them for embarking on study abroad through the University’s campus-wide exchange programs. The ISC also annually arranges and offers short-term, credit-conferring study programs, lasting for up to about a month, in which Japanese students across campuses may participate.
Click here to browse ISC’s educational activities for Kyushu University students:
For KYUSHU UNIVERSITY Students
A Team of Globally Trained Educators
The ISC consists of Kyushu University faculty members who are trained in diverse areas of specialization in humanities and social sciences, including economics, sociology, education, anthropology, area studies, as well as linguistics and Japanese literature.
What the ISC faculty members have in common: extensive and successful experience in international, cross-cultural, or global education – including research advising, guidance, and support – based on their continuous engagement in cutting-edge research and refining of their pedagogy in international education. All the faculty members are passionate about and dedicated to working closely with students from any part of the world and of any academic background.
Click here to meet the ISC faculty members:
PEOPLE
Message from the Director, International Student Center
Welcome to the website of the Kyushu University International Student Center (ISC)!
It is a great honor for me to serve as the new Director of the ISC. My connection with the ISC goes back many years. Since joining Kyushu University in 2007 as a lecturer responsible for international students in the Faculty of Agriculture, I have taken part in the ISC’s activities as a concurrent faculty member. I also taught in the Japan in Today’s World (JTW) program for about five years. Those years in the classroom with students from around the world, sharing ideas and learning from one another, remain some of my most rewarding experiences, and they have given me a strong sense of closeness to the students of the ISC. I am delighted to now have the opportunity to support them as Director.
Our core mission is to nurture the next generations of leaders, in Japan and abroad, who will thrive in and contribute to our increasingly globalized world. To this end, we help students develop advanced cross-cultural competencies. We also help them build solid academic and practical knowledge of the values, issues, and future prospects of contemporary Japanese society, culture, and economy.
The ISC designs and runs internationally renowned curricula, including some of Japan’s leading Japanese language programs and comprehensive study programs taught in English and Japanese. Each year, international students from all over the world, including Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and Oceania, join our campus community. Some enroll in the ISC’s study programs, and others build their knowledge of Japanese language and culture through ISC courses while studying in other departments of the University. We are also committed to supporting the University’s Japanese students, particularly those who want to grow personally and academically through international learning. We offer them opportunities, resources, and guidance for cross-cultural exchange with international students, and many go on to pursue their own study abroad experiences as a result. The ISC faculty members who make these activities possible are educators and researchers with extensive experience in international research and cross-cultural education. They work closely with international students of all levels, academic backgrounds, and status categories, including degree-seeking students, exchange students, and short-term visiting students.
Over the years, the ISC has helped produce many leaders and advanced professionals in fields such as business, research, and government. Please take a moment to explore what the ISC offers and how it can help you meet your academic interests and future goals. A unique, invaluable, and deeply rewarding learning experience awaits you.
Mako Nakamura, Professor
Director, Kyushu University International Student Center
Executive Vice President, Kyushu University
九州大学留学生センター（ISC）のウェブサイトへようこそ。
このたび、留学生センター長を務めることになりました。大変光栄に存じます。私と留学生センターとの関わりは長く、2007年に農学研究院の留学生担当講師として九州大学に着任時は兼任教員としてセンターの活動に携わってまいりました。また、約5年間にわたりJTW（Japan in Today’s World）プログラムで授業を担当しました。世界各地から集まった学生の皆さんと教室で意見を交わし、互いに学び合った日々は、今も私にとって特にやりがいを感じた経験です。その経験を通じて、留学生センターの学生の皆さんに深い親しみを抱くようになりました。今後はセンター長として皆さんを支えられることを、心から嬉しく思っています。
留学生センターの中心的な使命は、グローバル化が進む世界で活躍し貢献する次世代のリーダーを、国内外で育成することです。そのために、高度な異文化対応能力を培うとともに、現代日本の社会・文化・経済が持つ価値や課題、将来の展望について、学術と実践の両面から確かな知識を身につけられるよう教育を行っています。
留学生センターでは国際的に高い評価を受けるカリキュラムを企画・運営しています。その中には、日本有数の日本語教育プログラムや、英語と日本語で開講する総合的な学習プログラムが含まれます。毎年、アジア、アフリカ、ヨーロッパ、北米、オセアニアなど世界各地から多くの留学生が本学のキャンパスに加わっています。留学生センターの学習プログラムに在籍する学生もいれば、本学の他部局で学びながらセンターの授業を通じて日本語や日本文化への理解を深める学生もいます。本学の日本人学生、特に国際的な学びを通じて人間的・学問的に成長したいと願う学生の支援にも力を入れています。留学生との異文化交流の機会や情報、指導を提供しており、こうした交流をきっかけに自ら留学に挑戦する学生も数多くいます。このような活動を支える留学生センターの教員は、国際的な研究と異文化教育に豊富な経験を持つ教育者・研究者です。正規生、交換留学生、短期留学生など、あらゆるレベル、学問分野、在籍区分の留学生と密接に関わりながら、教育に取り組んでいます。
これまで留学生センターは、ビジネス、研究、政府関係など、さまざまな分野で活躍するリーダーや高度専門職業人を数多く輩出してきました。皆さんの学問的関心と将来の目標の実現に向けて、留学生センターが何を提供できるのか、ぜひご覧ください。ここでしか得られない、かけがえのない、深い充実感に満ちた学びの経験が皆さんを待っています。
九州大学留学生センター長
中村真子
