During the first hour of the visit, participants toured and became acquainted with Waseda's central library.

　

The President noted that Waseda's motto is by responding to students' needs, the university responds to the needs of the society. Waseda's priorities include: (1)expanding basic research and returning its findings to society, (2)strengthening liberal arts education, (3)nurturing global citizens, and (4)focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. Waseda's goals for the first quarter of the 21^st century are: (1)increasing undergraduate enrollment by 10% and doubling the graduate enrollment (thus shifting the graduate-undergraduate student ratio from 1:6 to 1:3), (2)doubling the number of graduate faculty and emphasizing interdisciplinary programs, and (3)increasing the numbers of international, adult, and life-long education program students.

　

Other initiatives, such as: (1)establishing project-based research institutes which are externally funded and run until the projects are complete, (2)linking the university to the wider society, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, including schools for Japanese abroad, (3)establishing new graduate and professional schools, (4)reforming undergraduate education through administrative reforms, establishing an Open Education Center offering general education and elective courses to students enrolled in all undergraduate schools, establishment of theme colleges that provide more comprehensive educational experiences to first and second year students, reform of foreign language education by expansion of study abroad and by creation of an International College.

　

Q (Tuvia Blumenthal): Does the university plan to increase foreign faculty?

A (Katsuhiko Shirai): 8% of the current faculty are foreign, and the university plans to increase this percentage in the next two years.

Q (Kauko Laitinen): Please elaborate on project-based research institutes.

A (Katsuhiko Shirai): These are usually for three years, but may continue if proven successful.

Q (Xiaobo Lu): Waseda plans to establish four graduate schools in two years. How will these be financed, and how will the problem of accreditation be solved?

A (Katsuhiko Shirai): These four graduate schools are all small in scope. As for accreditation, procedures are underway.

Q (Ramli Abdullah): Please elaborate on the content of Waseda's agreements with other universities (over three hundred in total), in the context of the university's internationalization agenda.

A (Katsuhiko Shirai): These agreements are usually very simple, and are based on faculty and student exchange programs.

　

Waseda's programs for (1)English language learning, (2)cross-cultural distance learning, and (3)cyber lectures were introduced. The aim of all three programs is to make cross-cultural exchanges a part of student life, and to create global citizens i.e. active and international intellectuals.

　

The three programs are integrated in that students go through all three phases in sequence. The first phase is designed to provide students with language training through intensive sessions in small groups (one instructor per four students). The second phase is for students to interact in a foreign language with students abroad through teleconferencing. Currently, five languages are used for this purpose: Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. This phase is designed to give students impetus to polish their language skills. The final phase involves cyber lectures, which are given by foreign faculty from distant locations. By this phase, students have achieved a sufficient level of language proficiency to effectively follow lectures in a foreign language.

　

Q (Tim Sullivan): How many language tutors are employed in this program?

A (Michiko Nakano): Forty (40)Japanese tutors with experience of living in the countries where the language is spoken, and 26 native tutors for a total of approximately 2,000 students.

Q (Flora Botton): What about Spanish?

A (Michiko Nakano): For logistical reasons it is difficult to include Spanish in these programs. Spanish is taught only as regular foreign language courses.

Q (Peter Scheid): How much English is taught in schools in Japan?

A (Michiko Nakano): English is taught from junior high school, but at the senior high school level, the focus shifts to written English in preparation for university entrance examinations.

　

The main activities of the Center for International Education, which is responsible for students exchange, were introduced. Currently, there are 304 agreements with institutions in 69 countries. In 2001, there were approximately 500 Waseda students studying abroad. In terms of incoming international students, Waseda ranks second in Japan, after The University of Tokyo. Waseda is constantly working on devising new programs and improving current ones to facilitate the exchange and recognition of academic credit with other universities. Plans are also under way to establish an International College.

　

Q: Which are the four American universities that have already established exchange programs with Waseda?

A: University of Oregon and three consortia of liberal arts colleges.

Q: When several Waseda students go to the same university abroad, or when students from the same university/country come to Waseda, how do you ensure students' integration, so that students do not interact too much with their compatriots?

A: Waseda asks the receiving institutions to bear this in mind when organizing orientation and activities, and especially classes and accommodation, for Waseda students. As for incoming students, Waseda provides tuition in Japanese and organizes accommodation through home-stay programs to encourage a maximum level of integration.

　

　

(Discussion leaders)

　

How are leaders and leadership defined and identified in various cultures? How are potential leaders identified in the selection process of the SYLFF fellowship programs? What criteria are used? What practices have been successful? What difficulties, if any, have been encountered?