August 05, 2019 TOPICS

American University beckons：New Life, new Challenge - Joint Degree Program Send Off

Ritsumeikan University’s College of International Relations broke new ground in establishing a brand new Joint Degree Program (JDP) in April 2018 in collaboration with the School of International Service, American University (AU).

A little over a year later, or three semesters to be precise, and the time has come already for Ritsumeikan University home students to fly out for the start of their two year study period enrolled at AU, based in the ticking heart of American political life: Washington D.C.

To mark the occasion, a special send-off event was held on Tuesday, July 23 on Kinugasa Campus.

Relaxed and jovial from the start, the students, or Sakura Scholars as they are alternatively known, first listened to heartwarming and inspiring send-off messages from faculty members, before giving their own informal, yet uplifting speeches.

Professor Ritsuko Kawamura, Dean, College of International Relations urged the students to 'stay safe, be healthy, and enjoy yourselves, wherever you are!’ adding ‘Ritsumeikan University, here, is always your home.’

The first female dean of the College of International Relations at Ritsumeikan University smiles broadly — Professor Ritsuko Kawamura, Dean, College of International Relations

Whilst Professor Akihiko Kimijima, former dean of the college who was instrumental in setting up the program, advised to make the most of the new location, ‘Washington D.C. is an extraordinary intellectual resource. You will, of course, learn a lot on campus at AU, but think about the city itself as your campus too. Explore! - visit the Smithsonian Museum, the many interesting organizations, institutions and offices. Learn from the city and enjoy!’

Dean Kawamura marked the end of the occasion by personally presenting each student with a special farewell gift.

A Joint Degree Program student stands in a classroom giving her informal speech wearing a white top and black trousers, phone in hand, by a sign with the logos of RU and AU — Emi Provan spoke about her intention to find an area of specialism upon which to focus, within the broad field of International Relations, during her time in the US

A Joint Degree Program student stands in a classroom giving his informal speech wearing a blue t-shirt, wearing a baseball cap, with a student looking on in the background — Expressing his appreciation for faculty and peers, Brencis Kim at the same time announced his grand ambition to use his time in the US to ‘put a little bit of good back into the world’

A Joint Degree Program student stands in a classroom giving his informal speech wearing a white t-shirt and black trousers, by a sign with the logos of RU and AU — Hoping to expand his understanding of contemporary topics of debate in the field of International Relations, Ryoma Endo also expressed how much he was looking forward to visiting the Smithsonian museum

A Joint Degree Program student stands in a classroom giving his informal speech. The shot is zoomed out and so the table with refreshments on can be seen in the foreground. Two students listen in the background. The student himself is wearing a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black trousers — With one eye on his future career, Go Kuroki mentioned he would explore the possibility of taking up internships in his time in the US

A Joint Degree Program student stands in a classroom giving his informal speech wearing a check black white and grey shirt. — Yubin Chun from South Korea spoke of his excitement at the challenge of living and studying in a new culture for the second time, having already broadened his cultural understanding in his three semesters so far at RU in Kyoto

Dean Kawamura smiles whilst point out that the farewell gift of a mug has been personalized on the underneath with the year and name of student

The five students stand with dean Kawamura. All are smiling and the students are holding their white send-off gift bags with black string handles and Ritsumeikan written across the front in small lettering

July 29, 2019 TOPICS

Exploring China's International Contribution from a Local Perspective