A record crowd of more than 100 educators and students attended the fifth annual Conference on Global Higher Education on June 9, sponsored by Lakeland University Japan.
There were 12 panel sessions featuring 33 presentations relating to issues of higher education. The wide range of topics included the use of technology in the classroom, global citizenship and cultural identity, study abroad and challenges to institutions in Japan and abroad. The 45 presenters came from all parts of Japan as well as from Russia and Taiwan.
The conference was organized by Roger Grabowski, an LUJ instructor.
Anna Lelenkova, representing St. Petersburg State University in Russia, discussed the role of language teaching as an important means of creating international collaboration, and Yu-Hsuann Lin from Nanhua University in Taiwan discussed performance management in higher education reform in Taiwan.
In addition, the event featured a Student Symposium panel discussion, featuring four current LUJ students, one LUJ alumna currently studying in the U.S. and two students from the Tama University of Global Studies. They discussed issues of international education from their perspectives as students and fielded questions from conference attendees about their experiences.
“The student session was the highlight of the day,” commented Paul Snowden, a professor for Kyorin University in Tokyo.
Among the Japanese universities represented at this conference were: Osaka University, Kyushu University, Hiroshima University, Kyoto University, Okayama University, Ritsumeikan University (Osaka), Akita International University, International Christian University, Aichi University, Asia University and many universities from within the Tokyo metropolitan area.
LUJ offers an academic program leading to an Associate of Arts degree, operates a large intensive English language program to assist students whose English is not yet strong enough to tackle academic courses and several non-degree-bearing courses and programs for the community.
“With students from over 40 countries and an international faculty, LUJ is not only an American branch campus in Japan, but also a campus that reflects global interests and values and is well-suited to offer this conference on the shift towards global higher education in Japan and the world,” said Alan Brender, dean of Lakeland’s Japan campus.
For more information visit the conference website: http://conference.luj.tokyo.
