Professor Koguchi exchanges gifts with Massey Deputy Vice-Chancellor Operations Stuart Morriss.
The president of Japan’s Edogawa University, Professor Hikota Koguchi, visited Massey University’s Auckland and Manwatū campuses this week to mark 30 years of the two universities working together.
Massey has hosted more than 6000 students from Edogawa in the Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The partnership was established in 1990 as an option for Edogawa students studying in the School of Applied Sociology and Mass Communication. In 1992 the overseas study component became compulsory and since then students from Edogawa have studied at Massey every year.
Students on the overseas training programme, run by the Centre for Professional and Continuing Education, study a tailored English language programme and participate in many cultural experiences.
Professor Koguchi said selecting Massey as a partner “was the right choice, a good decision I am happy to see it continue in the future”. He said the overseas study component enabled students to “gain important intercultural understanding from having to study in a foreign country, and secondly, through experiencing life in another country, our students gain a deeper understanding of Japanese culture too.”
He said New Zealand’s reputation as being a safe and calm country with beautiful nature and excellent homestay support for the students was also good for the partnership.