On 25 January 2023, UNU will host “Fair or Foul? Higher Education in Japan”, a conversation with Professor Paul Snowden, former Vice-President of Kyorin University, Tokyo. This event will start at 18:30 in the 1F Annex Space at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
Among the many social, economic, and technological transitions Japan is undergoing, is a push to ‘globalize’ the country’s higher education system. But this trend towards internationalizing education, so enthusiastically encouraged by the Japanese government, has suffered setbacks due to the pandemic and unexpected geopolitical developments.
Japan’s universities generally share the aims, principles, and methods of universities in other advanced nations. But many aspects of Japan’s higher education system are, consciously or unconsciously, typical of, or exclusive to, Japan.
Prof. Snowden edited the recent “Handbook of Higher Education in Japan” (2021), which takes a deep dive into many facets of Japan’s higher education trajectory, drawing in several dozen authors to present an expert view of this important topic.
Prof. Paul Snowden will join UNU Rector David Malone for a conversation exploring the quality, quantity, and aims of undergraduate education in Japan. Referencing the new “Handbook”, the event will cover areas ranging from the conditions for undergraduate admission, policies of granting qualifications, and women’s education, to government involvement in higher education, and the varying status and funding of national, local, and private universities.
The “Handbook of Higher Education in Japan” represents a major achievement, published, as it is, in English. UNU is delighted Prof. Snowden has agreed to spend time discussing the book’s subject matter as part of the UNU Conversation series.
The UNU Conversation Series aims to foster audience participation; you are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
Please note that this event will be in English. Advance registration (by 24 January) is required. Please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.
Please note that for security reasons, no entry will be allowed into the venue after 18:45. Additionally, please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
About the speaker
Paul Snowden has lived and worked in Japan for over 40 years as a university teacher and administrator, and author or editor of numerous dictionaries, textbooks, and other Japan-related works. He worked at Waseda University for 30 years, where he served two terms as Dean of the School of International Liberal Studies — the first foreign national to hold such a post at that university — and has been Emeritus Professor since 2014. His most recent post was Vice-President of Kyorin University. Having retired in 2020, he now acts as an Advisor for the Japan campus of Lakeland University, Wisconsin. His latest work is the “Handbook of Higher Education in Japan” (MHM Limited, 2021). He holds a BA and MA from King’s College, Cambridge, and Hon. Dr of Humane Letters from Lakeland University (Wisconsin).
