Vulcanus in Japan

The Vulcanus in Japan programme, established in 1997, consists in an industry-oriented student exchange program for EU students. It was established by the EU-Japan Center for Industrial Cooperation, a joint venture between the European Commission and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry. Its main objective is to promote industrial cooperation between European and Japanese companies.

Goals of the programme

The Vulcanus in Japan programme consists in industrial placements for EU students. The participants are selected among the best applicants (about 40 out of 800 up to more than 1000 applicants each year). To be eligible, students must be in the last year of their undergraduate studies, or following a postgraduate course in the fields of Engineering, Sciences or Architecture. The final objective is to train a pool of future executives capable to interact socially and professionally with Japanese people, by familiarizing them with the Japanese corporate culture.

tudents

The next table contains the information on the number of participant for each year, by country, as well as the total number of participants, since the beginning of the Vulcanus in Japan programme.

The host companies

Requirements

To be eligible, applying students must meet the following requirements:
* to be an EU citizen;
* to be in their last year of undergraduate course or following a postgraduate course;
* to be a student in one of the following fields:
** Engineering;
** Sciences;
** Architecture.

A high proficiency in English language is also a "sine qua non" requirement for the applicants.

Applicants must also obtain an authorization to participate from their respective universities , whether it is recognized as a part of their course or as a year off. It should be noted that none of the work performed by a participant in a host company, even related to research activities, can be used as thesis material.

Application and selection

The selection of participants is performed in two steps:First, around 150 preselected students (out of 1000+) are chosen based on the documents they provided (see below). In the second phase, the final decisions are taken by the host companies.

The first selection is performed by judging the following documents, which are required for the application:
* application form
* Curriculum Vitae
* motivation letter
* recommendation letter (written by a professor)
* all the grades obtained at the university
* university grading system

The most critical information contained in the above list of documents is the international profile of the student, his motivation and his technical skills.

After the first selection is performed, the students are given a list of host companies out of which they have to pick three - one being already chosen by the judging board). Then the applicant must write a dedicated motivation letter for each of these host companies, which will be sent directly to the human resource department of the host company. These companies perform the final selection.

The 'Vulcanus in Japan programme' content

All the participants to the Vulcanus in Japan programme will follow:
* a four-month intensive Japanese language course, also compounded of:
** various seminars related to Japan (culture, society, economy, history, etc.),
** company and factory visits,
** cultural activities,
* an eight-month internship in a Japanese company.

The intensive Japanese language course

As Japanese language proficiency is not a requirement for the applicants (even if appreciated), the first part of the Vulcanus in Japan programme consists in a four-month intensive Japanese language course, at the rate of 5-6 hours per day, 5 days a week, taught by the teachers of a private Japanese language school.Participants who have never learned Japanese language will be provided the basic knowledge useful for daily life in Japan as well as basic communication in a Japanese company.During the Japanese language course, students learn not only about the language, but also about Japanese culture, history, living habits, etc.

Participants with some Japanese language skills will follow classes adapted to their level.

The seminars

During the first four months of the programme, participants will follow various seminars of about 3 hours each, leaded by teachers of renowned universities or companies. These seminars are related to the Japanese culture, society, economy, history, and will help the participants to get a better understanding of the country they will be living in for one year.

The company and factory visits

Depending on the programme year, visits in leading companies are organized by the programme in order for the participants to study and learn about the Japanese industry. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the companies and factories visited in the past:
* Panasonic
* Toppan Printing
* Toyota
* Komatsu Spring

The cultural activities

Some of the cultural activities will be organized by the EU-Japan center, some will be by the school organizing the language course. A quick list of the proposed activities:
* calligraphy
* soba cooking
* Wind chime (fūrin) making
* ceremony of teaActivities vary depending on the year of participation, but they are usually organized in order for the participants to learn more about the Japanese culture.

The Internship

The Scholarship

Each participant is awarded a scholarship. The current amount of the scholarship is 15000€, which is equivalent to about 2400000¥, for one year.It covers the round-trip plane ticket to Japan, insurance and living expenses (food, transportation, etc.).

Housing is provided and financed by the hosting company for the whole duration of the programme.

The Japanese language course is also financed by the programme.

ee also

*Student exchange
*European Commission
*Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry

External links

* [http://www.eujapan.com/europe/vulcanus_japan.html Vulcanus in Japan on the EU-Japan website (English).]
* [http://www.eu-japan.gr.jp/base/index1.html Vulcanus in Japan on the EU-Japan website (Japanese)]
* [http://www.vulcanusalumni.net/ Vulcanus in Japan alumni website]
* [http://www.linkedin.com/search?search=&sortCriteria=3&groupFilter=2653 Vulcanus in Japan group on LinkedIn]