On September 14, 2013, a Josai University Educational Corporation delegation led by Chancellor Noriko Mizuta visited Northeastern University in China’s Shenyang province to meet with university president Ding Lieyun and finalize an agreement that will develop a joint program between the two universities.
　 There are very few examples of joint programs formed between Japanese universities and universities abroad, making this a groundbreaking proposal that offers exciting new prospects for international academic exchange.
　 The details of this agreement stipulate the formation of a jointly run department (under the provisional name “Northeastern University Faculty of International Cultural Innovation”) on the campuses of both universities. This program will promote research and education primarily in the fields of engineering, humanities, and media studies in the interest of developing highly skilled professionals who can contribute at the global level.

At the meeting, the Josai delegation sat with President Ding, along with Vice President Jiang Maofa, Assistant to the President Wu Jinsong, Director of International Collaboration and Exchange Yu Fuxiao, Director of the School of Foreign Languages Wang Qiuju, and other Northeastern University faculty to discuss the details of this proposal.
　 During the meeting, Chancellor Mizuta addressed the participants with the following: “It is a great honor to be involved in the creation of a joint program with Northeastern University, an institution with a rich tradition, as it greets its 90th anniversary. By combining the strength of both our universities, this program will take linguistics, culture, and media as its core curriculum with the hope of developing creative and globally-minded human resources.” President Ding then added, “Through the establishment of this joint program that utilizes the strengths of both schools―Northeastern University with its excellence in environmental science and technology and Josai University Educational Corporation with its excellence in the humanities―the goal is to cultivate professionals who are able to utilize cutting-edge technology in the creative industry.”

Based on this agreement, the two universities will form a planning committee that will then focus on the various preparations necessary for the establishment of the joint program, including the acquisitions of permits and licenses from the Chinese Board of Education, with the goal of opening program doors as soon as possible.

Josai and Northeastern University first formed a program of academic exchange in August 2010, and have since actively engaged in a number of faculty and student exchanges. Then, Josai and Northeastern University, along with the Dalian University of Technology and Dalian University of Foreign Languages, established the Japan-China Joint PhD Program in 2010, leading numerous exchange students to enroll in its intensive lecture series. Lastly, in recognition of her contributions and achievements in the realm of academic exchange, Chancellor Mizuta was conferred with an honorary professorship from Northeastern University in September 2012.