From October 7 to 9, 2013, the Josai University Educational Corporation participated in the 12th Asian University Presidents Forum held at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), forming new academic exchange agreements with four different universities in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand in the process.

As part of Josai’s Mid-term Target of strengthening international exchange to cultivate global human resources, our university has formed academic exchange agreements with a number of institutions worldwide, including alliances with ASEAN institutions of higher learning. During this summer term, Josai sent over 130 students to study in Malaysia and are engaged in active exchanges in the fields of language learning and pharmaceutical science.
　 Director of the Management Planning Office, Katsuhiko Namikawa, standing as a proxy for Chancellor Noriko Mizuta, participated in the forum where he was given the opportunity to interact with representatives from many different universities, ultimately resulting in new academic exchange agreements.

With the increased interest in improving education in local regions and strengthening internationalization at the university level, over 150 representatives from 78 universities in 23 different countries attended this forum. The opening ceremony was attended by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad and current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Muhyiddin Yassin both of whom gave congratulatory addresses.
　 During the forum, the Josai camp interacted with representatives from many different universities regarding the state of higher education in their country, the possibility of forming joint education or research programs, and other matters. The fruits of these interactions resulted in new academic exchanges with the aforementioned UniMAP, as well as Universitas Surabaya in Indonesia and Siam and Thaksin Universities in Thailand. Josai plans to take concrete measures toward forming joint projects in a variety of fields with these universities in the near future.

Universiti Malaysia Perlis is a national university founded in 2001, located in the northernmost Malaysian state of Perlis near the Thailand border. Josai already formed an extensive agreement with UniMAP and three other universities during last year’s Asia Summer Program, but this recent academic exchange agreement was added as a form of bilateral cooperation.

Universitas Surabaya was founded in 1966 and is the largest private university in Indonesia’s East Java province. With departments in pharmaceutical sciences, economics, and business administration, one can expect the formation of many joint projects with Josai in these areas.

Thailand’s Siam University was founded in 1965, adding Siam University International College as an annex in 1995. At present, the university hosts over 400 international students from 15 different countries. Siam is the 5th largest private university in Thailand and with the extensive internship program of its Hotel and Tourism Studies department, the university holds particularly strong ties with the Thai tourism industry.
　 Thaksin University was first founded as a teaching college in 1968 and has since grown into a multi-disciplinary university. Thaksin―the name granted by a royal decree of His Majesty the King and meaning “southern”―was established as an independent public university with the aim of protecting and fostering the culture and educational tradition of southern Thailand.