グローバルコミュニケーション学科ニュース

Sydney Program Students in front of the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Program Students delivering their business "pitch" to a Launch Pad audience.

One of the challenges of 1st year university students is gaining the confidence to speak in front of others and articulate one's own innovative ideas. Students worry that they might appear awkward and embarrass themselves in front of friends and teachers. This is even more the case when the student uses a language that is not their native one!

This past September, eight KUINS students were able to study in Sydney Australia to learn about the basics of entrepreneurship and the start-up process. Through the support of Launch-Pad a technology incubator affiliated with Western Sydney University, the students participated in an intensive 10-day project-based learning experience. Specifically, the students were asked to create a business idea that would use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help achieve one of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To succeed in this project, students needed to develop both the ability to work well in teams, work independently, be socially minded, identify and solve problems, communicate effectively, as well as be able to thrive in a multi-cultural environment. At the end of the course, they also had to persuasively "pitch" their idea in front of a large audience -in English. According to the students, the program was not easy. But with the help of Launch Pad instructors, "pitch" coaching, and each other, the students were able to overcome many challenges, learn more about themselves and make great friends. As the program was also comprised of students from four different countries, and in the heart of cosmopolitan Sydney, the students also learned much about the world around them.

Kansai University of International Studies (KUINS) recently received a multi-year grant from the Japanese government to help students address this issue and many others. KUINS is the only private university in western Japan to have been chosen as a participant of the Inter-University Exchange Project. Through the project, KUINS students, particularly students in the Global Communications and Tourism programs, have an opportunity to study overseas, be it Sydney Australia, Vancouver Canada, Northern Malaysia or Hawaii and California in the United States. With the generous funding of the Japanese government, students had their tuition and airplane fare paid for them; through the support of the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), a large portion of food and housing costs were also defrayed.

The experience of the Sydney program is unique, but it is also not unusual for the Global

Communications program. It aligns with the department's overarching commitment to delivering group-work oriented, supportive learning experiences in an international context.