Keio University booth
Prof. Masaru Nakano from SDM attended a joint Japanese Universities Information Session at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Fudan University in Shanghai in October. Both are prestigious universities in China; Shanghai Jiao Tong University is more science-oriented, whereas Fudan is known for its arts courses. The information session was scheduled for a time when Chinese people were still agitated about the territorial dispute between China and Japan, so a session at Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing were canceled. The sessions held at two universities in Shanghai attracted an estimated 100 students. Students in Shanghai Jiao Tong University are more interested in SDM compared to students in Fudan University. Many Chinese students who would like to study in Japan are interested in Japanese animations, games, and pop music. Chinese people are keen to build their social and business networks and consider it an advantage to graduate from a prestigious school. It is generally acknowledged that the top students, children of Chinese Communist Party officials and wealthy families, tend to go to the US to study, and that not all students in prestigious Chinese universities are excellent. It was a useful experience to attend the information session to improve our publicity and selection of foreign students.