Japan Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Global Leader Program Fall 2012 (Student number: 240718) On 3th of September 2012 I was on plain heading towards Japan unaware what kind of country was waiting for me. I had never been very enthusiastic about Japan and its culture was in many ways unfamiliar to me. It turned out not to be the love of my life but indeed very instructive experience. I have tried to gather here the most useful information about my experience and observations. A lot is not said, so if you have any questions about Japan, Nagoya or NUCB, don't hesitate to contact me via exchange coordinator. 1. Preparations 1.1. Paperwork As one might expect there is quite a lot of paper work included in applying to a Japanese school and for a residence permit in Japan. After being accepted to exchange by Aalto I was required to apply separately to The NUCB Graduate School. The school required a long list of documents, but after sending the application package the rest of the process is rather easy. Here is a list of documents that was required to be send to NUCB by airmail. • Application form (Original) • CV/Resume • 2 copies of Passport • Document for proof of English Proficiency (TOEFL550/TOEIC800) • Essay " Details your reasons for choosing to study at NUCB • Official transcripts from your school • Application for Certificate of Eligibility (Visa document) • Resume for visa • 3 photos (colour copy is NOT acceptable ) • Bank statement or Financial statement • Application for Certificate of Eligibility (Visa document) In addition: • Application for scholarship (and residence). As I study in an English speaking program in Aalto I did not have to take TOEFL or other tests; a letter from exchange coordinator proofing my ability to study and communicate in English was enough. I had to wait for a reply for a long time and I finally got an acceptance letter with a Certificate of Eligibility about a month before my departure to Japan. The Certificate of Eligibility is needed when you apply for Japanese Visa. Once I had the Certificate of Eligibility, applying for visa it self was easy in Embassy of Japan in Finland. Visa can be done while waiting or at least during one day. Embassy gave me a document for the residence card. It is important to have this document to the airport upon arrival. Here is a list of items needed for visa application: • Visa application • Certificate of Eligibility • Passport • Pictures for Japanese visa application (differ from the ones needed for Certificate of Eligibility) • Name and phone number of a contact person More information on: http://www.fi.emb-japan.go.jp/fi/konsuliasiat.htm Few weeks before the departure I received information about orientation, residence card, directions from the airport, rental agreement and a bill for my whole stay at the residence. I was required to pay the full amount before arrival which came as a surprise. This practice, varied based on residence and scholarship. Some students were only required to pay one month in advance. All the actual agreements of courses and accommodation were done after arriving to Japan. Documents needed on the airport at arrival: • Passport • Visa • Document for the residence card • Letter of acceptance from NUCB • Rental agreement/ address • Name and phone number of a contact person After arriving to Japan the school wanted to see proof that the students have travel insurance. Thus, it is good to take your insurance papers or proof of insurance (in English) with you. We, as other residence card owners were also obligated by law to register our addresses at the ward office. University gave us the address of the office and we went to do the registration as a group. This was a good choice as one needs to have at least one Japanese speaking person to get the process done. The accommodation arrangement was at first a little unclear to me. The application for scholarship is actually a application for residence at the same time because your placement depends on which scholarship you receive. All the students are expected to apply for scholarship. After everyone had send the application NUCB decided who will go to which residence. Residence placement depends on how big scholarship one receives and that depends on ones school performance. Students with Jasso and higher NUCB scholarships are accommodated to Global Center. Students with smaller NUCB scholarships or no scholarship are placed in Chiyoda. NUCB has additional two residences: one for Japanese students and one for Hong Kongese students. If the rent in exchange student residences is too high for your budget it might be possible to switch to one of these residents after arriving to Japan. Room in Global Center 1.2 Getting there Finnair has a straight flight from Helsinki to Nagoya. I bought my tickets from Kilroy travels. With student discount the straight flight was well priced. NUCB offered two options for arriving dates (to school) and directions on how to get to the school from the airport. On arriving dates there were meetings at the school at certain time. From school NUCB offered a ride to the residence. I would recommend on arriving to Japan at least a week before the starting day, because school starts with such a drive that dealing with jet lag and culture shock at the same time is very difficult. 2. Studying in Nagoya University of Commerce and Business (NUCB) The orientation day was held on 6th of September. It was announced earlier that the school would officially start a week later. However, those who wanted to take Managerial Marketing course started school already on 8th. This was announced on orientation day. The courses were selected on orientation day for the first and second term. It was not possible to add courses after this but it was possible to drop them. Both of the terms had marked exam weeks but if there was no exam normal class was held on that day. The second term ended on 20st December when the last examination was held. All the courses offered to exchange students were MBA-level and thought in English. All the courses were worth of 2 local credits which equals 3 ETCS. Thus, I had to choose eight courses to get the total of 24 ECTS required for master exchange. The course selection is quite narrow and the work load changes from course to course even though they earn you same amount of credits. All the courses offered were just for students studying NUCB Global Leader program, so in practice for exchange students. No courses outside the program were available. Overall there was a lot of studying involved in NUCB exchange. Generally the visiting professors offered best quality of teaching. NUCB uses a case study -method in teaching but unfortunately in many courses this seems to be quite unfamiliar approach to professors and use of cases is really shallow. Most of the classes still rely on presenting frameworks and facts, but discussion is however encouraged. 2.1 Courses Behavioural Finance (GLP201_G12G) 2 credits/3 ECTS. 7x3,5hours. Professor: 誠一郎 岩澤 This course offered a review to behavioral finance. The application of behavioral finance theories were considered from the point of view of investment strategies in the financial market. Counter- intuitive observations, anomalies were discussed. This course is useful for those who are considering of investing in financial markets. Course was evaluated with following criteria: Mid-term exam (40%), in-class group presentation (25%), class participation (10%) and term paper (25%). Term paper consisted of quantitative analysis of investment strategies. Conducting the term-paper took a lot of time. Course required some intellectual thinking but was possible to study with minimum knowledge of finance (e.g. Basic finance course in Aalto). Japanese professor spoke in understandable fashion. Consumer Behavior (GLP210_G12G) 2 credits/3 ECTS. 7x3,5hours. Professor: 昌孝 山田 Course touched on different consumer behavior issues without going into deep analysis. Some cases were presented. Mostly course consisted of student presentations on certain matters, theories or companies. Course was evaluated with following criteria: Take home quiz times three 20%, midterm exam 30%, case presentations 20%, final group project 20% and final take home exam (essays) 10%. It was sometimes hard to understand what the professor was trying to say. Especially the assignments were badly communicated. This course had a big workload even though the assignments were quite easy. The course involved a lot of reading material but it was possible to skip most of the readings. Creative and Critical Thinking (GLP111_G12G) 2 credits/3 ECTS. 7x3,5hours. Professor: Nigel Denscombe The goal of this course was to learn thinking business issues critically and finding creative solutions as well as seeing the bigger picture. Course relies heavily on case studies. Frameworks supporting thinking were introduced and used. Course was evaluated with following criteria: Class participation 50%, Group work 30%, pre-class homework assignments 20%. There was homework for each lesson and a lot of group work during the class. Class participation was essential. The course was thought by a western professor. I recommend this to people who want to be able to do better business decisions based on overall view of the issue at hand. Elementary Japanese I（GLP011_G12G) 2 credits/3 ECTS. 7x3,5hours. Professor: 菜穂子 山本 At the start of the course students were divided into two groups according to their previous knowledge of Japanese. It was possible to take part without any previous Japanese studies. I was in the beginner group. The class focused on being able to communicate in everyday situations.