Rebuilt in 1964, around two decades after the Second World War, Chubu University is now ranked among the best five private universities in Aichi Prefecture. Impressively, the university rose from No. 46 to No. 5 in just four years.
And as its ranking climbed, so did the number of applicants. With one of Japan’s highest students populations (more than 10,000), Chubu University attracted a record number
of applicants (20,500) from 46 of the 47 prefectures of the country just this year.
Located between Tokyo and Osaka, Chubu University gives its students the optimum environment to learn their country’s traditional and modern aspects. The campus provides beautiful natural surroundings and proximity to the bustling life of Japan’s two main cities.
Benefitting from 39 partnerships with international institutions, Chubu University is determined to forge more alliances, if the vision of incoming president, Dr. Osamu Ishihara, go as planned. While its overseas partnerships focus on student exchange programs, the university hopes to increase partnerships in research programs.
“Research will maximize students’ experience overseas. Then, we can further develop the seven faculties that we have in the university. I think it is important that students get international exposure in these higher levels of study,” Ishihara said.
Having had overseas teaching experience, Ishihara understands the importance of diversity and cross-cultural interactions for the younger generation’s overall development. Ishihara is also prioritizing a change in the traditional Japanese mindset on education by making it more collaborative rather than instructive and hierarchical.
“Japanese education is different from that in the West. Teachers are respected but dominant. I want to change this thinking because each person – teachers and students – has unique capabilities. Education means we have to grow and learn things together,” Ishihara explained.
