Japanese Students Get a Taste for Student Life at St Mary’s

More than 40 of Japan’s top performing students recently visited St Mary’s University College, Twickenham as part of a trip organised by the British Council Japan on behalf of the Osaka Prefectural Government. Following a rigorous selection process, 45 of the brightest students from schools in the Osaka region of Japan were chosen to spend three days at St Mary’s as part of a wider tour of the UK. The aim of the visit was to demonstrate what university is like in the UK, and encourage more Japanese pupils to study overseas. The students, aged 16 to 18, took part in a range of sessions including talks from Japanese business people based in the UK and the British Council, along with internal workshops exploring university life and subjects such as Law and Drama. The pupils also had the opportunity to meet current St Mary’s students, delivering presentations about Japanese culture and chatting about what life is like as a student at the University College. St Mary’s Director of Enterprise and Business Development Catherine Sheppard said, “The students were an absolute pleasure to host. For many it was their first time to visit the UK and they really enjoyed experiencing the different cultures. They were extremely enthusiastic, friendly, polite and got involved in everything on offer. “We hope to host more visits like this in the future and look forward to developing our links with partners in Japan.” After leaving St Mary’s, the party went on to visit Leeds and the University of East Anglia before travelling home. For information about hosting an educational visit or short course please contact Catherine Sheppard on catherine.sheppard@stmarys.ac.uk. For more information on the International Office, please visit the website or email international@stmarys.ac.uk