The External Evaluation Committee for ASEAN Plus Three: University Consortium committee was held on February 22 in Nakamiya Campus of Kansai Gaidai, with the following in attendance: Prof. Shinichi Ota from the International Center in Shizuoka University, Councillor Kengo Yamamoto from Kansai Economic Federation, Councillor Liu Zhanshan from the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Osaka, and 12 people from Kansai Gaidai. The four members of the committee set out their varying opinions and ideas for the ideal way of the program in the future.

In the conference, first of all, KGU President Yoshitaka Tanimoto delivered an address of welcome and declared his resolution that “Although Distinctive University Education Support Program (Good Practice [GP]) will come to an end at the end of March, we will continue the consortium in cooperation with the partner university.” Next, Dr. Hiroyuki Toyota explained the overview and approach of the consortium from October 2009 to February 2011. He put emphasis on four achievements that 1) the administrative meeting was held in August 2010 and a curriculum among participating universities was adjusted to secure the quality of education, 2) 10 faculty members went through the faculty development training program (the FD training) at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in the U.S. in September 2010 to prepare to offer classes in English language, 3) Indonesia University joined the University Consortium in November 2010, and 4) KGU founded a scholarship in cooperation with Sansuisha Co. Ltd. in February 2011, for students from Thailand who will transfer to Kansai Gaidai under the dual degree program.

After that, all members gave their views each other. Prof. Ota referred to a policy on career formation after graduation and advised that “With more painstaking career guidance, the number of applicants from abroad might increase. Why don’t you enhance the curriculum in the direction of learning something in English because students major in English study?” Councillor Yamamoto pointed out that “In the midst of a marked tendency that the West is the place to go for study abroad, a strong sense of purpose and motivation shall be needed for students to study in Asia. Asia is now a center of economic development and a hungry spirit is abundant. The problem might be found in this point. Councillor Liu suggested that “The union of curriculums between the participating universities is preferable. Why don’t you make a circumstance in which students are able to study economics through English study. In China the most of the students who major Japanese study English as a second foreign language. KGU shall admit such students, and on the other hand, dispatch those who study Chinese in KGU, proposing to study English and Chinese at university in China ”

KGU will carry on the consortium, making the most of those opinions and aiming at taking on one student from each university each year.