Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) recently hosted a Japanese Education Agent, Mr Osamu Takei, with the intention of giving Japanese students access to study at SIT via the Study Abroad student exchange programme, and to strengthen SIT’s presence in Japan’s tertiary education sector.
Osamu Takei visited SIT Invercargill on March 27; as well as viewing the campus facilities he met with the SIT International Team to discuss facilitating a series of new opportunities between SIT and potential partner universities in Japan.
Whitney Irwin – SIT International Marketing and Partnerships, said Mr Takei would arrange an introduction between SIT and Showa Women’s University (SWU) in Tokyo to look at developing the Study Abroad connections. “This would be particularly for English short tours or semesters, with potential to use both SIT Invercargill and/or Queenstown campuses.” For those Showa students who have sufficient English language skills, Ms Irwin said they would have access to mainstream semester abroad study. Once the introduction had taken place, Ms Irwin would be able to work towards a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the university.
Well-known for its liberal arts programmes, Showa has between three and four thousand students; ranking as the top women’s university in Japan, it has a high employment success rate with its graduates (95.9% - March 2024). It has faculties in Humanities and Culture, Humanities and Social Sciences, Food and Health Sciences, Environmental Science and Design, and Global Business and International Humanities.
Taking positive first impressions of Invercargill and SIT back to Japan, Mr Takei enjoyed “the nice and quiet city and campus”. The highlight of his campus tour was seeing the restored former St John’s church, in the heart of SIT’s Centre for Creative Industries, Te Rau o te Huia.
Mr Takei thought that the natural environment, diversity, and people of Invercargill and Southland would be appealing to Japanese students looking at studying in New Zealand. He added the variety of courses available at SIT, the duration it took to graduate, and the reasonable living costs in Invercargill were at the top of his list in recommending SIT to Japanese students.
Ms Irwin said SIT would also investigate receiving Japanese students for short-term English in general, as well as high school graduates coming to SIT for English studies prior to commencing their diploma or degree. This was seen as a desirable option, Ms Irwin explained, giving graduates an advantage when they returned to their home workforce with a reputable qualification from an English-speaking country. SIT is aiming to receive the first cohort of students from Japan in 2026.