On Wednesday, November 17, in cooperation with Technosolution Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Tairiku Trading, one of the pioneering companies in Russian trade), Hokkaido University’s Russia Office in Moscow held an online “industry research seminar” with the aim of creating a meeting place for Russian students who are interested in working for Japanese companies to meet with personnel from those companies, as part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) commissioned project “Study in Japan (Russia/CIS)”.
The seminar opened with a message from Professor Hirofumi Kato, who is the director of the Russia Office in Moscow (and the director of the Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies). Professor Kato’s message was followed by keynote speeches by Mr. Toshihiko Kurosu, who is the director of the Russia, Central Asia and Caucasus Office of the Trade Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; and Mr. Hiroshi Meguro, who is the general director of Mitsui & Co. Moscow LLC. The keynote speeches were focused on the eight-point cooperation plan for economic cooperation with Russia and the desired qualities of human resources sought by Japanese companies. In addition to the Japan Association for Trade with Russia & NIS and the Japan External Trade Organization, five organizations from Hokkaido, Niigata, and Toyama Prefectures that are actively engaged in exchange with Russia provided the participants with information on their respective organizations’ initiatives and on finding employment in Japanese companies. The three-hour seminar was interactive, with on-the-spot question-and-answer sessions with each participant. The seminar concluded with a speech by Mr. Kenichi Sakaguchi of Technosolution Co., Ltd.
The 166 participants at the event included undergraduate students, graduate students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs, and even working adults. According to the results of the questionnaire given at the time of registration for the seminar, many current students and working adults sought information on job openings at Japanese companies as well as the skills necessary to find a job at a Japanese company, indicating that many participants were focused on their own career development.
For this reason, the Hokkaido University Russia Office in Moscow plans to further promote cooperation with companies and strive to attract international students from Russia in order to provide information on studying in Japan as well as valuable information about available career paths after studying in Japan. We will continue our efforts to provide opportunities for interactions between Japanese companies and Russian students by making the most of the advantages of the online format.