Overview
Objectives and Outlooks of the Exchange Program
Over many years, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) has conducted research and education regarding the world’s languages and the cultures based on them as well as studies on problems faced by local and international communities around the world. The mission of our university is to develop individuals who can contribute to the coexistence of diverse communities and populations in the increasingly multilingual and multicultural Japanese society and the world and who can take on global challenges.
This program consists of five international co-educational sub-programs that aim to build grounds for co-creating innovative projects through fieldwork in Africa and training in Japan and Africa by applying accumulated knowledge in African Studies and providing interfaculty curricula that go beyond the frameworks of the arts and sciences. TUFS promotes this program with the five African universities with which TUFS has signed academic exchange agreements.
Talent to be fostered through this program
Africa is undergoing many local and global changes and challenges today. Some are negative, such as the serious impact of climate change, resource depletion, growing and urbanizing populations, and structuralization of dependence on natural resources and primary products as well as industry dependence on foreign imports. Yet others, such as the advancement and widespread availability of information technology and the growth of various service industries, are favorable changes for the continent.
As Africa aims for sustainable development goals, there is increasing demand for individuals who can devise and implement innovations that allow for the application of conventional technologies, systems, and knowledge cultivated by African peoples through exchange. This program aims to train and nurture supra-disciplinary individuals well-versed in endemic knowledge of local African nations and communities who can lead technological and social innovations. Such leaders should be capable of transcending the boundaries of the arts and sciences or researcher and practitioner and incorporate a wide range of people in the approaches to overcome crises and disasters through quality growth in line with the “sustainable development goals (SDGs).”
