UPEI and University of Tsukuba provide students with cultural exchanges

The University of Prince Edward Island and the College of Comparative Study at Japan's University of Tsukuba signed an agreement earlier this year that provides students with worthwhile international exchange opportunities.

Rose Leger, fourth-year arts student at UPEI, was selected for the exchange program and will spend a semester in Japan, before returning home in February. Leger was also the lone student selected by the University of Tsukuba to receive the Takase Scholarship for visiting students, which will help support her stay in Japan. She will be focusing on gender and cultural studies and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to be exposed to Japan's culture.

'I do not know if my slight understanding of Japanese culture is Hollywood based from movies and TV shows, so I am looking forward to experiencing the culture firsthand,' said Leger before departing for Japan.

Japanese students Aya Jonen and Koudai Kai arrived in PEI for the Fall semester and immediately noticed the friendliness of both UPEI and PEI. For fourth-year student Jonen, her love for Anne of Green Gables brought her to PEI, as she is currently working on an honours thesis on Lucy Maud Montgomery's fictional character. Kai, a third-year student who studied religion, politics, history, and women's studies while on PEI appreciated UPEI's course structure as it fit in nicely with his schedule, and provided him with the opportunity to get involved in campus-life activities.

'This is the beginning of a longstanding relationship, with plenty of opportunities for students from Canada and Japan, now and in the future,' said UPEI International Partnerships Coordinator Sherilyn Acorn-LeClair.

The UPEI and University of Tsukuba agreement has been in effect since the Fall semester, and will remain in effect for an initial five-year period. Interested students are asked to contact Sherilyn at (902) 894-2837 or sdacorn@upei.ca.