EUIJ WASEDA

President, Waseda University

On the eve of its 130th anniversary, Waseda University has set itself the goal of transcending its Japanese identity and becoming a truly global university, one that cultivates young leaders able to make a substantial contribution to humankind and the global community, that brings together students and faculty from all regions of the world. Today we have agreements on exchanging researchers and students with more than 600 overseas universities and educational and research institutions. The university has to date accepted almost 40,000 students from abroad, including those not covered by such agreements, and sends 1,700 Waseda students abroad each year.

 In April 2009, Waseda University set up EUIJ Waseda to serve as a hub for promoting academic cooperation and educational exchanges between Japan and the EU. Waseda and the EU had already established cooperative ties through such initiatives as the EU-Japan Friendship Week symposium focusing on political and economic issues, the Executive Training Programme (ETP) in Japan for businesspersons from the EU, and the EU Framework Programme (FP) for Research and Technological Development involving scientists and engineers. EUIJ Waseda aims to foster systematic cooperation between Japan and the EU in meeting global challenges; to that end it rises above the level of faculty and university, and indeed the academic community as a whole, to work with politicians, civil servants, industry, and civil society at large. I am confident that through its programmes EUIJ Waseda can play a significant role in the University's mission of producing graduates ready to pursue careers on the world stage, and can do much to build bridges between Waseda -- and Japan as a whole -- and the EU.