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Nanzan University

Japan 2023/2024 Partner universities

Personal data
Mobility type:
study

Faculty at MU:
Faculty of Arts

Field of study:
Japanese Studies / Japanese Studies

Level of study during period of placement:
Bachelor

Language used:
Japanese

Summer/winter school?:
no

Period of studies:
autumn 2023

Period of placement (from-to):
2023-09-11 - 2023-12-21

Number of months:
4

Activities before my departure abroad
Where can information be found about courses taught at the foreign school?:
https://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/English/academics/cjs/

Which documents were needed for acceptance at the foreign university?:
recommendation letter from Japanese language instructor
motivation letter

How far ahead did you have to organise your acceptance?:
half a year ahead

Did you need a visa?:
yes

Documents and materials needed for a visa:
valid passport, photo in the required format, letter of recommendation from the partner university

Length of wait for visa:
5 days

Fee for the visa:
none

Studies
Did you have a Learning Agreement signed before your departure?:
yes

If not, why not?:

Before your departure did you know how your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
yes

During your stay did you change your Learning Agreement?:
no

When and how did course registration take place? Are there any restrictions? Possibilities of making changes?:
in the first week before any classes started we filled out on paper which courses we want to take, we then could make changes during a short period of time, but everyone mostly got into their chosen courses

Did you take any examinations at the foreign school?:
in the beginning we took a placement test in order for our Japanese language level to be determined

at the end of the semester there was an exam period lasting about two weeks, only one attempt is given per exam

Does the school use the ECTS system?:
- choose option -

If not then explain how the credits there were recalculated into ECTS:
as agreed with my major’s coordinator

Describe the teaching methods (theory, practical and projects) and assessment of students:
frequent tests for unit revision, kanji test, midterm test, presentations in Japanese, projects where we had to document an experience we had in Japan, short videos in Japanese where we spoke on a given topic - Japanese class

essay for midterm and final exam - Japanese cinema class

translation test - Translation class

roleplay - Business Japanese class

Quality of teaching in comparison with home school:
the quality of Japanese language classes was very good, as we had two 4 days of the week
other classes were also way more engaging and generally more homework was given

How did you receive study materials?:
via an application called Slack for Japanese class, for other classes via the university’s information system

Can you recommend an interesting course/subject/teacher?:
Business Japanese taught by Fumika Kamei

How well is the school library equipped?:
most of the books are in Japanese, so for international students it is not as useful, but it is well equipped

Availability of computers, internet access, level of software needed, requirements on notebook:
for my level of Japanese language (level 3) a notebook or ipad was necessary as all nothing was done on paper
in the university there is a wifi network students can connect to using their credentials, it works

Options from printing and copying:
there are copy machines in the school

Does the foreign school/student organisation arrange special events for exchange students?:
yes

If yes then what?:
trips, parties

How would you assess your integration with the local students (evaluation like in school from 1 to 5 with 1 as highest):
2

or describe in your own words:

Practical questions on your placement
Where did you live?:
a dormitory belonging to the university, but it was a house where 6 of us lived (only female students)

Cost of accommodation - monthly:
600 EUR

Additional comments to the price of accommodation (as to what the price includes):

Describe the equipment. Tips for future students – what should they bring with them?:
the dormitory had all necessary equipment

How and how far ahead should accommodation be organised?:
around May the school sent out the information on what they offer

What are the catering options?:
we cooked our own meals, or there is a school cafeteria, but the dormitory was located quite far from the school

What are the rough costs of groceries (compare with Czech prices):
I pad around 450CZK (JPY3000) at most for all I needed to buy

Transport to location of placement:
subway, where we had to transfer once, it took around 30 minutes to get to the university

Rough prices for transportation:
around 2400 CZK for a pre charged card

Tips for purchasing cheap tickets and other recommendations:
purchasing the Manaca card in Nagoya - it is a transportation card which we purchased at the beginning of the stay and it can be charged for a select period of time

What are the local transport options (public transport, cycling, on foot, rough prices):
subway is the most useful, buses also
everything operates until midnight usually, then starts running again from around 5 am

What kind of formalities have to be arranged before arrival, for example residence permit?:
nothing before arrival other than visa

What health insurance did you use? (rough price, advantages, disadvantages, is it necessary to arrange insurance at the university other than your home (Czech) insurance?):
they made us pay for a health insurance, but I was recommended at the Japanese embassy in Prague to also purchase an insurance here, as the Japanese insurance would not cover 100% of the potential expenses

Did you have any experience with medical treatment abroad?:
no

Did you work during your studies?:
no

What are the conditions for working for MU students?:
I don’t know

Tips for free-time activities:
Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are easily accessible from Nagoya, also other places nearby

Financial support and expenses
Total grant from Centre for International Cooperation:
70000 CZK

Monthly grant in CZK:
20000 CZK

Number of supported months:
3,5

Total number of months:
3,5

What other sources did you make use of to finance your placement?:
personal

If you received another grant, state which and how much in CZK:

 
Total fees associated with enrolment at the university:
46000 CZK

a/ amount of enrolment fee:
0 CZK

b/ amount of tuition fees:
0 CZK

c/ amount of other fees (which):
10000 CZK

 
What was your average monthly expenditure?:
14000 CZK

a/ of which for accommodation:
5000 CZK

b/ of which for catering:
5000 CZK

c/ travel and recreation:
4000 CZK

Any comments to the average monthly expenditure:

Recognition of foreign studies at the home faculty
How many credits did you gain during your studies (in the system of the foreign school)?:
18

How many ECTS credits were recognised at MU?:
20

Did you know in advance which of your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
ano

What problems did you have with recognition?:
nevyskytly se problémy

Overall assessment
Assessment of personal benefit (1 = excellent):
5

Assessment of academic benefit (1 = excellent):
5

Evaluate the information and support provided by the foreign school (1 = excellent):
4

Did you encounter any serious problems during your stay:
none

What would you recommend to take with you:
PC/notebook or any other device with connection to the internet and a keyboard

What most surprised you at the partner university in a positive way:
the teachers had an individual approach and the lessons were very demanding, but engaging

What most surprised you at the partner university in a negative way:
the location was not the best in relation to my dormitory, it took longer for me to get to school compared to students living at the dormitory next to the university itself

Further comments: