Sophia University Visits St Mary’s Campus

Last week St Mary’s University, Twickenham hosted delegates from Sophia University in Japan as part of a meeting of the two institutions to discuss education in an international setting. The Sophia delegation were in London for the annual ‘Experience Japan’ exhibition, supported by the British Council. Sophia University’s Vice President for Academic Exchange Dr Miki Sugimura met with St Mary’s Chair to the Board of Governors Rt Rvd Bishop Richard Moth and Vice-Chancellor Francis Campbell during the day long visit. Following a tour of St Mary’s Strawberry Hill campus, Dr Sugimura along with fellow colleagues had the opportunity to meet with St Mary’s academic staff to discuss the differences and similarities between the Japanese and English Higher Education system. Amongst those attending was St Mary’s Professor of Philosophy Prof Geoffrey Hunt, who is also Director of St Mary’s Centre for Bioethics and Emerging Technologies (CBET). Prof Hunt has an extensive history of working with Japanese academics including several joint projects with colleagues in Japan’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. According to a recent British Council report, Japan: Debunking the ‘Inward-looking Myth, there has been a decrease in the number of Japanese students studying abroad recently, which has become a national concern. The government has launched initiatives to encourage mobility and aims to double the number of Japanese students pursuing studies overseas by 2020. Sophia University has been part of several projects aimed at achieving this target. St Mary’s Head of International Mariann Baker said, “The British Higher Education system also has its own challenges when it comes to outward student mobility. A conversation about this shared concern and possible solutions with a globally renowned Catholic University was most interesting for us.”