Study Tour Expectations #
Reflecting back on my expectations prior to the tour, my main goal was to push myself out of my comfort zone as much as possible and to engage with people from a different culture. My experiences exceeded my expectations as the group was pushed to try new things in each day, both as part of the program, as well as in daily Tokyo life. This came in the form of being challenged in the language classes, and through navigating the Tokyo culture through food, transport, and other elements.
This experience reinforces my belief that it’s important to understand other peoples culture & beliefs to be able to connect with them on a deeper level. Things that seem irrational from a western point of view can make much more sense when you consider culture, history, and societal values. The tour has shaped my career journey by giving me experience in connecting with people from other cultures and learning to sympathize with their perspectives that inform their decisions.
University Representations #
This is something that I kept at the front of my mind at every experience we had during the program. It’s more critical now than ever for foreigners to carry themselves well in Japan as there’s a lot of criticism coming from the locals & government around tourism in Japan (the government has created new pictograms to teach tourists some local manners & customs to help with behaviour issues). It was pivotal as ambassadors of Australia & Edith Cowan that we were authentic and relaxed. A lot of the people we met at the University & internships were extremely nervous to talk to us as they weren’t used to having foreigners in the company/uni and felt pressure to do the right thing by us and the company/uni. It was important that we helped these people relax so that we could have authentic, honest conversations with them, without them stressing about saying the wrong thing. Usually through humor and complimenting their English skills.
During the internship, I felt the most important responsibility was to show our interest in the topics that were being discussed and asking questions to show our enthusiasm. Back in Australia, I’d like to continue to try and understand people’s different perspective by acknowledging their history & culture, and understanding how this may impact decision making. I’d also like to continue to practice asking engaging questions on peoples presentations to show my interest in the topic.
Academic Insights #
A major “a-hah” moment has been the way people approach their company and the way they work. By talking to locals in Japan and learning about their views and approach to work, we learned about company respect & culture. As Australians, we’re often shocked by the long hours that staff work at Japanese companies. I learned by talking to locals that appearances can often be the most important thing when working. Showing that your committed to your work by being present while the boss is there is something that holds high value in Japanese companies, and is often an expectation when you get the job (some more info on Japanese work culture can be found here).
Advice for the Next Group #
I think the most important aspect of the study tour was to be ready to embrace challenged. For me, it was super important to be able to change my mind set to make the most of a situation. There are some things that you’ll do which you think might not be that interesting or applicable to what you’re studying, but if you can shift your mind set, you’ll find get things out of the experience that you might have thought not possible.
It’s important to make the most of the internships as it’s extremely rare for foreigners to get access to Japanese companies in this way, especially students. Going over, I probably didn’t understand just how big of a deal this was, but by spending time with people at the university and attending the different cultural programs, it became clear that the opportunities we were getting in Japanese culture was something extremely rare for people from outside the country.
If you want to understand the importance of the program, talk to the coordinators about what both ECU & TCU have been investing and who’s involved. We met some extremely successful people in Japan who are strong advocates to the program. This really reinforces the importance that the Japanese people put in having Australians coming over to integrate with their culture. To me, when you have people of that caliber, both Australian & Japanese, involved and lending time to the program (when they don’t have much to spare!), it really carries a lot of weight.
During our program, TCU held a dinner for the 10th anniversary of the program. There’s some info here that provides some info about the program and gives some context as to how important it is for both universities.
Some photos from the trip that I don’t think I’ve shared yet:
