Taiwan Student Research and Career Experience Sharing Session participants

The University of Tsukuba, the Taiwan Student Association at the University of Tsukuba, and the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Japan worked together to hold the Taiwan Student Research and Career Experience Sharing Session on December 11, 2021. Graduates of doctoral programs at the university and current graduate students were invited to share details of their valuable experiences in research and job hunting in Japan with younger, current undergraduate students from Taiwan.

In the past two years, students from Taiwan studying in Japan have faced new challenges brought about because of the COVID-19 pandemic, if they want to undertake further education and research there, or to look for employment there. For example, the pandemic has also affected some parts of the job market: it has led to fewer career fairs and more competition in the job market, and some universities have changed their entrance examinations and procedures for doctoral programs.

The purpose of the experience sharing session was to provide Taiwanese students in Japan with more information to help them as they consider both continuing with further education or job hunting as a possible choice for their immediate future. It was held in hybrid mode, with a total of 30 students taking part, some people in person, and others taking part online. In this way, international students at universities in remote areas were also able to take part.

International students who were graduates of the university’s doctoral programs and current graduate students in different fields including media, software development, online games, and university teaching were invited to speak about their job-hunting experiences. 
They shared their thoughts on what to pay attention to when job hunting and also spoke about their current work situations. They pointed out that Japanese enterprises have a strict hiring process and a different corporate culture that isn’t the same as that of enterprises in Taiwan. They suggested that before seeking employment, students should therefore not only enrich their basic education, but also fully study the characteristics of the proposed company they are considering seeking employment with. In this way, they can present their expertise and utilize their strengths in the most suitable way and optimize their chances of standing out in the fierce competition for employment.

At the end of the event, the students thanked all the speakers for sharing so many valuable details of their experience and wished them all the best.