On April 27, seven international students who are participating in the 15th course of the “Okayama-Hue International Master’s Program,” a cooperative Master’s degree program run by Okayama University and Hue University (Vietnam), met the “foster home” companies which are supporting their scholarships after the students arrive in Japan. In Japanese, the students expressed their impression of Okayama Prefecture and Okayama University, as well as their research themes, willingness to write a Master’s thesis, gratitude to their foster home that has offered an environment in which they can dedicate themselves to their studies, and other matters.

In this course, the Vietnamese students specializing in environmental and agricultural studies study in Vietnam for one and a half year before transferring to the Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University as second-year graduate students in the Master’s degree course. The “foster home system” has been applied to support the scholarships, in which supporting companies agreeing with the purpose of the course are connected with international students in a one-on-one relationship.

The meeting ceremony was attended by the Executive Director for Academic Affairs and Senior Vice President SUGA Seiji, Vice President for Local Engagement MIMURA Satoshi, Vice President for International Affairs and Alumni SUZUKI Takayoshi, and others. The foster home companies offered encouragement to the international students, saying: “Study and enjoy your life in Okayama Prefecture and Okayama University.”

The meeting ceremony, which was held for the first time after a four-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was a meaningful time that deepened the interaction between the students and the foster home companies.