2011 Volume 59 Issue 6 Pages 6_29-6_34
Hokkaido University started out in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College with foreign professors teaching agriculture and civil engineering to Japanese students in English. Since then HU has expanded to cover various disciplines and changed its medium of instruction to Japanese. In 2000, HU School of Engineering launched a graduate program with English as a medium of instruction. It is a complete reverse from a century ago because this time professors are Japanese while students are mainly international students from overseas. The main objective is to disseminate advanced knowledge Japan has accumulated through international students and at the same time “internationalize” our educational system.
The “English Engineering Education program” or e3 started in October 2000 with a limited number of fields. As of 2010 it has expanded to cover all fields offered by the School of Engineering. At present close to 100 graduate students from 27 countries enrolled in the program. 114 courses are offered in English, out of which 47 are regular courses, in other words, attended by both Japanese and e3 students. This paper introduces the e3 program and its practices. Its role on international cooperation in engineering education and on engineering education itself is described.
