In this paper, I analyze the results of short-term international study programs, particularly volunteer programs, held in 35 countries around the world by comparing the results of work-camp (WC) programs and home-stay (HS) programs with reference to the “Fundamental Competencies for Working People” as specified by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). By confirming survey results collected from participants after participating in these programs, I identified a rise in subjective effects such as independence and stress control as well as four factors necessary for growth: assertion, risk management, solution planning and ethnocentrism. In particular, I explored the commonalities between the growth gained from participating in WC programs and the skills desired by society.

In this paper, the authors describe the changes in students’ awareness after undergoing 6 months of cross-cultural project-based learning. Participants from Tokyo Tech and Chulalongkorn Univ. were tasked with choosing a topic that is based on the broader theme outlined by the authors. For a duration of 6 months, the participants met at both university sites interchangeably, and engaged in multicultural group work. Through this process, the authors could identify differences of awareness between participants of Tokyo Tech and Chulalongkorn Univ., with students of the former gaining interest in social issues, and the latter focusing on proposals that could be adapted in their local communities. Furthermore, Tokyo Tech students recognized an increase in their English communication ability, while Chulalongkorn Univ. students felt a betterment in their existing abilities.

This study aims to explore the effects of the short-term study abroad program on promoting intercultural communicative competence (hereafter ICC). Students’ development of ICC was analyzed by pre and post-departure surveys, which have been produced by authors in this study. Twenty-five undergraduate students at Nagasaki University participated in this study. A factor analysis was performed, and then five factor items were extracted out of 48 questions. Through the analysis of variance, significant differences appeared in four factors out of five between the results of pre and post-departure surveys, which suggests that the short-term study abroad supported by the university would be effective to promote some of students’ ICC.

This study explored how a three-week study abroad period and prerequisite five-week training program helped students develop intercultural communicative competencies (ICCs). In August 2018, 81 students participated in three-week study abroad programs at Education First (EF) language school in Saint Julian (Malta); Oxford and Cambridge (UK); Santa Barbara, CA and Boston, MA (U.S.); and Vancouver, BC (Canada). To evaluate the students’ ICCs, pre- and post-ICC surveys were developed by the members of the Research Committee to Promote ICC, a subcommittee of the Japan Association for Global Competency Education. The results from the participants’ pre-1, pre-2, and post-ICC surveys were analyzed to identify group trends and individual changes. As a group, the students developed ICCs through the prerequisite programs and their study abroad experiences, but two students with similar backgrounds, including gender, academic major, and language school (EF Vancouver), had different ICC results compared to those of the group. Therefore, to explore the students’ ICC improvement, future research should analyze both the group and individual results using subordinate data, such as student reports, interviews, TOEIC Listening and Reading scores, and so on.

This article investigates the significance and outcomes of a super short-term overseas program both quantitatively and qualitatively. Under the globalization policy, Ritsumeikan University has sought to expand its short-term overseas programs to make them more accessible and appealing to students. This study examines the outcomes of one such program, the Global Fieldwork Project, which is open to all Ritsumeikan University students. Data are drawn from the 2019 project, in which 165 students participated. GPS-Academic is used as an objective, quantitative index. In addition, a qualitative, semantic analysis is performed using the participants’ written responses to a post-questionnaire survey. The results show students’ positive growth in substantial areas, indicating that the overseas program, despite its short duration, provided the students with meaningful experiences. Since social and cultural competence is relevant to all disciplines, studying abroad may be promoted for all university students. However, since there was a large variation in the students’ responses to certain questionnaire items, the effect of the program could be maximized by an educational intervention designed to encourage growth in less recognized domains. It is also important, from the perspective of program evaluation, to have further verifications of student outcomes.

In this paper, the authors describe how a multicultural university in Japan has developed a comprehensive scheme to cultivate future global leaders using its on-campus resources. Under its 2030 vision, the university has developed a campus-wide, comprehensive scheme to develop students who can work collaboratively with others despite cultural and language differences to create new values for the future. The paper elaborates on four of such programs and assesses how each contributes to the development of global leaders: Peer Leader Training, Teaching Assistant Training, Global Communication Program, and Honors Program. Each is not operated independently of one another but is part of a multilateral campus-wide scheme. Taken as a whole, the scheme has proven successful in creating a sustainable on-campus cycle of leadership development, in both curricular and noncurricular areas, in which the leaders developed in one program go on to assume leadership roles in another.