Vulcanus in Japan

The Vulcanus in Japan programme is an industry-oriented student exchange program for EU students. It was established in 1997 by the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, a joint venture between the European Commission and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Its main objective is to promote industrial cooperation between European and Japanese companies.

Goals

The Vulcanus in Japan programme consists of industrial placements for EU students. The participants are selected from among the best applicants (about 40 out of more than 1000 applicants each year). To be eligible, students must be in the last year of their undergraduate studies or following a postgraduate course in the fields of Engineering, Sciences or Architecture. The final objective is to train a pool of future executives capable of interacting socially and professionally with Japanese people, by familiarising them with the Japanese corporate culture.

Students

The table shows the number of participants for each year by country, as well as the total number of participants, since the beginning of the Vulcanus in Japan programme.

Number of participants per year and country
Country1997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015 2016Total
Austria 0001110001201000000 07
Belgium 1100131121100000314 222
Bulgaria 0000000000100001013 17
Croatia 0000000000000000031 37
Cyprus 0000000000000000010 01
Czech Republic 0000000120002110110 09
Denmark 1010010000000000001 04
Estonia 0000000000011010000 03
Finland 1101111032111010112 019
France 2222134755225200113 150
Germany 0022014011210030033 326
Greece 1101110000100120011 212
Hungary 0000000011111012101 010
Ireland 2110000000100000001 06
Italy 110231322791010831147 378
Latvia 0000000010000010010 03
Lithuania 0000000212102122011 015
Malta 0000000010000100001 03
Netherlands 1213000001100010001 213
North Macedonia 000000000000000000011
Poland 00000003346810358295 571
Portugal 1100011113100201022 118
Romania 0000000000003242111 115
Slovakia 0000000103200001300 010
Slovenia 0000000000000101012 16
Spain 12222210586710103219114 6103
Sweden 1112222100000000100 114
Turkey 000000000000000000011
United Kingdom 1200000003110430111 018
Total 14151016121726243140403546293020254445 34553

Host companies

Requirements

To be eligible, students must meet the following requirements:

  • be an EU citizen;
  • be registered at an EU university on a postgraduate or an undergraduate course on at least the fourth year;
  • be able to take a year out;
  • be a student in one of the following fields:

A high proficiency in English language is a sine qua non requirement for applicants.

None of the work performed by a participant in a host company, even related to research activities, can be used as thesis material.

Application and selection

The selection of participants is performed in two steps:

First, around 120 preselected students (out of 1000+) are chosen based on the documents they provided (see below). In the second phase, the final decisions are taken by the host companies.

The first selection is performed by judging the following documents, which are required for the application:

  • application form
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • motivation letter
  • recommendation letter (written by a professor)
  • all the grades obtained at the university
  • university grading system

The most critical information contained in the above list of documents is the student's international profile, motivation and technical skills.

After the first selection is performed, the students are given a list of host companies out of which they may pick one or two — one being already chosen by the judging board. Then the applicant must write a dedicated motivation letter for each of the host companies, which will be sent directly to the human resource department of the company. These companies perform the final selection.

Content of the programme

All the participants to the Vulcanus in Japan programme follow:

  • a four-month intensive Japanese language course, which is supplemented by
  • seminars related to Japan (culture, society, economy, history, etc.)
  • company and factory visits
  • cultural activities
  • an eight-month internship in a Japanese company

Japanese language course

As Japanese language proficiency is not a requirement for the applicants (even if appreciated), the first part of the Vulcanus in Japan programme consists of a four-month intensive Japanese language course, at the rate of 5–6 hours per day, 5 days a week, taught by the teachers of a private Japanese language school. Participants who have never learned Japanese are provided the basic knowledge useful for daily life in Japan as well as basic communication in a Japanese company. During the language course, students learn about the language and about Japanese culture, history, living habits, etc.

Participants with some Japanese language skills follow classes adapted to their level.

Seminars

During the first four months of the programme, participants follow seminars of about 3 hours each, led by teachers from renowned universities or companies. These seminars are related to the Japanese culture, society, economy and history, and help the participants to better understand the country.

Company and factory visits

Depending on the programme year, visits to leading companies are organised by the programme for the participants to study and learn about Japanese industry. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the companies and factories visited in the past:

Cultural activities

Some of the cultural activities are organised by the EU-Japan Centre, some by the school organizing the language course. They include:

Activities vary depending on the year of participation, but they are intended for participants to learn more about Japanese culture.

Internship

The internships start in January and last till August. Placement, accommodation, tasks and schedules vary greatly and depend on the hosting company. During the internship students are required to write monthly reports to keep track of their records.

All participants receive information on local Japanese language schools, but the continuation of language studies is voluntary.

Scholarship

Each participant is awarded a scholarship. Until 2008/2009, the amount was €15,000 for one year. After the economic crisis, from 2009/2010 the scholarship is given in yen, and the amount has been set at ¥2,000,000. Starting with the 2013/2014 session, the scholarship amount has been reduced to ¥1,900,000. It covers the round-trip plane ticket to Japan and living expenses.

Housing is provided and financed by the hosting company for the whole duration of the programme. The Japanese language course is financed by the programme.

See also
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