The second joint online networking event “Career Discovery” for undergraduate and graduate students in Japan and global companies held by JETRO

Dec 23, 2022

On November 25, 2022, with the help of more than 15 universities in Japan, JETRO hosted the second joint online networking event “Career Discovery” for undergraduate and graduate students in Japan and foreign-affiliated companies active in Japan. The event was held through Zoom, and on the day of the event, 28 participating foreign-affiliated companies had five x 25-minute networking sessions in their breakout rooms respectively. Approximately 400 Japanese and international students aspiring to global careers visited the companies of their choice and engaged in lively interaction.

Supported by:

Akita International University, Tsukuba University, Chiba University, Hiroshima University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, Okayama University, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Cooperated by:

Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University

With the COVID-19 pandemic, work styles and lifestyles are diversifying and human resources are becoming more mobile, for which the importance is increasing of "career planning" to think about and plan what kind of work you want to do in the future and what kind of career to build up, "career paths" to clarify the learning, skills, and experience required to reach the goal of your plan, and the sequence of steps to take, and “career designing” to design so as that you can be proactively involved in realizing the ideals of your whole life, including values and lifestyles.

With this background, JETRO held the first joint “Career Discovery” last year as part of its inward investment promotion project. The event was held with universities in Japan, mainly from those designated in the Top Global University Project, with which JETRO has concluded the Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement, with a consideration of their importance in regional development as well as their large number of global human resources. The purpose of the event was to provide information to help students deepen their understanding of foreign-affiliated companies and broaden their career options through interaction with participating companies. Also it was aimed to overcome the issue of "securing human resources," which many foreign-affiliated companies indicated as getting worse in their perception of changes in the Japanese business environment(874KB) (*) over the past one or two years.

“Career Discovery” was attended by a number of Japan-based foreign companies, including Apple (U.S.), Caterpillar (U.S.), Medtronic (Ireland), Infineon Technologies (Germany), Longevity Partners (U.K.), L&T Technology Services (India), M-DAQ (Singapore), KEENON Robotics (China), COSMAX (Korea), and HIWIN (Taiwan). They enthusiastically exchanged information and opinions with highly motivated undergraduate and graduate students from across Japan.

While more real events are being held again, “Career Discovery” was again held online, where many of the participated students deepened their corporate research in advance based on a special website featuring advance information on 28 companies compiled by JETRO, and examined the breakout rooms to visit on the day of the event, resulting in a remarkable number of visits per person that were not biased toward popular companies. The participated foreign-affiliated companies gave various comments such as, "It was good that many students were interested in the energy industry," "Even more new initiatives were seen from the previous year," "Now that we know what the event went, we hope to think more about what we can do and be more helpful to the participants next time," "Students asked so many questions, and it was good that we could attract them," and "The event content actually exceeded our expectations."

Likewise, the participated students shared various feedback such as, "The companies gave presentations and came close to us students, so I was able to learn about the industry up close and interact with them, and had a welcoming impression," "I was able to obtain a lot of useful information in English, such as the type of human resources that companies are looking for and the possibilities for internships," "I felt that the session was very beneficial for me because I was able to have a frank discussion with the company representatives," "I could ask questions easily because the session was held in a small group," "It was useful to hear career advice," "I was able to find a company that matches the field I would like to pursue after graduation," "As a doctoral student, it helped me understand what kind of skills and language proficiency foreign-affiliated companies in Japan are looking for," and "It was a great opportunity for me as an international student from Africa, and I felt a sense of inclusiveness. I hope this event will be held again in the future."

JETRO will continue to support the business expansion of foreign-affiliated companies in Japan and the career development of highly specialized human resources by connecting undergraduate and graduate students in various regions with global companies. By deepening diversity through such initiatives, we will promote the creation of innovation in the region.

※Summary of Survey Results on Bisiness Operations of Foreign-affiliated Companies in Japan, conducted by Invest Japan Department, JETRO, March 2022 (874KB)