Activities
As Waseda's center for "true" intercultural opportunities, ICC offers
1. Support for students to engage in mutual exchange
2. Updated, useful information for intercultural exchange
You will find specific programs in the following areas:
A. Promotion of Mutual Exchange
ICC aims to promote exchange not only among students, but also among students and those who have some sort of connection with Waseda: faculty & staff, alumni, and local people. ICC facilitates exchanges through which cultural values can be discovered and experienced
Four directions of exchanges:
- International and local students
- Students and faculty & staff (including Visiting Scholars & Lecturers, and Exchange Researchers.)
- Students and alumni
- Students and local people
ICC's Basic stands:
ICC emphasizes the importance of exchanges which are equally beneficial for both sides.
It is not that one party does something for the other, but rather that, as equal partners, they interact with each other for mutual benefit.
1. International Students and local Students
Country/Regional Fair Series
As the center of "cultural exchange", ICC presents country/regional fair series to introduce cultures and lifestyles of specific countries or regions through exhibitions, presentations, talk sessions, and many other special means.
Forum
ICC provides venues for discussion in a specific language under a specific theme set by participating students.
Language Exchange
ICC matches local and international students together so that they can teach their native languages to each other in an informal way.
Intercampus Exchange
ICC organizes events where students from different campuses can meet for exchange.
Field Trips
ICC organizes field trips for both international and local students to (re)discover Japanese culture.
2. Students and Faculty & Staff
One of ICC's missions is to provide opportunities for informal exchange between students and faculty & staff, including Visiting Scholars & Researchers and Exchange Researchers. As members of the same academic community, they can enjoy each other's company in a friendly atmosphere at ICC.
Forum
ICC provides venues for discussion in a specific language under a specific theme for those who share the same interest beyond faculty or department borders.
National/Local Salon
ICC provides venues for people coming from the same country/region to meet each other and enjoy talking in their native language or dialect.
3. Students and Alumni
Interaction between 57,000 current students and 500,000 Waseda alumni in Japan and around the world is expected to grow and stimulate mutual exchange of experiences and ideas.
Collaboration and Exchange Events
For example, ICC hopes that activities planned for the fall Homecoming Day provide meaningful experiences for both students and alumni.
Local Culture Experience Programs
Field trips and cultural experience tours in collaboration with alumni associations all around Japan can be of interest for both students and alumni; students can enjoy talking to Waseda graduates of different generations as students' visits to those communities invigorate the local area.
4. Students and Locals
The local people of Waseda are also important partners for exchange.
Matching Program
ICC expects to develop new ideas and activities for both students and locals by matching demands and offers from both sides.
Japanese Cultural Experience Program
Inviting locals with unique and various backgrounds and experiences to teach Japanese culture is an ideal program for exchange for a "glocal" (global and local) university like ours, whose door is always open.
B. Informative Aim for Cultural Exchange
ICC aims at promoting understanding of other cultures and provides both information materials and informative programs.
ICC's Basic stands:
ICC assists cultural exchange by providing updated, global and local information to ICC users through which it hopes to foster multicultural understanding.
ICC's system for providing information:
Exchange Area
ICC Lounge itself is an exciting and attractive venue for direct exchange among people and for sharing information as well.
Multi-monitor System
Through the 10 multi-monitor systems which Japan-Samsung Corporation donated to ICC, worldwide news can be viewed. After users exchange their student IDs for headphones, they can choose from a variety of TV programs, from their home country or a country in which they would like to study.
Information Boxes
Currently, students at Waseda come from 82 different countries, and all 47 prefectures in Japan. Information boxes have been put into place representing all our students' home countries and regions. Users are encouraged to bring information about their home country/region to share with other ICC users. In these boxes, students and visitors may find invaluable resources to assist them when planning to travel or study abroad.
Windows to the World
In this section, users can informally share information through postings on bulletin boards under specific themes such as "Japanese souvenirs to take abroad/back home", "Memories of my trip", and "Favorite spots in my hometown". You may find valuable information not available in regular guidebooks.
Information Boards
Several bulletin boards are available for users to freely post information.
