Introduction

We at the Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences Department of Oral Life Science have accepted many, mostly Asian, international students since the time when we were still known as the Faculty of Dentistry. Our institution provided education that focused not on the various research environments that these students hailed from, but rather allowed them to research themes on the frontiers of dental science using state of the art facilities. However, upon visiting the developing countries our students came from, it was quite apparent that in many of the cases, graduate returnees did not have access to adequate research facilities to utilize the research methodology they had acquired in Japan. In effect, the degrees our international students had earned through their Japanese education had not necessarily helped their professional careers.

A common criticism of Japanese financial aid is that it favors broad-based aid not necessarily suited for the unique circumstances of the targeted countries. It is possible that the same mistake was made in the university education of international students as well.

Present times call for increased effectiveness of post-graduate education. In a response to this call and in an effort to contribute to the Asian community while cultivating international students to meet the unique circumstances of their home-countries, we at the Department of Oral Life Science prepared our proposal for the International Course for Oral Life Science.

With a course term of 4 years in total, students spend the first year Niigata University and then proceed to return to their home country. There they will continue their studies by completing coursework using e-Learning while simultaneously composing their doctoral theses under the guidance of faculty members of the Core University.

This project was selected for funding under the “International Contribution through Effective Post-Graduate Education for International Students” category of the 2005 Initiatives for Attractive Education in Graduate Schools program. Much progress has been made in the last two years: Niigata University has engaged and successfully secured the cooperation of the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka as a Core University. The program has also accepted its first student who has already started studies at Niigata University.

Though the funding provided by this Graduate Education Initiative only extends for 2 years, in that time the student will return to Sri Lanka and begin the next phase of the program at the Core University.

Much consultation and review between both Sri Lankan and Japanese faculties has given way to a curriculum that provides the necessary research materials while sticking to a modest budget. In essence, this program is not another example of “broad-based aid” or “equipment-donation”, but one specifically tailored to the unique circumstances of the country involved. Looking at this project as a form of international contribution through increasing the effectiveness of international student education, one can see just how this project fulfills the set goals on a small budget.

That is not to say there were not some problems encountered along the way. The fact that international students' travel to and from Japan and living expenses while in Japan were not covered under current funding set sever restrictions on the number of applicants that could be accepted into the program. It is our belief that if it could be offered to government-funded international students, this program could truly fulfill its potential as an effective form of international contribution.

In closing, this program could not have been possible if for just the efforts of faculty of Niigata University. This program received generous donations from the Niigata Dental Association, the Mie Dental Association, the Niigata University Dental Alumni Association, the Morita Corporation, Kameda Seika Co., Ltd., Kuriyama Beika Co., Ltd, the CG Corporation, and GlaxoSmithKline K.K. I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to all of the above organizations for their invaluable assistance in providing support via the financial aid of our international students.

Yoshiaki Yamada
Department of Oral Life Science
Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences