International Student Week “ISW” Successfully held!

From 14 September to 18 September, our Graduate School hosted the international exchange program “International Student Week (ISW)”. This time, we welcomed a total of five students from two universities: Universiti Malaya (Malaysia) and the National University of Singapore (Singapore). As the two universities are in neighboring countries and share a common language, the students quickly bonded and developed close friendships throughout the program.

The first day began with an orientation conducted by Professor Kenji HATA, followed by a Welcome lunch hosted by Dean Kazuhiko NAKANO. During the lunch, participants engaged in friendly conversations about their respective cultures, cuisines, and daily lives, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

From the second day onward, the training program commenced in earnest with the generous support of our faculty members. The students had the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge dental research, including studies on AI-related studies, and had the opportunity to tour both the Graduate School and the University of Osaka Dental Hospital. Through these experiences, they gained valuable insights into the differences between dental education and dental healthcare systems in Japan and their home countries, making the program a highly rewarding and enriching experience.

In the afternoon, we held a welcome party to deepen interaction between the visiting students and our students. As the event took place during the university’s summer vacation period, it was relatively small in scale; nevertheless, our students listened with great interest to the presentations introducing each participating university.

In addition, snacks brought from each country were shared among the participants, who enjoyed comparing the flavors of Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. The different tastes naturally became a topic of conversation, helping to create a lively and friendly atmosphere.

Despite the unfortunate rainy weather on the afternoon of the third day, the students had the opportunity to visit SHOFU Inc. in Kyoto through the company’s generous cooperation. As SHOFU is a well-known company that supports dental care around the world through its global operations, it appeared to be a familiar name to many of the participating students.

The students listened attentively to the presentations and product demonstrations, gaining a deeper understanding of the company’s initiatives and latest dental products. Their active engagement throughout the visit reflected a strong interest in both the dental industry and technological innovations in the field.

After successfully completing the five-day program, the participants received their certificates of completion, the students shared positive feedback, expressing their appreciation for the warm welcome and support they received. They noted that the opportunity to interact with our students and researchers, as well as the chance to experience campus life and academic activities firsthand, made their stay both enriching and rewarding despite its relatively short duration. Overall, the program proved to be a highly meaningful experience for all participants.

The students also expressed their gratitude for the program, sharing it provided them with the opportunity to make new friends, and gain insight into differences between dental education and dental care systems in their own countries and Japan. They also remarked that these experiences inspired them to consider the possibility of pursuing a career as a dentist abroad in the future, making the program both meaningful and motivating.

Our Graduate School of Dentistry will continue to actively promote international exchange and contribute to the development of dentists and researchers who can play active role on the global stage.

The next International Student Week (ISW) will be held from 30 November to 4 December. We are looking forward to welcoming students from Universitas Airlangga (Indonesia), The University of Sydney (Australia)and Srinakharinwirot University (Thailand).

We are confident that the upcoming program will once again provide a week filled with new friendships, stimulating academic exchanges, and exciting discoveries.