Studying abroad could be one of the most impactful experiences in life for individuals, giving them new inspiration or a catalyst to start something new.
Tobitate Study Abroad Japan Initiative is an organization that supports Japanese youth studying abroad, encouraging them to achieve their future goals and fostering their passion for their dreams. An event’s pre-study abroad session was conducted, and I, Koharu Kawaguchi, one of the organizers, will report on the event.
What is Tobitate! Study Abroad Initiative?
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) launched the “Tobitate! Study Abroad Initiative” in 2013, a public-private project for promoting overseas study, intending to create momentum for all young Japanese university and high school students with the motivation and potential to take the first step toward studying abroad. (Tobitate! Study Abroad Initiative Homepage)
As part of this program, World Road is collaborating to enhance “connection skills.”
World Road conducts one of the events in this pre-study abroad session, which will give students opportunities to be mentored by world leaders, the so-called “dreamers.”
The people from 201 countries in the book “WE HAVE A DREAM” and the dream web platform here by World Dream Project will attend online and offline to interact with the students and share their dreams and plans for their future goals, mainly what they aim to achieve while studying abroad.
This program aims to develop “storytelling skills” (conveying one’s own story). This training is considered “Day 0 of Study Abroad,” enabling Tobitate students to confidently share their dreams and goals at their study destinations.
Facilitate students to complete assignments beforehand and present their study themes and goals to the Dreamers during the program, who then provide feedback.
Tobitate! Study Abroad Initiative brings together students from diverse academic fields. The Dreamers, global healthcare, architecture, and conflict resolution leaders, further enrich this international community.
Tobitate! Study Abroad Initiative does not require scholarship students to have English proficiency. Therefore, many Tobitate students faced language barriers in the program, where they spoke with world leaders in English. Observing the groups where Tobitate students and Dreamers interacted online, I noticed that the efforts to communicate and listen created a “safe space” for Tobitate students to be heard. There were instances of students helping each other with English, and offline, they enjoyed interacting. Even if they struggled with words, they conveyed their dreams to the Dreamers with determination.
Tobitate students and Dreamers were grouped primarily by region and academic field. I focused on grouping them so they could expand their perspectives through interaction, making “Day 0 of Study Abroad” meaningful. On the day, while navigating Zoom breakout rooms online, I witnessed many exchanges of contact information between Tobitate students and Dreamers, enabling conversations on familiar topics and deeper discussions about their future goals. It was inspiring to see the potential of Tobitate students expanding… In the feedback session, comments such as “We had common interests, and the conversation was lively” and “We’ve already arranged to meet” made me feel the joy of connecting with people.
Dreamers returning from sessions commented, “Everyone had strong dreams, and it was a wonderful session.” They also said, “We learned a lot from the discussions.”
Such mutual learning environments are vibrant, strengthening the participants’ commitment to their goals.
In Conclusion
As a staff member, witnessing the knowledge and experience gained through study abroad and how these become stepping stones toward their dreams was genuinely inspiring.
I am looking forward to seeing the day when Tobitate students, having gained much knowledge, reunite with the Dreamers during the post-return training to share their experiences and inspire others with their journey.
I sincerely hope that the Tobitate students who shared their dreams and goals in this training will confidently share their passions with others at their study destinations and have a safe and fruitful study abroad experience.
