Vulcanus in Japan

The Vulcanus in Japan programme, established in 1997, is an industry-oriented student exchange program for EU students. It was established by the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, a joint venture between the European Commission and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Its main objective is to promote industrial cooperation between European and Japanese companies.

Goals of the programme

The Vulcanus in Japan programme consists of industrial placements for EU students. The participants are selected from among the best applicants (about 40 out of between 800 and more than 1000 applicants each year). To be eligible, students must be in the last year of their undergraduate studies or following a postgraduate course in the fields of Engineering, Sciences or Architecture. The final objective is to train a pool of future executives capable of interacting socially and professionally with Japanese people, by familiarising them with the Japanese corporate culture.

Students

The table shows the number of participants for each year by country, as well as the total number of participants, since the beginning of the Vulcanus in Japan programme.

Number of participants per year and country

Country	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	Total
Austria	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	7
Belgium	1	1	0	0	1	3	1	1	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	12
Bulgaria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	2	1	1	7
Denmark	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Estonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	3
Finland	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	0	3	2	1	1	1	0	1	15
France	2	2	2	2	1	3	4	7	5	5	2	2	5	2	0	44
Germany	0	0	2	2	0	1	4	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	3	17
Greece	1	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	9
Hungary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	6
Ireland	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5
Italy	1	1	0	2	3	1	3	2	2	7	9	10	10	8	3	62
Latvia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	2	1	0	2	1	2	11
Malta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2
Netherlands	1	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	10
Poland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	4	6	8	10	3	5	42
Portugal	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	3	1	0	0	2	0	12
Romania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	4	9
Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	6
Slovenia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Spain	1	2	2	2	2	2	10	5	8	6	7	10	10	3	2	72
Sweden	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12
United Kingdom	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	0	4	3	15
Total	14	15	10	16	12	17	26	24	31	40	40	35	46	29	30	385

Requirements

To be eligible, applying students must meet the following requirements:

• be an EU citizen;
• be in their last year of an undergraduate course or following a postgraduate course;
• be a student in one of the following fields:
  • Engineering;
  • Sciences;
  • Architecture.

A high proficiency in English language is also a sine qua non requirement for the applicants.

Applicants must also obtain an authorisation to participate from their respective universities, whether it is recognized as a part of their course or as a year off. None of the work performed by a participant in a host company, even related to research activities, can be used as thesis material.

Application and selection

The selection of participants is performed in two steps: First, around 150 preselected students (out of 1000+) are chosen based on the documents they provided (see below). In the second phase, the final decisions are taken by the host companies.

The first selection is performed by judging the following documents, which are required for the application:

• application form
• Curriculum Vitae
• motivation letter
• recommendation letter (written by a professor)
• all the grades obtained at the university
• university grading system

The most critical information contained in the above list of documents is the student's international profile, motivation and technical skills.

After the first selection is performed, the students are given a list of host companies out of which they have to pick two - one being already chosen by the judging board. Then the applicant must write a dedicated motivation letter for each of these host companies, which will be sent directly to the human resource department of the host company. These companies perform the final selection.

Content of the programme

All the participants to the Vulcanus in Japan programme follow:

• a four-month intensive Japanese language course, which is supplemented by

• various seminars related to Japan (culture, society, economy, history, etc.)
• company and factory visits
• cultural activities

• an eight-month internship in a Japanese company

The intensive Japanese language course

As Japanese language proficiency is not a requirement for the applicants (even if appreciated), the first part of the Vulcanus in Japan programme consists of a four-month intensive Japanese language course, at the rate of 5–6 hours per day, 5 days a week, taught by the teachers of a private Japanese language school. Participants who have never learned Japanese are provided the basic knowledge useful for daily life in Japan as well as basic communication in a Japanese company. During the Japanese language course, students learn not only about the language, but also about Japanese culture, history, living habits, etc.

Participants with some Japanese language skills follow classes adapted to their level.

The seminars

During the first four months of the programme, participants follow various seminars of about 3 hours each, led by teachers from renowned universities or companies. These seminars are related to the Japanese culture, society, economy and history, and help the participants to better understand the country.

The company and factory visits

Depending on the programme year, visits to leading companies are organised by the programme in order for the participants to study and learn about Japanese industry. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the companies and factories visited in the past:

• Hitachi
• Panasonic
• Sanyo
• Toppan Printing
• Toyota
• Komatsu Spring
• Nissan
• Yamatake Corporation (ja:山武 (企業))

The cultural activities

Some of the cultural activities are organised by the EU-Japan Centre, some by the school organizing the language course. They include:

• Calligraphy
• soba, tenpura cooking, preparation of sushi, etc.
• Wind chime (fūrin) making
• Tea ceremony
• Sumo tournament watching
• Indigo dye
• Zazen.

Activities vary depending on the year of participation, but they are intended for participants to learn more about Japanese culture.

The Internship

The Internships start in January and last till August. Placement, accommodation, tasks and schedules vary greatly and depend on the hosting company. During the internship students are required to write monthly reports to keep track of their records.

All participants receive information on local Japanese language schools, but the continuation of language studies is voluntary.

The Scholarship

Each participant is awarded a scholarship. Until 2008/2009, the amount of the scholarship was 15,000 € for one year, but after the recent economic crisis, from 2009/2010 the scholarship will be given in Yen, and the amount has been set at 2,000,000 ¥. It covers the round-trip plane ticket to Japan, insurance and living expenses (food, transportation, etc.).

Housing is provided and financed by the hosting company for the whole duration of the programme.

The Japanese language course is also financed by the programme.

See also

• Student exchange
• European Commission
• Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry

External links

• Vulcanus in Japan on the EU-Japan website (English and Japanese).
• Vulcanus in Japan alumni website
• Vulcanus in Japan group on LinkedIn