Career Seminar & Farewell Party Held for Ukrainian Students

On March 3, a career seminar & farewell party was held for Ukrainian Students at the Community Center of the Global Village on Tsukuba Campus.

In 2022, University of Tsukuba started the Special Program for Ukrainian Students who wished to continue study evacuating from their home country. By March 2023, 42 students have been accepted as Exchange Students or Research Students (non-degree students). As of today, 31 students are in school, and eight out of them have entered graduate schools as degree students. During these one and a half years, University of Tsukuba has been conducting various support programs for them to select their own study/life courses. And it held a final career seminar and a farewell party for them before the end of the Special Program, i.e. March 2025.

To the career seminar, three specialists were invited from three organizations: WELgee, an NPO which supports refugees, Ibaraki Foreign Worker Support Center, and so on. They delivered lectures on job-hunting support programs by the Japanese Government and gave advice on how to form their own life career. The students seriously listened to them and eagerly participated in individual job counseling.

By this seminar, some Ukrainian students have gained employment or entrance into school, and some still have been seeking for a job or applying for graduate schools. Most of them wish to stay in Japan while participating Japanese governmental support programs for evacuees.

A farewell party was held following the career seminar. This event was the last opportunity for Ukrainian students to get together before their leaving from the University. The students and the staff members recollected memories while watching the slide show that recorded many events for their three years.

The students expressed deep thanks to the University for the conventional supports, and said impressive and powerful words toward the future, such as "I was warmly welcomed when I arrived in Japan with uneasy feelings," "My family thanks the University of Tsukuba," "I was able to grow up here as a person," and "I hope to use my knowledge gained here for the future."

The staff sent yale to their future, and told them that they can visit the Tsukuba campus at any time they like as alumni. All the participants smiled, and promised to keep in touch and to have a reunion in the future.