Human ScienceS

EDITION 1

Digest

In this issue:All you need to know to survive in Osaka University: useful tips from your senpai in school, after school, and more!

The Global 30 Human Sciences Student Journal

Table of ConTenTs

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

SCHOOL LIFE

A Day at Osaka University Risa Shibata

Best Places to StudySamantha Hall

Expand your overseas university experience with Extracurricular GroupsSofia Lin

Saving Money in Japan Sean Zilka

The Rollercoaster Ride with Dr Don Bysouth

Varun Khanna

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6

8

10

12

3 TABLE OF CONTENT

LIFESTYLE

INTERVIEW

5 SCHOOL LIFE

A Day at

with Risa Shibata

8:00 wake up

Most first year stu-dents live in the in-ternational dorm on Toyonaka Campus, so many sleep-in until first period classes start at 8:50.

mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness is rather typical for a student’s first day of school. University is particularly a big transition, as many students leave their family and friends and enter an entirely new societal sphere. But don’t worry! To ease a bit of your stress, here is a typical schedule of a freshman’s day at Osaka University.

SCHOOL LIFE 4

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8:50 1st period:

Japanese classes (JA100 – 500) are scheduled three times a week. Although early classes are always hard, these Jap-anese classes are worth taking, as many G30 students are able to speak Japanese by the end of taking Japanese classes up to JA500.Friday 1st period is reserved for P.E. classes where students have the option of taking Kendo (Japanese traditional sword fighting) or a general sports course composed of a mix of different sports (eg. volleyball, basketball, football).

10:30 2nd period

Most classes are held in the Center for Education in Liber-al Arts and Sciences (CELAS) building where it is divided into three main buildings- A, B and C. These three buildings are all connected inside, so you will be able to easily move to and from different classrooms.

12:00 3rd period (lunch time)

There are many cafeterias throughout campus. Since 1st years mostly have classes at Toyonaka campus, the best one is Kanshita, the cafeteria below the main library. How-ever, since it is overflowing with students especially during lunchtime, another popular al-ternative is Sora- the cafeteria right beside the lake.

13:00 4th period

During free period, some G30 students go to the G30 refresh room, which is located in the School of Science E building near Sigma Hall. This is also the place where the Interna-tional College is located, so if you have any questions such as scholarship money, this is the place to go to. Since it was recently rebuilt, it is also stored with interesting cup-noodle vending machines and even ice-cream machines!

14:30 5th period

JA600 classes are held during this period, and this is the highest Japanese course level that is provided by the univer-sity. Since foreign language is a mandatory course that stu-dents are to take for two years, most Japanese native speakers first take JA600 before moving on to other foreign languages such as French, German and Chinese.

Many students finish their classes by 5th period, and head to extra curricular clubs (more information of this on pages 8-9), part-time jobs, or to the library to study.Several international students work at English language schools to teach English to Japanese elementary students. If you are interested try talking to one of the upperclassmen G30 students.The library is a convenient place to study in. In addition to a computer section, there are rooms available for group study and quiet zones where you can concentrate during exam period. If you want to make any printouts, free print-ers are in the Cybermedia center, which is right in front of the library. Make sure to check the schedule in the 1st floor so that you won’t accidentally disturb a class (more study tips on pages 6-7).<<

Osaka University

A little tip:Having a map in handy is useful especially on the first day of school. The map of Toyo-naka campus can be found on:http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/access/toyona-ka/toyonaka.htmlHope you enjoy your first day of school!<<

7 SCHOOL LIFE

BestPlaces

Study

saka University is an elite university. Keeping up with school-work can be very tough, especially for the G30 students. This means all of us may soon face the problem of having to find a comfortable spot to study on campus.

This article is here to help. From the library to the scenic cafe-restau-rant, Toyonaka cam-pus has several cram-ming-sanctuaries to satisfy all kinds of study needs, and here is a list of our top recommenda-tions.

SCHOOL LIFE 6

with Samantha Hall

O

Hit tHe library!First things first, the library is one of the best places to get things done in. Yes, this is obvious, but I am about to reveal some tricks and tips on how to use Osaka University’s library like a pro on the first try.

The Toyonaka Main Library is the biggest library on campus. It con-sists of four floors of study spaces, books and other resources. Addi-tional laptop computers, projectors and extension cords can be lended from the front desk for those who need it. The library’s late closing hours during school months (10PM) makes a real lifesaver for those of us who like to pull all-nighters.

Studying with company?

The floor of entrance, which is ac-tually the second level, is the only floor in which students can talk free-ly while studying. It holds two study-ing areas: the Studying Commons and the International Commons. The Studying Commons consists of tables of all sizes, with several com-puters, as well as comfortable sofa seats that are perfect to curl up in while getting through your readings.The recently renovated Interna-tional Commons provides excellent venue for discussion sessions and meetings, with adjustable con-ference tables, comfortable new furnishing, white boards, and sever-al interactive screens that are great for presentations.

However, these spaces are very popular, which means that it can potentially become very noisy and crowded, which may not be ideal for some of us.

Solitude maximizes effi-ciency

For those of us who prefer to study in peace, third floor and above of the library are strictly silent zones. Individual seats with dividers ensure your priva-cy while working, and large ta-bles provide every student with comfortable space to spread your notes across. The library’s computer space can be found on the third floor, although the spaces are limited in number and tend to be filled up quickly during exam periods.

If you cannot stand the noises in these open spaces, there are cubicles available for individual use, as well as study rooms for groups of three or more stu-dents. These rooms are also great for meetings and presen-tations. There are only 7 large rooms and 20 cubicles avail-able in the library, so be sure to make a reservation online before heading over.

Cybermedia Center For those who do not have a computer handy, another great place for some hard work is the Cybermedia Center. The Cybermedia Center is the beautiful building next to the sports field and across from the main library, its modern exterior housing six floors of computer rooms. When they are in use for class, most rooms are opened for stu-dents use. Just be sure to check the signs on the doors before entering.

Need to print?

One of the main reasons the Cyberme-dia Center has made it on our short list of recom-mended study spots is its hardware. Four of the rooms in the building are “CALL” rooms equipped with black-and-white printers. All students and staff are given a quota for free printing every semester, so be sure to make good use of it. The timetables of these rooms are posted on the ground floor to help stu-dents keep track of their avail-ability.

Like the library, the Cyberme-dia Center closes late during school months, at 9:30 PM.

Sora

Both the library and the Cy-bermedia Center do not permit food and drinks. While this helps some to concentrate, for those like myself who needs refreshments in between cram-ming, it can be quite torturous. Well worry no more, for there is a place on campus that is perfect for you (and me).

“Sora” is a beautiful cafe-restaurant overlook

ing the lake at the edge of the

campus. Its sceniclocation and won-derful ser-vice makes it a popular spot forpupils and

guests alike. From the big

landing win-dows of the cafe,

you can observe the changing faces

of nature, or watch over stu-dent groups rehearsing by the lake. It provides a stress-free environment to study in. Once in a while, you can take a little break with a refreshing cup of tea and a piece of freshly baked bread, or even indulge with an ice cream cone.

However, beware that it is generally not encouraged for students to take up space and study during lunch and dinner hours. “Sora” also has an early closing hour, at 8PM. <<

For more information on the library, as well as make reser-vations for rooms and books,

please visit the official website: http://www.library.osaka-u.

ac.jp/index_eng.php

For information on the Cyberme-dia Center, check out:

http://www.cmc.osaka-u.ac.jp/e/

For service information and opening hours of “Sora” and oth-er restaurants on campus, go to: http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/

guide/student/general/welfare.html <<

to

by the end of semester than students of the regular Jap-anese programs. It may be difficult for a G30 Human Sci-ence student to fully dedicate themselves to clubs or circles. Obviously it depends on the sort of club or circle but rule of thumb is that the demands of circles are more lenient than of clubs’. Thus, it may be more manageable to balance studies with circle activities rather than club activities.

At Osaka University there are several ways to join clubs and circles. Brave individuals may directly visit the club- or circle’s room to announce hers or his interest or perhaps approach a member of the group on campus. In general, clubs and circles allow students to join at any point of the semester, though most of them recruit their prospective members during the extracurricular group orientation that occurs in the beginning of April each

year. Students usually participate in several

club- and circle activ-ities to determine the

best fit before offi-cially joining.

Osaka University’s school festivals are another chance for students to get in touch with the clubs and circles and see what they are all about. Visitors may for example enjoy food-stands set up by club- and circle members, live mu-sic performances, the Miss/Mr. Handai contest and many other forms of entertainment. The closest at hand is the Machikane Festival that occurs about a month after the fall semester commenced. This year’s Machikane Festival is scheduled from the first to third October - in case you are inter-ested in joining a club or circle, or only want to have a taste of Japanese culture and take pleasure in the campus life, it may be worth a visit.<<

lubs and circles is one feature that makes uni versity life in Japan at-tractive. From many Japanese people’s perspective, joining a club or a circle may be their last chance to explore their hobbies and interests before they become fully employed workers and some students even devote themselves to their clubs more than their studies. Clubs and circles are classified as either sport or cul-ture-related groups. As of June 1, 2014, Osaka University has 59 different sports-related extracurricular groups and 67 extracurricular cultural groups.In other words,

there is a wide variety of major and minor groups at Osaka University such as the Ameri-can Football club, Mixed Cho-rus Club, Rifle Shooting club and the West African Drum and Dance club.

Most Osaka University stu-dents are engaged in some form of extracurricular activi-ties. Unlike native students, a foreign student who recently began their journeys in Japan, may not have access to a net-work of

acquaintances, childhood friends and part-time col-leagues. Participating in extra-curricular activities may enrich a foreign student’s overseas experience as it includes the opportunity to make new acquaintances and friends as well as increase cultural knowledge and improve Japa-nese language skills. However, G30 Human Science students may particularly find that they generally have more required readings to complete during the semester and a larger

amount of reports to turn in

Expand Your Overseas University Experience by Engaging in

Extracurricular Groups with Sofia Lin

LIFESTYLE 8

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9 LIFESTYLE

Moreover, throughout the year three official festivals – Icho, Machikane and Summer – ex-

hibit an array of extracurricular groups.

For further information about Osaka University’s clubs and circles in English, please visit: http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/campus/circle-club/index.html To find out more about the Machikane Festival in Japanese, please visit: http://www.machikanesai.com/about.html <<

11 LIFESTYLE

Sales are fairlyintermittent in

Japan. There are usually two times of

the year that Japan will have sales. The first one

is during the New Year hol-idays. Many stores will open

early on the 1st of January in order to have large sales or to sell fukubukuro, which are basically bags of merchan-dise. Some stores let you pick what to put in the fukubukuro or see what is inside. Others will not, so it might be a bit of a gamble. However, usually the price of the fukubukuro is much cheaper than it would be buying the items separately, so you can save a bit of money.

The other big sale in Japan is during July. Many

places are trying to clear out their stores in order

to make room for the fall merchandise,

so you can also find good deal

on clothes, electronics,

and more if you

don’t mind

not get-ting the

newest merchandise.

Perks for StudentsThere are some miscellaneous perks that you can get just by being a student in Japan. Internet service providers, phone carriers, and many other places offer student dis-counts which make their ser-vices much cheaper. Be sure that you have your student ID whenever you are signing a contract for something, as there may be student discounts for whatever services you are looking for.As a university student, you are going to have to do a lot of writing assignments. While many people already have word processing software on their computers, some people do not. If you don’t want to use free software on the internet, you would probably go out and buy Microsoft Office. Fortu-nately, as an Osaka University

student there is no need to do this. All students of Osaka Uni-versity can get a free copy of the latest version of Microsoft Office from the Osaka Univer-sity website. Osaka University also has an apartment agen-cy which helps students find apartments at a lower cost than outside agencies would charge (but perhaps with less selection for apartments).

While some sources may make you think living in Japan is expensive, there are ways that you can save money to make things cheaper. Your largest expenses living here will like-ly be food, utilities (including Internet and phone), and rent. If you can follow these tips you will be able to save a lot of money living in Japan.<<

Shop

ping

LIFESTYLE 10

FoodOne of the best ways to save money in Japan is on food. Cooking your own food is obviously the cheapest way to save money on food. I can easily spend just 300 yen on a healthy, home-cooked meal if I am thrifty. But to make home-cooked meals cheap, you need to know the right places to shop. When I first came here, most of the students in my co-hort shopped at Oasis, a more upscale grocery store which is usually located near Hankyu train stations. This is where you shouldn’t shop if you want to save money. The cheapest place for students in the dorm

to shop is a grocery store called Harōsu, which you can’t find by searching on Google Maps. It is also the closest grocery store to the dorm, but many students don’t know about it because of its location. If you aren’t in the mood to cook, you can also buy pre-made food at grocery stores such as Oasis and Mandai, but try to wait till 7PM because everything left will go on sale.

veryone has heard that Japan is an expensive place to live. Tokyo and Osaka fre-quently rank near the top of rankings for the most expensive cities in the world. While most people hold the image of Japan being expensive, it is not as expen-sive as these rankings make it out to be. I am able to live on about 100,000 yen

per month (about $1000) including my rent, cell phone, internet, utilities, and food. While Japan still maybe be slightly more expensive than your home countries, there are many ways that people can save money in Japan. If you are careful about spending your money on food, and making sure to take advantage of perks for students, living in Osaka can actually be cheaper than living in many places in the USA.

Saving Money in Japan

With Sean Zilka

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INTERVIEW 12 13 INTERVIEW

Q: Would you like to share the story of your journey as an academician?

A: When I was in my early twenties, I ran my own business and I was also a musician and so was very busy doing these two things. Through-out that time, I wanted to go to university and study. I was very interested in psychology and that came from reading my younger sister’s psychology text books. Some years later, I com-mitted to becoming a full time university student which basically meant giving up many things. From the start I knew that I just didn’t want to do a psychology degree. I wanted to go as far as I could – get a PhD, work as a professor and do research. Eventually I got a PhD in psychology and I have been working as an academic in the areas of psychology and sociology. This path takes a lot of commitment and is just becoming harder and harder for who can spend decades in education with very limited money and finan-cial reward. However, the things you get out of it if you have a passion for the world, about knowledge, about teaching or mentoring stu-dents, it can be very rewarding.

Q: We all have our stories for how we ended up coming to Japan. What is yours?

A: My reasons were simple and straightforward, my family!. My wife is also a professor, and has worked for some years in US and Canada. At one point I was working in the UK and she took a job in Japan, so we had to eventually decide where to live as academic salaries don’t allow continual globe trotting. So we decided to settle in Japan which we felt was a good environment for our youngest son. I came to Japan and got a research fellowship, and after the first year I saw positions advertised at Osaka University and I thought it was fantastic and exactly what I was wanting to make a contribution towards so I applied. With Japan’s efforts to change its university education, it can be good opportunity for people to come here. So, if you have a commitment to things that matter, in my case it was family, you might just end up getting your reward rather than simply making sacrifices. I am happy!

Q: What according to you is the most important thing to know as an in-coming student?

A:There are a number of things. It is important to remember that you have been provided with an excellent opportunity and what you do with it is pretty much dependent upon you. Because of the size of the program you are in a position

where you can get a lot of assistance, support, mentorship and networking opportunities that you would otherwise not get, even though some other place might be much more established. So if you are aware of this you can have an amazing experience. Being here especial-ly as an international student can be stressful and overwhelming at times, but there are always people around to offer help. In the end, please remember that this ex-perience is not just about courses and grades, it is about how you change as a person and it’s important not to trivialize this facet.

Q: Most students these days are wor-ried about employment and jobs. What kind of career paths is this pro-gram tailored towards?

A:Although we are yet to graduate anyone from this program we think that after graduation one would be well placed to get graduate level jobs with Japanese companies or corporations. One reason for that is many of these companies have expressed a strong interest in recruiting our graduates because they are looking for graduates who come from a reputable institu-tion, who are bilingual and have had interna-tional experience.. If you are interested in going overseas with a degree here, you will be well positioned to compete with other people with degrees in social science in a range of jobs. If you can demonstrate that you have basic re-search skills and that you can employ a range of approaches to solving practical problems, employers would be very keen and these are the kind of skills you will get from this program. In terms of graduate level, our graduates will be extremely well placed to go in areas like psychology, sociology, anthropology, interna-tional relations etc. So I tend to focus on these quantifiable skills that I know other universities and large employers may say graduates lack. The reputation of Human sciences in Japan is extremely high which is why I know that our graduates will have a high degree of prestige in Japan. The challenge will be to translate that

with our program around the world.

Q: It is the year 2025. What do you imagine this programme to look like then?

I would hope that our program has international recognition, and that amongst universities or students interested in these kids of programs, ours is considered the number one undergradu-ate program in Japan and among the top in the Asia-Pacific region. I would like to see our grad-uates going to master programs in Japan and around the world and that they are going into di-verse range of employment career paths in prof-it or non-profit organizations. I would like to see it (the G30 programme) become bigger but not too big so that we can continue to do the kind of personalized things we do. I would like to see it attached to an English based master’s program. I would like the program to create opportunities with networking and so forth where gradates remain in touch with each other. The values and way of looking at the world they might develop while at the university goes on to influence them in their later life because we have a strong fo-cus on equality and progressive change. More-over, I would like to still be involved because for many of us we really invested in this program, and I personally have so I want students to feel that we have worked really hard to put together something that students don’t think of as just another degree program at any other university.

Any final words …

In the end, be aware that you may experience all sorts of feelings and challenges when you first come here but don’t feel as if you are a cra-zy person or that no one can help you. It can be an extremely overwhelming time but there are people who can offer you support an advice. Bear in mind that for your professors, we are keen to having you as students! <<

fter its inception in April 2011, the Global 30 Human Sci-ences International Undergraduate Degree Programme at Osaka University found a mentor in Professor Don By-south. A psychologist, sociologist, social psychologist,

gamer, popular culture fanatic and a father of four, Professor By-south has carved a niche for himself at Osaka University. Sober in his conduct and friendly in nature, he is a student’s delight!In this interview, Professor Don shares his life experiences and his advice for the prospective, incoming and current students at the international degree program.

The RolleRcoasTeR RideWith Dr Don Bysouth

by Varun Khanna

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OSAKA UNIVERSITY