Special programs -- Kobe Shoin Women’s University

Shoin University students

The popularity of the 17-year-old exchange program between Kobe Shoin Women’s University in Japan and UD is evidenced with the influx of 22 students from Kobe who have elected to study at ELI for a semester-long program. Among these 22 students were three who had participated in the short-term study program at ELI in the previous year. Peter Lobczowski is their program coordinator.

For those students coming for just four weeks in August and September, living with a homestay family remains a highlight. This year the long-standing program reaped another great benefit. The 21 Shoin students were introduced to UD language partner “friends” while these UD students were studying in Kobe in June of this year. This, along with the Nihongo (Japanese language exchange) table held weekly at the Scrounge on the UD campus, has greatly enhanced the study program interactions with other university students.

Along with their ELI academic coordinator, Janet Louise, and Shoin professors Taisuke Nishigauchi and Akito Miyamoto, the students visited Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C. Locally, they shared Japanese culture with seniors at the Newark Senior Center and primary school-age children at UD’s Early Learning Center.