Otago Polytechnic Set To Resume Hosting Japanese Learners

Otago Polytechnic is excited to welcome back students from Japan’s International College of Technology this week.

Ten students will be welcomed on to Otago Polytechnic’s Dunedin Campus on Thursday 25 August - the first international student exchange of its kind since March 2020, when Covid disrupted much international study.

The learners will be fully immersed into New Zealand culture, living with local families and attending the same lectures as Otago Polytechnic students.

They will study a combination of engineering, Information Technology and English/communication subjects in a one-year programme that runs from April to March of the following year. Although the programme constitutes a one-year certificate at Otago Polytechnic, it comprises the third year of a five-year diploma for students at the International College of Technology.

The programme is part of an MOU between Otago Polytechnic and the International College of Technology aimed at helping develop engineers and IT experts capable of working in the global workplace.

The programme has been running since the early-2000s. Originally developed at the request of the Japanese institution, which wanted students to learn engineering terminology and skills in an English language environment, the programme underwent a redesign in 2020.

"Due to Covid-19 disruptions, the students have been unable to enter New Zealand since March 2020, so we have continued the programme through online and blended delivery, in collaboration with ICT, to enable students to complete their diplomas in Japan," explains Nathan Dunbar, a Senior Lecturer in the Engineering Technologies team at Otago Polytechnic.

Prior to the redesign in 2020 the students largely studied in separate classes, but the new programme was designed to enable students to integrate with local IT and engineering classes in semester two. The students will then complete a project before the end of the programme at the end of February 2023.

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