2019.10.02

Academic Partnership Concluded with United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

In commemorating the conclusion of the partnership, UNITAR Executive Director Nikhil Seth, Sophia University Vice President Miki Sugimura and Mr. Michimasa Hirata, a survivor of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, attended a tree-planting ceremony planting a sapling of Hiroshima’s A-Bomb survivor tree at the Yotsuya Campus

On August 30, 2019, Sophia University concluded academic partnership with United Nations Institute for Training and Research(UNITAR). Faculty and staff members of Sophia University and UNITAR has been collaborating upon various occasions and the partnership was concluded this time in order to benefit our students who wish to build their career in the field of international cooperation by providing opportunities to participate in enriched academic programs, as well as to strengthen our ties with international organizations.

UNITAR is a training institution of the UN founded in Geneva in 1965 dedicated to train diplomats and staffs of international organizations of their expertise in diplomacy, economic development, environment conservation, peacekeeping or peace building.

In July 2003, their Hiroshima Office was opened establishing a presence in the symbolic city delivering trainings relating to peace building, post-conflict reconstruction and international peace and securities as well as offering Youth Ambassadors program and educational sessions for the general public.

This partnership enables the planning of collaborative projects and symposiums as well as providing internship opportunities at the Hiroshima Office for our students.

Background

In 2014, Sophia University was selected as one of the 37 MEXT Top Global Universities. In valuing direct learning opportunities from early stages with the international cooperation experts, various efforts are made as to providing useful information through our Human Resources Center for International Corporation for students wishing to build careers in international cooperation, co-organizing career seminars with international organizations and offering programs designed for high school students.

Partnerships with international organizations are also keys in enriching our international education. We concluded partnerships with JICA, WFP, UNDP, UNHCR, UNESCO Asia and the Pacific, UNFPA Tokyo Office and AfDB in order to promote educational and research exchanges, internship and short-term visit opportunities at those organizations for our students as well as hosting the United Nations Weeks twice a year with the cooperation of those organizations.