International Exchange

Message from JICA Dental Education course graduates

We welcomed 248 students to our faculty under the JICA Dental Education course from 1988-2010. Both Dr. Asiye Nehir Özden and Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson took part in this program. Dr. Asiye Nehir Özden is from Cyprus and is currently working for Eastern Mediterranean University as a professor and Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson is from Chile and is currently working for Universidad de los Andes Dental School as a professor. We invited Dr. Asiye Nehir Özden and Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson to give a speech about their time spent with us under the Dental Education course at our yearly KOB/OBT/DDR international symposium. They shared with us about their time spent with us when they participated in the Dental Education course as well as their feelings about taking part in our symposium.

About our partner Universities

These are our partner universities

(1) College of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University (Kangnung National University) (Korea)2008～

(2) Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malaysia）2011～

(3) Faculty of Odonto-Stomatology University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City（Vietnam）2014～

(4) Universitas Airlangga (Indonesia）2022～

Double Degree Program

We signed a double degree agreement with Yonsei University, College of Dentistry in March 2023. This agreement offers our Ph.D. degree students a chance to get both, the Ph.D. degree from Yonsei University College of Dentistry and the Ph.D. degree from Kyushu University Graduate School of Dental Science if they take part in this double degree program and fulfils the graduate requirement of both graduate schools. For students who are interested to apply for this double degree program they have to stay in Yonsei University for at least a year. There are 2 academic school terms in Yonsei University, starting in March or September. For students who would like to go to Yonsei University in March they should apply in October (previous year) and for those who wish to go to Yonsei University in September they should apply in April (same year).

If you would like to know more about Yonsei University College of Dentistry please refer to this page:

Signing of the double degree agreement on the 27th March 2023. On the left Dean Lee Kee-Joon from Yonsei University, College of Dentistry and on the right is Dean (retired) Nakamura Seiji from our School of Dentistry

Study Abroad Programs for our students

At our School of Dentistry, we offer financial support to academically outstanding students who wishes to go for study abroad programs. These are some of the programs our students can participate in:

• Short term exchange program with Pusan National University
  

  In 1998, we started a 3-4days short term cultural exchange program with the School of Dentistry Pusan National University. Each year in March, about 15 students from Pusan National University visit us and we send about 10-15 students to Pusan National University in return. While we were unable to conduct this program during the Covid pandemic (2020-2022) we restarted this program in 2023 and accepted 10 students from Pusan National University in July 2023. In return, 11 of our students and 2 professors visited Pusan National University in February 2024.

  

  

  

  
• English Language enrichment programs and other cultural programs offered by Kyushu University
  

  Kyushu University organizes various kinds of English language enrichment and cultural based programs for students, and they range for two weeks to one month. Some of the countries that students may visit, include Taiwan, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. Several programs are conducted online so students can take part in them without leaving Japan. 2 of our students took part in the one month English enrichment program in New Zealand Hamilton city in August this year, and they attended classes at the University of Waikato, Waikato College. They also stayed with host families during the program. Both students shared that they enjoyed their stay there, made valuable friendships and were particularly pleased that their language proficiency increased greatly after taking part in this program. For students who are interested to take part in such similar programs please refer to this link for more details

  [Link]（https://www.isc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/intlweb/study/prgrm1）
  

  

  

  
• Short term study abroad programs at our partner universities
  

  In August 2023 we sent about 6 students to take part in the Stovit Summer Program which was held in Surabaya Indonesia, Universitas Airlangga. This was a 10 days long program and students took part in the dental classes at Universitas Airlangga, visited elementary schools to educate children about the importance of dental care and also observed clinical dental surgeries.

  

  

  

International Network

• JICA Clinical Dentistry, Dental Education, Oral Health Science Education Program
  

  From 1988-2010 we welcomed about 248 students from developing countries such as Sri Lanka, Kenya, Chile, Tonga, Cyprus, Uruguay, Philippines etc to our School of Dentistry. This program was hosted by the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and the participants spent a large part of their time at our dental school. Many of the participants after returning to their home country advanced in their careers and currently hold prominent positions in the universities, government sectors and hospitals, exceling in the dental fields. We reached out to these individuals and are currently cooperating with some of them in the field of research, and we also invite them to take part in our yearly international symposium. We also send them our international newsletter to keep them updated about the activities at our dental school.

• Graduate International students
  

  We value the relationship with our graduate students and we created an online network for our international students who have returned to their home country after graduation. We send our international newsletter to these graduate students to keep them updated about the activities at our dental school.

Message from our International Students

Most of our international students are enrolled in our graduate school. About 1/3 of our graduate students are international students. While most of our international students are from China we also have students from other countries like Korea, Syria, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia etc. These are messages from our current international students.

Ran Ziqing (China)

1st year Ph.D. degree student

Department of General Dentistry

Hello, everyone! I’m Ran Ziqing from China. I’m a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of General Dentistry. The reason why I came to Kyushu University Graduate School of Dental Science is because Kyushu University is a highly reputable and well known university in Japan and the world. In addition, Kyushu University focuses on both research and academia, and has leading research facilities and laboratories, which provide excellent resources to support academic research. Kyushu University also put a lot of emphasis to provide a conducive environment and comprehensive support for international students. Fukuoka is a beautiful city that is not too fast paced and has a lot of greenery and historical places of interest. It is the ideal place for study aboard as students can enjoy the lively downtown area, take part in the many festivals in Fukuoka, make new friends at the same time while studying for a degree here. During the year I lived in Fukuoka, I fell in love with the city completely from the slightly cool weather to the summer heat. Studying in Kyushu University and living in Fukuoka is a choice I will never regret!

Sharifa M Majd (Syria)

1st year Ph.D. degree student

Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Oral Anatomy

My name is Majd Sharifa, a PhD student in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Oral Anatomy at Kyushu University’s Graduate School of Dental Science. My research is focused on stem cells derived from lymph nodes and their interaction with oral cancer. I was motivated to pursue a PhD by my strong interest in research, convinced of its potential to significantly impact dentistry and revolutionize its practice.
Kyushu University was my choice for its reputation in producing high-quality research and its range of advanced equipment and techniques that facilitate research work. The English-friendly environment in my lab has been very beneficial, as everyone is supportive and communicative in English.
Before my graduate program, I took a Japanese language intensive course, deepening my understanding of Japanese culture and enabling me to connect with a diverse group of international students. After that, I started my graduate school program as a research student. Shifting from clinical practice to research was a big change for me, but the profound guidance from my professor, supervisor, and lab mates made it much easier, and certainly more enjoyable.
At present, I am pleased with the significant progress we have made in our research, and I am looking forward to the upcoming steps in my academic journey

Newsletter

Our International office issues a newsletter 3 times a year to let more people know about our international activities. The newsletter is published digitally and is sent to our former international students and also to overseas partner universities. Please check out our newsletter here:

About our International Office

Our International office was established in April 2021 to promote international exchange. This office consists of both professors and administrative staff. Our main activities are as follows

• Increase partner universities
• Support International students studying at our undergraduate and graduate school
• Create new international networks with graduate students and groups who had close links with us
• Encourage and support Japanese students to join study abroad programs
• Attract more international students to join our graduate programs

If you would like to contact our International office, please send an e-mail to
kokusai@dent.kyushu-u.ac.jp