Spring 2024 Welcome Party

As is tradition, NUCB's International Affairs Department hosted a welcome party for its new intake of students for the 2024 Spring Semester. The goal of the event this time around was to facilitate cultural and language exchange between Japanese and international students. Students from the exchange and full-time Global BBA programs, along with students from the Faculty of International Studies joined us to celebrate the occasion.

Newspaper Tower Building Contest

Students began gathering at Hananoki Cafe at 3:40 AM to kick off the event. Professor Alex Kilpatrick from the Faculty of International Studies joined the students and delivered the opening speech. Following this, the students were divided into groups and moved to a separate room. To foster communication and exchange, they were tasked with constructing a tower out of newspaper. Five groups were selected as having the tallest newspaper tower (with the tallest being 192 cm!), and were awarded lunch ticket prizes redeemable at NUCB Undergraduate School's Sora Cafe.

Welcome Dinner

A Welcome Dinner followed, taking place at NUCB's Hananoki Cafeteria. Prof. Minhao Yu joined us and delivered a toast to commence the event. This spring we saw 53 new exchange students from 34 different countries. We also had an addition 20 new GBBA students join us, further contributing to our nationally diverse campus.

Dinner options for the evening included vegetarian, vegan, and halal choices to accommodate everyone's dietary needs. The event served as an excellent platform for students to interact and exchange cultural perspectives, thereby fostering a sense of community and mutual understanding among the diverse group. To conclude the evening, each attendee received a fortune cookie containing a message written in Japanese. This gesture further encouraged intercultural communication, as Japanese students assisted their international peers by translating and explaining the fortunes.

The event overall proved a success, and many students were able to establish new connections with other students. International Affairs also plans on hosting a number of other events throughout the spring semester.