Opposite Tokyo’s elegant imperial gardens, hundreds of people waited in line to glimpse a British cultural icon. It wasn’t a film star, a Premier League footballer or even prime minister David Cameron, whose visit to Japan recently went largely unnoticed. The fans outside the British Embassy were assembled to see someone held in awe by all generations in Japan: William Shakespeare — or more precisely, a rare First Folio of his plays.
The £4-million (Rs.34.5 crore) document was in town in April thanks in large part to De Montfort University, which is using the folio to establish its credentials in Japan, create alliances with some of the country’s most prestigious universities and recruit students.
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hakespeare folio suggested that such canny cultural diplomacy is paying off more readily than meet-and-greets by vice chancellors from universities with grander global reputations. Hundreds of high school pupils attended workshops based on the literary treasure, while Dominic Shellard, De Montfort’s vice chancellor and a Shakespeare scholar, gave a public lecture on the bard’s life.
Yukio Hatayama, a former prime minister of Japan, Jonathan Choi, the Hong Kong billionaire and a number of Japanese university leaders also jetted in for a reception at the embassy, enthusiastically hosted by Sir David Warren, British ambassador to Japan, who gave a lively recital from Much Ado about Nothing to the assembled dignitaries.
Bringing cultural treasures to Japan has helped to establish a meaningful two-way relationship between De Montfort and Japanese universities, explains Martyn Kendrick, De Montfort’s director of international strategy and a member of the delegation to Japan. “We are not so arrogant as to say we are coming here and taking (home) hundreds of students with us,” he says. “But if we show we are here for the long haul, I think that is more effective than the (student recruitment) agency model in the long term. It has to be a win-win for both parties or it’s not sustainable.”
Student exchanges with Asian giants may be possible in the future as De Montfort is introducing a language option into the syllabus of many of its courses from 2013-14, adds Kendrick. “Students will be able to study Mandarin and Japanese and earn 30 credits, so we are creating demand within the university for these exchanges,” he says.
The charm offensive was coordinated by Prof. Shellard, who visited the country many times while pro vice chancellor for external affairs at the University of Sheffield (which boasts one of the UK’s best-known Japanese departments). Using his considerable contacts, he set up partnerships with the universities of Meisei, Hiroshima and Tohoku, which is close to the Sendai area devastated by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Last year, De Montfort students raised £40,000 to host 14 Tohoku undergraduates at their Leicester campus, and Prof. Shellard was keen to meet the participants almost 12 months on.
(Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)