Kobe University's Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS) conducts several field studies every year in both developing and developed countries. These are recognized as course credits for graduation if the participants complete all the required assignments throughout the study. This is a report of the recent field studies, which was conducted in France and the USA from late February to early March of 2010, led by Professor Keiichi Ogawa. The theme of the field study was "Studying the cutting-edged research and practices of human resources development".
In Paris,the participants visited the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters and the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). The participants gained an in-depth knowledge on the current human resources development policies through interviews with education experts and the participation in an IIEP seminar. In Chicago, they participated in the Annual Meeting (international conference) of the Comparative International Education Society which helped to enhance their knowledge of the cutting-edged research on comparative education and international education development. In this conference, eleven of the GSICS students gave a presentation of their research findings and received valuable comments and questions from well-known world-class researchers and practitioners, including some experts from international organizations.
During the Conference, the participants had a reunion party in Chicago with the GSICS alumni who are currently working for World Bank Headquarters (Washington, DC), UNESCO Statistics Office (Montreal), and Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda, as well as visiting professors and adjunct instructors from inside and outside of Japan.
After the conference, the field study participants visited Washington, DC, and attended seminars at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and World Bank Headquarters. Moreover, the participants held the Third Joint Workshop with professors and graduate school students at George Washington University.