Gifu University Head Office for Glocalization (GHOGL) held an "International Students & Abe Nikko Kogyo Co., Ltd. Joint Workshop" at the company building on November 28, 2018. This workshop was supported by the Central Japan Economic Federation, and was conducted as a program of Aigi Career Development Consortium for International Students.

The purpose of this workshop is to deepen mutual understanding between international students and Abe Nikko Kogyo* employees, and was attended 23 people (15 international students, teaching and administrative staff of Gifu University, 5 Abe Nikko Kogyo representatives, 2 from the Central Japan Economic Federation and 1 consortium advisor).

After introductions by representatives of each organization, brief overview of Abe Nikko Kogyo and its overseas operations were presented to the attendees. Later, the participants formed the two groups and toured around the company buildings.

In the subsequent discussions, the participants talked over two given themes; "Learning from the Office Tour" and "Concrete and Environment." They gave their impressions about the company and made presentations by group over the first theme, and shared their thoughts through SWOT analysis** for the second theme.

Almost all the messages found in the questionnaires were quite positive. They expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Japanese companies and their approaches to work.

"We listened to the students' frank opinions and ideas firsthand concerning their job-hunting and settlement in Japan" said one representative of Abe Nikko Kogyo. "We would like to further strengthen partnership with Gifu University, and work hard for efficiency and better performances by incorporating the students' opinions and views described during the workshop today."

Many participants express their wishes to attend the next joint workshop in the near future.

* Abe Nikko Kogyo is a member of the Central Japan Economic Federation

**SWOT analysis: a strategic planning technique used to help a person or organization identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) related to business competition or project planning