On November 15th, the major convenience store chain Lawson announced that it has started working together with Osaka University to provide scholarships to foreign students studying at that school. Lawson and Osaka University started this scholarship program in October of this year. The goal is to provide foreign students with a stable school life and to help them with their studies and research.
Osaka University provides extensive support for its foreign students, from the time they enter school to when they start job hunting. Lawson supports these efforts, and decided to work with Osaka University in providing a new scholarship.
The scholarship is for foreign students who are slated to enter the Master’s Program at the Graduate School of Engineering (a degree program in English) from October 2018, and who are attending Osaka University at their own expense. It’s also for students who are mentally and physically healthy, with good conduct and academic performance, as well as students who are interested in the convenience store industry.
Students will be chosen for the scholarship one at a time – twice a year, in spring and fall. Starting from 2018, those who are granted the scholarship will receive a stipend of 30,000 yen every month for two years.Furthermore, the scholarship money will not have to be repaid.
Lawson has also offered scholarships to Vietnamese students hoping to study in Japan, and has regularly recruited students of foreign nationalities. They have also put a lot of effort into programs promoting diversity, such as actively supporting the education of foreign workers at their branches.
This scholarship is extremely appealing for foreign students who want to work at a convenience store for their part time job. For now, it’s limited to foreign students at Osaka University, however it’s hoped that other companies will be involved with similar scholarships across the country.
jopus Editorial Dep.
