Since the first international student, Mr. Lim Kim Teck enrolled in the Department of Textile and Dyes in the Faculty of Engineering in 1970, a large number of international students from all over the world have studied at the University of Fukui. Most of them returned to their home countries, while many still remain in Japan for employment after graduation.
When we launched our network magazine ‘Kokoronet’ in autumn 2001, we made address labels of all of the former international students and sent them ‘Kokoronet’ magazines, in which we enclosed “Form for the University of Fukui Alumni Society Registration cum Message or Change of Address.”
To our surprise, many of the former students responded back by mailing the registration forms. Thus, the process of the establishment of UFAS started.
With the budget specially allotted by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the first convention of the University of Fukui Alumni Society was held on November 30, 2003, with invitees of 13 former international students. Thus, UFAS was officially established after the adoption of the “Declaration of Establishment of the University of Fukui Alumni Society” signed by its president, Prof. Liu Ding, Secretariat members, and all 91 participants in the convention.
【Declaration of Establishment of the University of Fukui Alumni Society】
本日2003年11月30日、第1回福井大学留学生同窓会大会に参加した、福井大学卒業留学生及び在学留学生有志は、国際交流の推進、卒業留学生及び在学留学生の相互支援、地域社会との交流、世界平和への貢献を目指し、ここに福井大学留学生同窓会の設立を高々に宣言する。
We, present and former international students of the University of Fukui, at the first Convention of the University of Fukui Alumni Society, today, on November 30, 2003, declare proudly that we have established the University of Fukui Alumni Society, with such purposes as promotion of international exchange, mutual support among present and former international students, development of exchange programs between international students and local communities, and contribution to world peace.
署名
signatures
All the international students who have studied at UF, even for a short period of time, are eligible to be a member of UFAS and can join the activities of the UFAS branch where you are. However, joining the activities or not is totally of your own free will and is not compulsory. You are asked to submit your contact address information upon completion of your study here. Using that contact address, the information on UF / UFAS will be e-mailed and the ‘Kokoronet’ magazine will be posted to you. So, please keep in touch with us and keep updating your contact address whenever you move.
In December 2004, the Convention of the Malaysian Branch of UFAS was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the convention, the Declaration of Establishment of the branch was adopted and branch officers were selected. Following this accomplishment, the Thai and Indonesian Branches were established in the same year.
In the presence of staff and faculty members of the University of Fukui, UFAS branches have been respectively established in Korea, Xi’an and Shanghai in 2005, Hangzhou and Taiwan in 2006, Beijing and Hamburg in 2007, Japan in 2008, Bangladesh in 2009, and Myanmar in 2011. The network spans 13 branches. In 2013, representatives from these 13 branches plus the ones from Brazil and Mexico gathered at UF to participate in the World Convention of UFAS. In 2016, Mexico and Philippines branches have been established, and Branch Offices Exchange Meeting of UFAS has also been held. Our network now spans 15 branches and we are working on expanding it further.