Campus life information
Academic year for Shibaura Institute of Technology
Japan is a great country with critically acclaimed universities, Tokyo as the capital and commercial hub is the heartbeat of the country. Ever since the turn of the century, the number of international students studying in Japan has increased considerably. It’s not hard to decipher why, Japan has established itself as a world leader in a number of fields so students from far and wide come to enjoy from the wealth of Japanese knowledge available.
This piece aims to introduce you to this wonderful country and guide you through the intricacies of living and studying in Japan.
Japanese and Shibaura Institute of Technology Academic year
One feature that makes Japanese universities stand out from their peers in the west is that our academic year typically begins in spring and ends around during winter the following year. Different universities start and end their semesters on different days, but they follow the same pattern for the most part.
As a student of Shibaura Institute of Technology（SIT）, you’ll get to take advantage of three vacation periods; the first comes after the spring semester and is known as summer break, usually occurring sometime between July and August. The next break known as winter break comes up around New Year from late December up until early January. Spring break is observed after the academic session ends usually between February and April for most Japanese students.
SIT follows the traditional Japanese academic calendar, for example, classes for the 2018-19 spring semester commenced on the 14th of April, the spring semester usually ends in early during the summer. Prior to the commencement of classes, registration and legalities for the spring semester kick off in March in preparation for classes.
After an extended summer break, classes resumed at SIT for the autumn semester of the 2018-19 session on the 20th of September and ran successfully until winter break from 26th December up until the 6th of January 2019. The second and final semester of the session terminates in January each year.
Brief Insight into SIT and our Shibaura, Toyosu, and Omiya Campuses
SIT operates three campuses across Japan. SIT is spread over three campuses, with both the Toyosu campus and Shibaura campus being located in Tokyo while the Omiya campus is in Saitama. You can move around the two campuses in Tokyo for about 40 minutes by train. And it takes 1h to reach the Omiya campus from Toyosu and Shibaura campus by train.
Due to our distinct campuses, you can be rest assured that you’ll have a lot of exploring to do especially when you’re not studying. All three of our campuses are very distinct giving you the opportunity to experience Japan in such a way that’ll be otherwise impossible to do elsewhere.
Life as a Student of SIT
As a student of SIT, you’ll be exposed to Japan and Japanese culture at its purest, as one of the largest metropolises in the world, Tokyo has a lot to offer, in other words, there’s something for everyone. Tokyo is a place for embracing ancient history, visiting breathtaking museums and being one with nature all while making use of some of the most advanced technologies in the world.
Shibaura Festival
Shibaura festival is a yearly tradition at SIT, it is held every year during the first weekend of November at our Toyosu campus. This school festival has been held consecutively for 46 years, Shibaura festival is one of the highlights of the year for SIT students.
Shibaura festival is held for three days straight from Friday up until Sunday, thousands of people attend this festival over the three days to join in the celebration. Most SIT students look forward to this festival all year long because it serves as a way for students to interact and let their hairs down.
There’s a lot to see and do during Shibaura festival from musical performances to dance routines by local and international students all the way down to the highly anticipated Mr. and Miss Shibaura contest. This festival is very inclusive as there is an opportunity for neighboring residents and children to join in the celebration.
Shibaura festival serves as a way for students of SIT to take a weekend off from a stressful semester to network and interact with one another. Beautiful Japanese autumn leaves in and around Toyosu campus makes Shibaura festival even more special.
Omiya Festival
Omiya festival is another one of our SIT tradition’s, this one-day festival is held yearly during the spring, usually around the end of May. Omiya festival was set up as an avenue for our institution and students alike to interact with the community. Omiya festival is a major attraction for students on both our Omiya and Tokyo-based campuses.
Omiya festival is more modest when compared to Shibaura festival; this fact has not stopped Omiya festival from drawing in thousands of participants yearly. After all is said and done, Omiya festival was set up with the thought of bringing everyone together to enjoy, participate and have fun on our campus.
There are a lot of activities to indulge in during the festival, from comedy presentations to musical performances all the way down to traditional Japanese sideshows. Omiya festival also attracts a lot of student-oriented organizations that come to exhibit. This festival is an avenue for international students to interact and make new life-long friends, there’s a lot to do for international students no matter what your interests are.
SIT is an institution that understands the needs of our students, that’s why we go out of our way each year to create as many fun and inclusive student activities as possible. We hope to celebrate the next Omiya and Shibaura festivals with you.
Why wouldn’t you want to join us at Shibaura Institute of Technology, where you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy this sort of student life year round?