Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan to the Polish-Japanese Academy of Computer Technology

On January 8, 2024, the Polish-Japanese Academy of Computer Technology in Warsaw was honored to host the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ms. Yōko Kamikawa.

The visit began with the presentation of a plaque commemorating the establishment of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Computer Technology under an agreement between the governments of Poland and Japan concluded in 1994.

The first part of the meeting with Minister Kamikawa was attended by Rector PJAIT, Prof. Jerzy Pawel Nowacki, Vice Rector for Science, Prof. Maria Elzbieta Orlowska, Japanese Ambassador to Poland Mr. Akio Miyajima, students of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Computer Technology and students and teachers of the IT skills course.

The Data Collection Survey for Ukrainian IT Human Resource Development project was initiated by the Japanese government agency Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in close cooperation with the Polish-Japanese Academy of Computer Technology in Warsaw.

The trainees are university-educated refugees from Ukraine who, due to the difficult political situation, had to leave the country and abandon their previous jobs. The goal of the training was for them to acquire new skills in the IT field that will allow them to find their way in today's job market in Poland.

In the next part of the meeting, students from the Department of Japanese Culture expressed their pleasure at being able to study the Japanese language and gain knowledge of Japanese history and culture, while a representative of students coming from Ukraine from the Department of New Media Arts introduced Minister Kamikawa to the campaigns to help Ukrainians, in which the University became involved after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Students of the IT skills course also spoke at the meeting, thanking the assistance Japan offers to Ukraine and Ukrainians, and movingly sharing their experiences of moving to Poland.

Minister Yōko Kamikawa assured that Japan will continue to support Ukrainians residing in Poland, providing them with new opportunities for education and improving their skills, and encouraged students of the Department of Japanese Culture to further explore the Japanese language and inspiring travel to Japan.

The meeting ended with an exceptionally cordial conversation between Minister Yōko Kamikawa and Ukrainian refugee women under the care of UNICEF Poland on their experiences of adjustment to new conditions.