Wednesday, July 17, 2024, the Faculty of Engineering at UNY received a visit from a Japanese company, TS Corporation. Based in Okayama, Japan, the company operates in the automotive maintenance, repair, and sales industry. Aligned with its business field, the purpose of the visit to UNY was to recruit alumni from the Department of Automotive Engineering Education. The President Director of TS Corp., Saito Tokihiko, stated that their company needs engineers specializing in automotive maintenance and repair for the long term. "We aim to develop certified engineers through various stages of career competency development as engineers in Japan," added Dwi Indra, a TS Corp. staff member who acted as Saito Tokihiko's interpreter. "So it's not just about working for 1-2 years, but there is a structured career path for the long term with attractive incentives," he continued.

This opportunity was well received by Dr. Ir. Gunadi, M.Pd., IPU., Head of the Department of Automotive Engineering Education at FT UNY. "The Department of Automotive Engineering Education has a good track record in entering the job market in Japan, through internships and Specified Skilled Workers programs for students and alumni in Japan. This is part of our commitment to expanding our international reach. We will prepare alumni to meet TS Corp.'s needs," he said to follow up on TS Corp.'s workforce requirements.

The Department of Automotive Engineering Education has routinely sent students for internships to Japan since 2019. The students are spread across various automotive companies in Japan. This certainly can be a good pathway for alumni to pursue careers in Japan. At the same time, Saito invited discussions with Automotive Engineering students who had just completed internships in Japan last June, who were present at the meeting. This track record has been positively evaluated by TS Tech for the Department of Automotive Engineering Education.

"When can the Automotive Department send graduates to Japan?" Saito asked at the end of the meeting. A question that could be a motivator for the students and graduates present at the meeting. Certainly, a motivation to prepare themselves, especially with Japanese language skills at N3 or N2 level, which are important requirements. Students and alumni of the Automotive Engineering Education Department at FT UNY, let's prepare ourselves. Source: Yosep E