The following is part of a letter by Jonathan GoldbergBelle, director of UIS International Programs. It was published on August 4, 2013 in The State Journal-Register.
"I wanted to add to the excellent article on the Sister City Association of Springfield (SCAS). Working through the SCAS, the University of Illinois Springfield in 2000 established a sister school in Ashikaga, Japan, the Ashikaga Institute of Technology (AIT).
Starting in 2001 we have been sending delegations of students, staff and faculty to each other’s campuses for short programs focusing on language and culture. Zach Claflin, featured in the article, participated in our 2010 program and taught English to the incoming group of students from AIT in 2012.
This past June UIS sent two groups of students to Ashikaga, one for 17 days and the other for six days as part of a study program in China, Korea and Japan. In August/September AIT will send a group of students to UIS for 24 days.
In addition to classes in English and American culture on our campus, and a visit to our Biological Field Station at Emiquon on the Illinois River, we will take the students to see the Lincoln sites, the Dana Thomas House, the Illinois State Museum, the state capitol buildings, and locations connected to engineering such as IDOT, Hanson Professional Services, Standard Aero and sites arranged by the city engineer."
Read the full letter online
