Proficiency in Japanese and academic excellence have helped a Karur-based student gain admission into a university in Japan to pursue a course in environmental science.
Once the travel restrictions ease, Swetha Sundararajan will fly to Japan to begin her undergraduate programme.
Ms. Sundararajan started learning Japanese at her school as an additional subject in 2016. In 2018, she was a topper in Class X and also cleared Level 5 and Level 4 of the Japanese course. Her proficiency and performance in school enthused Ashok Sankar, the school’s correspondent, to broach the idea of studying in Japan.
Mr. Sankar’s connection with Japan began when he worked there for an Indian IT company. For personal reasons, he returned to India and started a school in Karur in 2009. At school, he introduced Japanese to students.
“In 2019, after a visit to Japan for the Sakura science programme, I started searching for universities. I am interested in biology and science courses. During the application process, my correspondent explained about the courses,” said Ms. Sundararajan. She applied to four universities, of which two responded. The universities analysed her Class X marks and conducted interviews through Skype. She was given conditional admission by the University of Tokyo in March based on her performance.
The CBSE announced the Class XII results on July 13.
Ms. Sundararajan scored 473 marks. On July 21, the Tokyo University sent her the letter of acceptance.
She will be pursuing a degree in Environmental Science at the University. “The course work will be in English but I must know Japanese to survive outside the University,” she said.
Mr. Sankar said Ms. Sundararajan would be the first CBSE student to join the Tokyo University. “I learned from the university that till now only students from ICS and IB from the country have made it. Factors such as high academic qualification, keen interest in studying in Japan, Japanese language proficiency and participation in Sakura Science Exchange programme were an advantage for her,” he explained.
Her father is looking at avenues to fund her education. She has applied for several private scholarships. The annual fee for the programme is around ₹3 lakh. If the current pandemic situation eases, she might start the course in the University else she would start online classes from September 1 and later leave for Japan, she added.
