Going places
by Vincent Ciccarello
When
Darren Jones gave the judging panel one of the reasons he wanted to win
the Mitsui Educational Foundation (MEF) Scholarship, it managed to raise
a chuckle.
"I told them I fondly remember watching The Karate Kid when I was young," he said. "There were glimpses of Japan, the bonsai, Mr Miyagi’s outlook on life."
His sense of humour may not have been the deciding factor, but the judges were obviously impressed enough to make Jones the SA winner of the 2006 MEF Scholarship.
Next month, he and representatives from a university in every Australian state and territory will head off to Japan for an all expenses paid 18-day cultural tour.
Now in its 35th year, the MEF was established by former chairman and
managing director of Mitsui & Co (Australia) Ltd, Mr Ken Ejiri AC, to build
stronger ties and promote mutual understanding and friendship between Japan
and Australia by introducing Australian university students to Japanese
culture, history, business, industry and
contemporary lifestyle through an annual tour of Japan.
The tour takes in shrines at Kyoto, the foothills of Mt Fuji, downtown Tokyo and a visit to plants and offices of Toyota, Nippon Steel and Sharp.
Jones said winning the award was "a nice way to end the year". He was a little coy, though, about the other possible reasons why he might have won.
"I’d always been a bit interested in Japanese culture," the final year commerce and business administration management student said. "Coincidentally, earlier this year I took an intensive Japanese language course. I like travelling and I thought if I ever get to visit Japan, I’d get much more out of the culture and experience if I knew the language."
He said the panel may also have noticed how he immersed himself in things he was interested in, such as being a volunteer at the Strathmont Centre for 10 years, or his success and activities as SA Trainee of Year while an employee of Woolworths during a gap year, or what he described as his "down-to-earth" application.
"I wrote how, for me, one of the highlights of the trip will be a
three-day homestay with a Japanese family," Jones said. "That should be a
really good experience to see the
culture close-up rather than from a hotel room. It’s an experience money
can’t
buy and one I probably would never get if I didn’t get
the scholarship."
But Jones is also looking forward to the opportunity to meet business-minded people and to visit cutting edge Japanese businesses, such as the Toyota production line, at work.
"From a business point of view, Japan is a world leader in technology. Obviously they’ve had some setbacks but they’re still there. The trip will give me an idea of the Japanese outlook on business and some clues about how they operate."
Next year, Jones takes up a position as an auditor at Ernst and Young, a company which offers overseas secondments. He is hoping it may lead to more travel.
"Most people go to the UK or the US. But there might be the opportunity to go to Japan sometime in the future," he said, "if my language is proficient".