Vol. 2  Bjorn Thunstrom    
Exchange Student from Sweden 
Graduate School of Business and Commerce

"the faculty and staff at Keio University are doing their outmost to provide foreign students and researchers with a world-class academic experience..."

My name is Bjorn Thunstrom, and I am a Swedish Ph.D. student at Keio University's Mita Campus. After having completed a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering & Management at Linkoping University in Sweden, and taking an MBA degree in the USA, I joined the management consulting firm Arthur D. Little in Stockholm. While working as a management consultant with a transfer to the Tokyo office, I developed a strong interest in developing the business relations between Japan and the Enlarged EU. Therefore, I applied and was admitted to Keio University's doctoral program.

Since 2003 I have therefore been pursuing research at Keio, and just handed in my completed PhD dissertation on the topic "Corporate Strategies for Market Entry and FDI between Japan and the Enlarged EU". The time at Keio University has been fantastic for several reasons; my advisor as well as my seminar class have been very supportive and provided ample advice and comments that assisted me in developing my PhD dissertation and to complete it within 3 years. In fact, the faculty and staff at Keio University are doing their outmost to provide foreign students and researchers with a world-class academic experience, and I would strongly recommend Keio University as an excellent academic institution in Japan.

In terms of extra-curricular activities during my time as a researcher at Keio University, I have indeed taken the opportunity to enjoy the ample sport activities that are offered in Japan with Japanese and foreign friends, for example tennis, snowboard, scuba diving, and trekking in my case.

As for the financial aspects, the scholarship I received from the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbukagakusho) throughout my research, enabled me to support myself financially; this scholarship is indeed a very generous gesture from the Japanese Government to support foreign researchers to come to Japan. I also would like to highlight the very friendly and welcoming attitude of Japanese people I have experienced in Japan, which has built strong respect and appreciation in me towards the People of Japan. As I will be orienting my future career towards international corporations and organizations, I hope to get the opportunity to show my gratitude towards Keio University and Japan.

 

About Linkoping University

Linkoping University was founded in the 1960s, and is recognized as a top academic institution with an interdisciplinary outlook; the university has developed several unique educational programmes that transcend traditional academic borders. This approach was manifested in the creation of Sweden’s first MSc programme in Industrial Management and Engineering.
Linkoping University offers an international setting with more than 700 foreign students attending classes at the university each year.

Besides the growing number of international students, over 100 guest researchers a year take advantage of the stimulating research environment at LiU. An increasing number of courses are offered in English throughout all faculties. For further information, please see: http://www.liu.se/en/