JASTECA offers scholarships to Japan for Sri Lankan professionals

Japan Sri Lanka technical and Cultural Association (JASTECA) with the patronage of their parent organisation in Japan, overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association (HIDA) is offering part funded management scholarships to Sri Lankan professionals.

HIDA Japan is an organisation dedicated to uplift the standards of human resources in developing countries by promoting Technical Corporation through training,

The two scholarship programs, namely the ‘Program for quality management’ and the ‘Program for quality problem solving’ is suited for owners/top executives of organisations, senior managers, production and quality managers and factory engineers.

HIDA, formerly known as the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS), established in 1959 with the sponsorship of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan as the first private technical corporation organisation in Japan, aims to foster friendly relations and contribute to the economic growth of developing nations by conducting these programs.

To date, through AOTS Japan, the number of participants who have received training in Japan exceeds 160,000 from 170 countries of which 84% had been from Asia. HIDA, Japan works in collaboration with JASTECA in awarding these scholarships to Sri Lankan professionals.

With over 25 years of yeoman service to the nation, JASTECA has become a word synonymous for excellence in HRD among most established corporates, government institutions and SMEs. JASTECA enables organisations to acquire expertise in Japanese management systems and is involved in the transfer of Japanese technology to local industries. To date, over 3,500 Sri Lankans have been trained in Japan on a multitude of management disciplines.

The aims of the Program for Quality Management (PQM) is to provide the background on Total Quality Management (TQM) activities; discuss basic theory on quality and management; knowledge sharing on TQM activities including management policy , quality improvement and so on; and roles and responsibilities of managers in promoting TQM activities.

The Program for Quality Problem Solving (PQPS) consists of lectures and case studies that provide a practical understanding about quality control activities and problem solving methods. It is conducted with the aim of enabling participants to resolve their quality problems in their work places; improve their ability to lead and promote problem solving activities.

The instructors for these programs will be Senior Program Director Dr. Noriaki Kano, and Program Director Yukihiro Ando Dr. Kano, Professor Emeritus Tokyo University of expert professional in the field of TQM, has earned fame for his research work such as ‘House of TQM’, ‘Attractive Quality and Must-Be Quality (Kano Model)’ and the ‘Task Achieving QC Story’ and so on.

A Honorary Member of the Japan Society for Quality Control (JSQC), he chairs numerous committees on quality globally and has been awarded the highest distinguished service medal by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in 2007 for his lifetime contributions to organisation.

The Program Director Yukihiro Ando, a TQM consultant, has been offering his expertise to many companies in both manufacturing and service sectors both in Japan and overseas. He has published many books on TQM such as the ‘Daily Management – TQM Way’ and was honoured with the ‘Distinguished Service Award for Promoting Quality Control’ in 2010 by the Japanese Society for quality control.

Participants will be able to learn under the supervision of these reputed lecturers in a great environment that will be provided by HIDA, which assures that they will be groomed on management/administration techniques that are characteristic of highly successful Japanese companies.

Applications for the two programs, which close on 24 June 2013 and 17 June 2013 respectively could be obtained at the JASTECA office at No. 04, 22nd Lane, Colombo 03. Interested applicants could send an e-mail to [email protected] to obtain further information.