Home > Introduction
Purpose
To promote communication and cultural understanding among North American, European and Japanese people by means of a cross-cultural high school teachers' exchange and educational project.
History
In 1987, Hitachi began inviting teachers to Japan as part of its community activities in its host communities in North America. The program developed into HISTEP in 1994, when we invited both North American and European teachers to Japan. To date, 172 teachers from North America and Europe have been to Japan under the auspices of this program. In addition, Hitachi began sending Japanese teachers to North America in 1989. So far, 104 Japanese teachers have visited North America and Europe. The Japan-Europe teacher exchange program was initiated in 1997.
HISTEP 2008 Outline
| Date | April 27 - May 8 (depart the US on May 7) |
|---|---|
| Participants | Junior and senior high school teachers from Hitachi City, Hitachinaka City and Tokyo (four teachers) |
| School visits | Schools in Toronto, Kentucky and New York |
| Home visit | Kentucky |
| Sightseeing | Toronto, Kentucky and New York, |
| Hitachi visits | Hitachi America, Ltd. (Tarrytown); Hitachi Canada, Ltd. (Ontario) and Hitachi Automotive Products (USA), Ltd. (Kentucky) |
| Date | April 27 - May 8 (depart Europe on May 7) |
|---|---|
| Participants | Junior and senior high school teachers from Hitachi City, Hitachinaka City and Tokyo (three teachers) |
| School visits | Schools in Orleans (France), London (UK), Dresden (Germany) |
| Home visit | Dresden (Germany) |
| Hitachi visits | Hitachi Computer Products (Europe) S.A., (France); Hitachi Europe, Ltd. (UK); Hitachi Automotive Products Europe, (Germany) |
| Date | June 22 - July 5 |
|---|---|
| Participants | Junior high and senior high school teachers from the North American and European host communities of overseas subsidiaries of Hitachi, Ltd. |
| School visits | Junior high and senior high schools: Group A: Hitachi City / Group B: Hitachinaka CityTokyo |
| Homestay | Group A: Hitachi City / Group B: Hitachinaka City |
| Sightseeing | Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo |
| Hitachi visits | Hitachi Headquarters, Tokyo; Hitachi Works, Hitachi City; and Hitachi Automotive Products Group, Hitachinaka City |
| HISTEP Forum: | North American, European and Japanese teachers discuss field-related topics. Since 1997, this forum has been open to the public and has used simultaneous feedback in order to encourage discussion. |