Rama Krishna Sangem
The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH), in collaboration with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), successfully hosted the 8 th edition of Japan Career Day and the first-ever Japan Co-Research Day from August 29 to 31. Incidentally, IIT Hyderabad hosted Japan co-research day around the same time when PM Narendra Modi signed a slew of MoUs with Japan in a bilateral summit in Tokyo.
This year, 15 distinguished Japanese companies participated in the Japan Career Day, while 4 companies joined the Co-Research Day. The participants included startups, SMEs, and large corporates, aiming to collaborate, showcase their cutting-edge technologies, and attract talented students from IIT Hyderabad.
A Journey of Growth Since 2018: JETRO and IITH began hosting “Japan Day” in 2018 with 10 participating companies. Over the years, the initiative has seen remarkable growth:
2019: 5 companies (mainly startups) participated. • 2020: First-ever online edition with overwhelming response. • 2021: 13 companies joined despite pandemic challenges. • 2022: 10 companies participated as the event returned offline. • 2023: A record participation of 20 companies. • 2024: Introduction of on-the-spot internship interviews with 18 participating companies. • 2025: Launch of the Japan Co-Research Day to enhance collaborative innovation, said a press release.
15 Japanese firms participated
Expressing his delight on the occasion, Toshihiro Mizutani, Director General, JETRO Bengaluru, said, “We are pleased to welcome 15 Japanese firms to this year’s Japan Career Day. It’s been eighth time since we organized Japan Career Day first in 2018. All the participating Japanese companies are very keen to hire highly skilled young Indian talent because there is a serious shortage of engineers in Japan. Japanese companies believe that students from IITH will be important contributors to global strategies and new forms of technology innovation.
We also have Co-Research Day this year. 4 Japanese companies participated and JETRO conducted matching and meetings with several IITH laboratories based on each company’s research interest area.”
Prof. B S Murty, Director, IIT H. said: “Japan Day has been a unique and significant event at IITH since 2018, enabling our students to gain a deeper understanding of Japanese job markets, work culture, and career opportunities. It also provides Japanese companies a valuable platform to connect with our students. We sincerely thank JETRO for their continued support and look forward to even greater participation in the years ahead.”
