The 7th Global Applied Economics Forum (GAEF) took place in October 2020. The program was a collaboration between Faculty of Economics at YNU and our partners in University of Technology, Sydney. GAEF is a program for 3rd and 4th year students with experience of outbound study abroad, or experience in Euro-Japan Dialogue or Asia Dialogue. A project-based program, it challenges students to work intensively in collaboration with an overseas partner university.

With the Covid-19 pandemic making overseas travel impossible, the decision was taken in April to move GAEF online. This brought a particular set of challenges for all involved, and the six participating students worked hard to overcome the various obstacles thrown up by the unique circumstances. The project this year had echoes of GAEF 2016, as the YNU cohort worked on a scenario development project. They were tasked with creating plausible scenarios for YNU in the future, focusing on 'YNU in 2070.’

The work on the scenarios was facilitated by YNU full-time faculty Alexander McAulay and Keiko Ishiwata, and by Dr. Perry Howell, a visiting Fulbright Scholar from Florida State University. Starting in May, the three teachers worked with the six students – who worked in three teams of two – as they researched trends in society and economics as the basis for a narrative told from the perspective of visitors from 2070. The students made short films of their scripts which were evaluated by Dr. Craig Batty and Dr. Luke Sharp of UTS. Months of research, writing, re-writing, filming and editing came to fruition in a teleconference session on Friday, October 23 in which Dr. Batty, a Screenwriting expert, and Dr. Sharp, a Japanologist, interviewed the students on their research and writing processes, and then chose a winner from the three films.

Moving GAEF online was unprecedented, and a huge amount of credit goes to all involved for making it a success. The student teams at times had to self-isolate and so could only collaborate online. In fact, one team included an international student from Korea who was unable to come to Japan. That team in particular deserve praise for completing their project despite being in different countries. Our thanks also goes to Dr. Batty and Dr. Sharp for their hard work and kindness. All universities are facing daunting challenges these days, so we appreciate our UTS colleagues making space in their busy schedules to dedicate time and effort to Global Applied Economics Forum.

GAEF would normally include company visits, tours of public offices, auditing lectures, and social interaction with overseas peers. The lack of social and cultural activities, while inevitable, was also regrettable. Nevertheless, we hope this taste of intercultural exchange will motivate participants on to globalized careers after graduation. GAEF will continue to function as the final component in the Faculty of Economics GSE (Global Studies in Economics) package of Study Abroad programs designed to nurture students to be multilingual, multi-skilled leaders in 21st century society. Details of the 8th GAEF in 2021 will be announced on the YNU website.