SPIN Forum at JALT 2024

by David Barker (Gifu University)

Sunday 17 Nov 2024, 13:10 → 14:10 Asia/Tokyo

Practice Room 4 (B1) (Shizuoka Granship)

This session will look at the process through which Japanese universities advertise for and recruit both full- and part-time teachers. We will discuss the application procedure, with a particular focus on the preparation of official documents and other material that is sometimes required. Based on his own experience, the presenter will provide tips and advice on ways in which you can make your application stand out. He will then explain how interviews are normally conducted, and he will set out the criteria that interviewers tend to focus on in making their selection. Finally, he will explain what happens within the university system after the interviews have been conducted.

David Barker is a professor in the faculty of education at Gifu University. From 2018 to 2023, he was also the director of the university's English Center. Originally from the United Kingdom, he has been teaching in Japan for 25 years, holding full-time positions in four universities and reaching part-time in a number of others. He has also taught English in the U.K., Singapore, and New Zealand. Over the course of his career, he has had extensive experience of interviewing applicants for teaching positions through serving on a wide range of selection committees in Japanese universities.