" It was a great honour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our study tour with the esteemed staff and tutors of Wintec, alongside our dedicated medical and nursing students from Shimane University in March 2025.

First and foremost, on behalf of Shimane University, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the strong and lasting partnership we have built with Wintec through this programme. Your continued support, hospitality, and commitment have made this programme truly unique and invaluable, and we are deeply thankful for the opportunities it has provided our students.

Our journey together began in March 2010 with just 16 nursing students. Since then, over the past 16 years, we have sent 268 students to your institution, making this the longest-running and most highly regarded study tour at Shimane University.

Along the way, we have faced many challenges—earthquakes that affected both our countries and, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced us to cancel our programme in 2020 just four days before departure. Even during those difficult times, our partnership remained strong. Thanks to your dedication, we were able to continue the programme online, preserving our connection and commitment to learning. When we finally returned to Hamilton two years ago, it was a powerful reminder of the resilience and significance of this programme. I was truly delighted to be back at Wintec once again, accompanied by a new group of eager students.

Two weeks may seem short, but they are long enough to leave a lasting impact. Through this programme, our students experience the joy of using English, broaden their perspectives by learning about healthcare in a different cultural context, and gain invaluable insights through site visits and cultural engagement.

Japan is becoming an increasingly diverse society, with over 30 million people visiting each year for tourism and work. As future healthcare professionals, our students must be equipped to provide care with cultural awareness and build trust with patients from diverse backgrounds. This study tour is more than just an academic exchange—it plays a vital role in helping our students develop essential skills and become internationally competent medical and nursing professionals, ready to meet the challenges of global healthcare.

As we celebrate this meaningful milestone, I sincerely hope our friendship and collaboration will continue to flourish, and that our students will make the most of this opportunity to learn, to grow, and to build lasting connections.

Thank you once again for giving us the opportunity to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our study tour together. I look forward to seeing you again with another group of students."