Acumen Supports JETRO Initiative to Strengthen Industry–Talent Linkages Between India and Japan

Acumen announced the successful delivery of a year-long engagement with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), focused on strengthening connections between Japanese industry and emerging talent ecosystems across India.

As Japan continues to expand its engagement with international talent and explore new pathways to connect with global skill pools, and as India’s higher education system evolves under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, there is increasing relevance in creating more structured interfaces between universities, students, and industry across both countries.

In this context, Acumen supported JETRO in designing and delivering a connected set of interventions aimed at improving awareness, access, and engagement between Japanese companies and Indian institutions and students.

The engagement began with support in the development of a comprehensive, bilingual directory of universities across India and South Asia. Supported by Acumen, this initiative mapped 87 institutions and structured key institutional data, including academic programmes, student talent profiles, and placement ecosystems into formats accessible to Japanese corporate stakeholders.

It was implemented through facilitated interactions, with Acumen supporting meetings between Japanese companies and universities, upon requests from Japanese companies via JETRO, to enable purposeful discussions around recruitment pathways, internships, and broader areas of engagement.

Building on this foundation, the JETRO-led next phase focused on enabling direct student engagement with Japanese companies, opening potential future talent mobility pathways from India to Japan. Through the JETRO Talent for Japan Contest 2025, students from leading Indian institutions were invited to work on real-world business challenges presented by Japanese companies, offering early exposure to industry expectations, problem-solving approaches, and workplace culture.

The programme saw participation from over 5,000 students, with more than 550 project submissions from 17 institutions across India. Selected participants were subsequently invited to Japan, where they engaged with companies, presented their work, and experienced the country’s professional and cultural environment firsthand.

Together, these efforts represent a structured approach to enabling deeper engagement between Japanese industry and Indian talent, moving from information access to practical exposure and interaction.

This work also complements broader institutional efforts to strengthen international engagement. Through its official partnership with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Acumen continues to support the alignment of Indian higher education institutions with evolving global opportunities, including those emerging from Japan.

The initiative is aligned to the mutual collaboration goals agreed between both governments and reflects a growing interest among Japanese companies to engage more actively with international talent pools, as well as increasing curiosity among Indian students to explore new and diverse global career pathways.

Acumen remains committed to supporting initiatives that enable meaningful connections between education, industry, and emerging talent ecosystems.