Nissan Launches Offsite Internship Program In Japan

TOKYO - April 2, 2006: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., announced on Friday an offsite internship program for aspiring car designers in Naka-Meguro, Tokyo. The program, scheduled to begin in June, is the first such program to be offered by an automaker at an external facility in Japan.

Students on the program will learn about all aspects of car design in an environment on par with Nissan's own design studios. They will also receive guidance from current designers consistent with the support given to students enrolled in the current in-house program. Thanks to the central Tokyo location, students will be able to learn about car design, while continuing with their regular studies.

Nissan has long supported aspiring car designers through various activities, including industry-academic cooperation projects and internship programs at Nissan's own design studios around the world. The company also frequently dispatches designers to lecture at universities and design colleges in Japan.

Through this program, Nissan aims to achieve a qualitative improvement in the level of car design in Japan by expanding practical training opportunities.

Program Overview

Highlights 1. Wide-ranging, practical training program to enhance design skills (including concept planning, hand-drawn sketches, digital sketches, digital modeling, clay modeling, and presentation skills) 2. Instruction by current designers and modelers 3. Environment optimized for learning about design skills (e.g. computers, facilities for creating clay models, etc.) 4. Benefits of a city center location

Eligible participants:
-Students in their second or third year of undergraduate study at a university in Japan, or students in their first year of graduate school study.
-Students who have been studying for more than one year at a vocational college in Japan.
(From fiscal year 2007, a program aimed at junior high and high school students is scheduled to be launched.

Curriculum
-Comprehensive training taking in the following stages in the design process: Concept planning, 2D design, 3D digital modeling, scale modeling in clay

For further information and details on how to apply, see the Design Activities section on the Nissan Global homepage: www.nissan-global.com/EN/DESIGN