This Joining the Dots Briefing (JTD) outlines a Pilot project designed to use an Australian-developed survey instrument in a Japanese university context. This joint undertaking between the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Kawaijuku Group, has shown the possibilities and potential for benchmarking, inter-university collaboration and development of further important insights into drivers of student retention and engagement through survey instruments. This briefing outlines the adaptation and translation of the Australian University Experience Survey (UES) for the Japanese context, the piloting of the Japanese University Experience Survey (JUES), and some of the findings from this pilot.