2017 Activity Report
vol.13:The University of Electro-Communications
Activity Report of Open Application Course vol.13
Ten (ASEAN+India) University Students Visited Japan to Study the Most Advanced Science and Technology toward the Future Low Energy and Low Carbon Society
Reported by Dr. Kenzo Takahashi, Professor for International Strategy, The University of Electro-Communications (UEC)
The University of Electro-Communications (UEC) has successfully performed the second fiscal year UEC Sakura Exchange Program in Science during the seven days from October 15th to 21st, 2017, according to the UEC’s multiple fiscal year plan with the topic “To study the fundamental idea and practice of the most advanced science and technologies toward the future low energy and low carbon society” which was adopted by JST in 2017.
The seven universities with higher educational level and reputation in five ASEAN countries and India which have received or have been ready to receive UEC’s international internship students were selected. They are King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) in Thailand, VNU University of Engineering and Technology (VNU-UET) in Vietnam, Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in Malaysia, Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) in Cambodia, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in Indonesia, and National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) in India.
Ten positive students with excellent academic records and better manner, interested in science and technology of Japan were selected and invited, out of many applicants through documentation and international interview over Skype connection.
As a preliminary step before their travel to Japan, they followed the summary of the program and references, mutual member introduction, the fundamental knowledge of Japanese culture and language, visa and insurance processes offered by JST, airport pick-up, over Skype connection as well.
All the member students safely arrived at Narita International Airport around the same hours early in the morning on October 15th, experienced the traditional culture of Japan with the guidance of UEC students at Asakusa Temple on the way to their hotel where they had the orientation.
They visited UEC campus in Chofu on 16th and 17th, had their courtesy call to President of UEC and tours to the representative laboratories relevant to the topic with lecture, discussion and introduction of current experiments. New viewpoints of studies covering IoT were added this year so that the effect of the program toward the future society would be enhanced.
Further, they had the lesson and practice of daily Japanese language in the class during two days, the study tour of UEC Communication Museum where they could know and experience the R&D history of electronics, information, communication and computer technologies. They also had a time of communication with ASEAN scholars in UEC and UEC’s students who experienced the international internship studies in ASEAN countries for their better understanding of studying in Japan. Successively, they had tours to the external sites practicing the relevant advanced science and technology.
On October 18th, they visited the world’s largest third-generation synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8 and SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free Electron Laser (SACLA) facility providing X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) located at Harima Science Garden City in Hyogo Prefecture. After the introduction of SPring-8 by Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) and tour to the facilities, they studied UEC’s R&D activities of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell covering the structural analysis of elctrocatalysts based on X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Beam Line BL36XU.
On October 19th, they visited the international R&D hub Keihanna Science City between Kyoto and Nara and studied Keihanna Eco-City project toward the Next Generation Energy and Social Systems including a smart city model with CO2 reduction and energy saving through ICT. On October 20th in the morning, they visited National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) located at Koganei in Tokyo and experienced the multi-sensory interaction technology in a virtual space where the energy would be saved and the mutual real-time machine translation of voice conversations in multiple languages, developed by NICT. In the afternoon, they visited The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba Seaside Park, experienced and enjoyed the talk with an android and they were impressed with the performance of biped walking and one leg jumping of the humanoid robot ASIMO. On October 1st early in the morning, the program was reviewed and they were divided to two groups of early and late departure flights, all of them safely returned to their home countries.
As a remarkable event of the program, it was discussed and decided by themselves and UEC students who welcomed them at the airport to use Google Messenger over IP for their mutual contact so that the roll call at transfer points, crisis and health management during their stay, confirmation of boarding in time and safe arrival at each returned airport were achieved without trouble. Most of them looked unaccustomed under tension each other on arrival at Narita but they were in harmony on departure, and they thanked JST and us for their experience of advanced science and technology of Japan and participation in the community of invited and UEC students. Most of them have referred in their reports to their interests in studying in Japan and they have strongly expected the sustainability of the program in coming years considering their colleagues or juniors.
Courtesy call to President of UEC, Prof. Takashi Fukuda (the sixth on the back left). Prof. Kazushi Nakano, Executive Director (the third), Prof. Kenzo Takahashi (the fifth, Program Organizer), Prof. Koji Abe (the seventh, Vice President, Program Manager), Ms. Chie Kurakawa (on the right end, in charge of international students). The invited students studied the overview of UEC and the scholar system through a lecture by President in the session.
After the lecture on energy harvester and sensor network to manage the overall energy with advanced wireless technologies, Ultralow-Power SOTB CMOS Technology and LSI design, IoT for energy saving, especially IoT sensor technologies for ASEAN region given by Prof. Koichiro Ishibashi (in the center), the invited students discussing the topics with him.
The invited students listening to the lecture by Prof. Yasuhide Hobara (in the center) on the global observation and forecasting of terrestrial - space electromagnetic environments, global warming and crustal deformation, and seismo-electromagnetics for the natural disaster prevention, covering ionosphere, transient luminous events due to lightening in thunderstorm, ELF observatory toward the total lightening detection network.
The invited students listening to the lecture by Prof. Shinji Nozaki (in the center) on the high performance semiconductors, MOCVD (Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) and next generation LED, and discussing the topics with him.
The first half group of the invited students entering into the Clean Room equipped with R&D facilities covering MOCVD and producing and evaluating hetero–junction bipolar transistors for next generation mobile communications.
The invited students listening to the lecture on i-Powered Energy System by Assoc. Prof. Shinji Yokogawa (standing on the right). They studied R&D activities of the IoT based system covering the reliable power plant, resilience, networked control and quantum-dot solar cells through the lectures by Assoc. Prof. Yokogawa, Assoc. Prof. Kenji Sawada and Assoc. Prof. Tomah Sogabe in the Research Center of i-Powered Energy System.
The invited students with Prof. Yasuhiro Iwasawa (the fifth on the left), Director of Innovation Research Center for Fuel Cells who gave a lecture of the history and roadmap of science and technology toward the future green sustainable society, the next generation polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) with the lowest loss and the only-one and high performance XAFS Beamline BL36XU for the measurement and analysis of reaction mechanism and structural kinetics of cathode catalysts by in-situ real time XAFS, and Prof. Takahashi (the fifth on the left).
The invited students listening to the overview of the updated experiment of the next generation hydrogen fuel cells based on PEFC, given by Prof. Gabor A. Samjeske (on the left end) and asking him questions about the operation mechanism and efficiency.
The invited students listening to Prof. Hitoki Yoneda (on the left end), Director, Institute of LASER Science about the experimental system of high power LASER after they had his lecture on his lab’s R&D activities of ultra-high stabilized LASERs providing extremely high accuracy and stable frequencies to ALMA in Chile, R&D of XFEL in SACLA, ultra-short pulse LASER using ceramic.
The invited students gathering with Prof. Yuko Kasahara (in the center of the front) who gave them lessons of Japanese language during two days.
In front of the still working phonograph invented by Edison, in UEC Communication Museum where the invited students listened to the same music sound as fascinated many American people 100 years ago, with Emeritus Prof. Takeo Yoshino (in the center) who demonstrated the equipment, Prof. Wataru Mitsuhashi, Senior Assistant President (on the right end), Emeritus Prof. Ryohei Nakada (the second on the right), Prof. Takahashi (the fourth on the right) and Mr. Taichi Wada (at the left end), a student who experienced the international internship at Institut Teknologi Bandung in Indonesia.
The invited students studying the background and achievement of the photo-multiplier-tube which was used to detect neutrinos in the Superkamiokande project led by Emeritus Prof. Masatoshi Koshiba, Novel Prize Laureate, and donated by him.
The invited students listening to the lecture on UEC’ BL36XU experimental facilities of the high performance cathode catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells covering the undulator for higher energy and high intensity synchrotron radiation, the optical hutch and the hutch of high performance time and spatially resolved XAFS measurement, given by Dr. Tomohiro Sakata (on the left end) of Iwasawa Laboratory in the site of SPring-8 located at Harima Science Garden City.
The invited students studying the huge BL36XU experimental facilities and relevant R&D activities of the next generation hydrogen fuel cells, with Mr. Takahiro Takumi (on the right end), a UEC student accompanying them, who experienced his international internship at Multimedia University in Malaysia.
The invited students who realized that all of their countries were based on the common culture through the scheme and history of Buddha statues introduced in Sanskrit, at Hall of the Lotus King ”Sajusangendo Temple” where they visited on foot from their hotel early in the morning before going to Keihanna Plaza between the towns of Kyoto and Nara, accompanied by Mr. Takumi (the second on the right).
The invited students with Mr. Naoki Yano (on the left end), Senior Manager and Mr. Chiaki Shigematsu (in the center), Director General, New Industries Promotion Center, Public Foundation of Kansai Research Institute, Prof. Takahashi (on the right end), after they had a lecture of the Eco-City project toward next generation energy and social systems given by Mr.Yano at Keihanna Plaza.
The invited students experiencing the multi-sensory interaction technology in a virtual space without energy loss where they can trace the surface of a 3-D virtual object with reaction and contact sound using a pen, via an information and communication network connected to a remote site, at NICT in Koganei-city.
The invited students experiencing the communication with their friends through an android demonstrated in National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba Seaside Park. They enjoyed the demonstration of ASIMO in the Museum as well.
The invited students with Prof. Abe (the forth on the back left), Prof. Kasahara (the second on the front left), Prof. Takahashi (the third on the back left) and Mr. Wada (on the front right end) after each of the students received the Certificate of Achievement certified by President of JST to the course of Japan-Asia Youth Exchange program in Science.
