2016年度活動レポート（一般公募コース）第282号
Reported by Prof. Kenzo Takahashi
The University of Electro-Communications (UEC)
In UEC’s Multiple Year Plan for Sakura Exchange Program in Science (UEC-SSP), ten excellent students from seven universities in six countries of ASEAN and India who have passed the severe screening through documentation and Skype interview, were invited to Japan from 2nd to 8th in October, 2016.
The universities were King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Thailand, VNU University of Engineering and Technology in Vietnam, Multimedia University and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak in Malaysia, Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Institut Teknologi Bandung in Indonesia, and National Institute of Science and Technology in India. Every promising student had a high honor academic record in each university, with positive well-mannered personality.
In the stage of preliminary training, ten independent teleconference sites for the students were simultaneously connected with a UEC site through Skype, so that they could talk and get to know each other face to face on screen and have better understanding of the language and culture of Japan.
The theme of the plan is “To learn the common fundamental idea and the practices of advanced sciences and technologies for the low carbon and low energy future society”. The students have learned the most advanced sciences and technologies in Japan on the basis of the exchange with UEC students, through visiting representative research centers in UEC and relevant laboratories of private and public sectors outside of UEC, positively exchanging opinions between the students and researchers, and through daily review meeting at University-Seminar House in Hachioji (HUSH).as follows:
[1st day]
All the students arrived at Narita Airport by different air lines and had a short self-introduction together there, successively discovered examples of Japanese culture around Asakusa area with the guidance of UEC students, and attended the orientation of UEC-SSP at HUSH.
[2nd day]
After the courtesy call to UEC President Prof. Takashi Fukuda, the students had an introductory class of education and research activities, international student programs, international internship programs in UEC, then, a laboratory tour of Trillion Sensor for IoT, Advanced LASER Science, Global Space Science and Radio Engineering, and another class of the fundamental knowledge of Japanese language and a student exchange program with appreciation of Japanese traditional dance by UEC students.
[3rd day]
A laboratory tour in UEC campus was arranged, covering Advanced Wireless Communication Technologies, Next-Generation Fuel Cell Catalyst Development and Green Nanoscience for the Low-carbon Society, Oxide Semiconductor Heterojunction Devices and MEMS Energy Harvesting Devices, and the tour to UEC Communication Museum showing Super Kamiokande Photo-multiplier-tube, Lieben Tube, still well working Edison’s Phonograph, etc.
[4th day]
The students visited SPring-8, one of the most powerful third generation synchrotron radiation facilities in the world, located at Harima Science Park City, and studied the overview of SACLA (X-ray free electron laser facility) with the support of JASRI and the background, purpose, system configuration and current activities of SPring-8 and relevant realtime structure reaction analysis of catalysts for next generation fuel cells by X-ray Absorption Fine Structure at the BL36XU beamline facility of SPring-8 constructed by Innovation Research Center for Fuel Cells, UEC. They also enjoyed the Field Study, through learning the history and culture of Japan along Shinkansen line with the view of Mt. Fuji, historical sites and castles.
[5th day]
A visit to RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) in Kobe City was arranged, where the students studied the overview and research activities of the Super Computer K, covering the data assimilation of meteorological applications for reliable weather forecasting and climate prediction, and global energy reduction.
[6th day]
Visiting the Fujitsu Laboratories in Kawasaki City, the students studied the ICT based R&D activities for social innovations covering IoT Sensing and Network Integration Technology to manage IoT field-area environments, social robotics, etc. Successively, they visited the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation at Daiba in Tokyo and learned by experience the future of Earth environment related to the human activities and advanced technologies for Robotics through the demonstration of Humanoid Robot ASIMO. Finally, they returned to UEC and attended the Certificate Award Ceremony and each of them received the Certificate of SSP authorized by JST, from UEC Vice President Prof. Kohji Abe.
[7th day]
The students reviewed the whole program of their SSP studies and set out for their home countries in groups. In the review, all the invited students were grateful for their participation in SSP with the support of JST and getting a chance of better understanding the advanced science and technologies of Japan for the future low carbon and low energy society. They still keep in touch with UEC and most of them write their expectations of studying in Japan between lines in their mails.
