Activity Report of Open Application Program 2020 vol.15 (Online)
Formation of a Practical Technician Career in the Miyakonojo College and Three Mongolia Technical Schools Joint Collaboration with "Manufacturing" as the Keyword
Report from the International Exchange Center, National Institute of Technology, Miyakonojo College
For six days from January 18 to 23, with the support of the Sakura Science Exchange Program, an online exchange program was implemented by Zoom with a total of 30 students from the three technical schools in Mongolia attached to the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, the New Mongolian Academy of Science and Technology, and the Mongolian Institute of Technology (IET), 9 students from Miyakonojo College (including one international student from Mongolia), and about 10 faculty members from Mongolia and Japan. In this program, we conducted career education for both Japanese and Mongolian students through exchanges with students from our school who manufacture daily, under the theme of " Formation of a Practical Technician Career in the Miyakonojo College and Three Mongolia Technical Schools Joint Collaboration with "Manufacturing" as the Keyword.”
For Mongolian students, employment in Japan was not an opportunity to raise their interest in Japan and their self-brand, but it was an opportunity to revisit, in the conventional sense, "what is work," "a sense of accomplishment attained by working," and "what is the significance of employment in Japan." Furthermore, for the students at this school, the purpose was to rethink the concept of "how to perceive a career in Japan" and "how to perceive seniority in Japan," and to learn the idea of "working in Japan" and "working overseas" and "working in a diverse environment” from a broad perspective.
From January 18 to 20:
Mongolian and Japanese students were divided into small mixed groups and talked deeply about careers in each other's countries, and whether they have been involved in manufacturing up to now and deepened the friendship between Japanese and Mongolian high school students. When it came to technical topics such as robot production and the like, we were able to understand each other because there is no difference in technology even if the countries were different.
From January 21 to 22:
Two graduates of our school in the field of architecture gave lectures on the "important things to do at work" and "the value of work, the sense of achievement.” We had many comments and questions from Mongolian students. In particular, we had the sympathy from the Japanese and Mongolian students for the fact that "what I want to do becomes a job" and "the sense of accomplishment that the work without an answer takes shape" without any difference between countries.
January 23:
Four older students who graduated from three high schools in Mongolia and currently work in Japanese companies (DKS Co., Ltd., and Oyodo Kaihatsu Co., Ltd.) gave lectures on "the pleasures and difficulties of working in Japan," and current students in Mongolia asked questions such as "what preparations should be made while in Mongolia for Mongolians to work in Japan" and "the knowledge to be acquired while in Mongolia." It was an information exchange meeting that lasted for two hours, but we heard from Mongolian students and faculty members that there was not enough time, and they asked us to hold it again.
Although we were somewhat concerned about the flow of the online exchange because it was our first attempt, I saw students from Japan and Mongolia actively exchanging opinions immediately after the event started, so we sensed the signs of success. We would like to continue to strengthen the relationship between Japan and Mongolia through online exchange meetings.
Lastly, we would like to express my deep gratitude to the Sakura Science Exchange Program and all those involved for their support during the postponement and suspension of the international exchange program due to the coronavirus pandemic.
