2024 Activity Report Group 5 : (University) Saitama University

SAKURA SCIENCE High School Program Group 5

Lecture and Lab Tour at Saitama University and Manufacturing Currency at the Mint

 On the morning of Tuesday, November 12, 78 high school students from India and Indonesia in SSHP Group 5 visited Saitama University. https://en.saitama-u.ac.jp/

 The high school students were welcomed by Prof. SHIGEHARA Takaomi, Dean of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering. Through the university introduction and a discussion with the international students from India and Indonesia currently studying there, the students seemed to gain an understanding of what it is like to study at a Japanese university and experience campus life.

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 Prof. FUJINO Takeshi, Graduate School of Science and Engineering gave a special lecture entitled "How has Japan protected its water environment?" the Professor explained in detail the development of septic tanks. Furthermore, he concluded that it is important to maintain and manage a sustainable ecosystem in order for humans to coexist with the natural environment, using as an example Toyooka City (Hyogo Prefecture), which successfully brought back its population of endangered storks, and garnering attention from around the world.

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 After that, they were divided into groups and then allowed to tour eight laboratories such as Life Sciences and High-Power Engineering for Safety and the like, under the guidance of Saitama University students. In the KOBAYASHI Laboratory of 'Human-Robot Interaction/Computer Science,' the high school students seemed to enjoy an experiment where waving penlights created a connection with an idol group on stage. Also, in the demonstration of a robotic wheelchair that moves with people, we got the impression that they were indeed high school students in the science department because they actively asked questions about the automatic tracking system developed by the laboratory.

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 In the afternoon, the visitors toured the Japan Mint Saitama Branch. https://www.mint.go.jp/eng

 High school students who were accustomed to electronic money were also very impressed with the precise and beautiful finish of Japanese currency, by seeing valuable exhibits such as the Japanese monetary system and old coins at the attached museum. They also witnessed the manufacturing process at the factory of coins that are in actual circulation.

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