Tokyo Tech hosted T2KN CAMPUS Asia Plus Online Winter Camp (hereafter “Winter Camp”), an online program of CAMPUS Asia Plus, for three days from January 17 to 19, 2022. This inaugural camp focused on the “New contribution of ART, Science and Technology in the new corona era.”
CAMPUS Asia Plus is an educational program jointly operated by a consortium of four universities — Tokyo Tech, Tsinghua University in China, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea, and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore — as part of the Inter-University Exchange Project (Re-Inventing Japan Project) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The first student exchange under the new four-university program was conducted online to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, with a total of 32 students participating.
The Winter Camp is an intensive program consisting of special lectures by faculty members from each participating university, team projects, team presentations, and student-led activities. Although Tokyo Tech served as the host of the inaugural camp, all four universities worked together from the planning stage to prepare and implement the program, with faculty members from each university providing special lectures to provide participating students with broad perspectives and fulfilling activities.
Project leaders from the four universities
The 2022 Winter Camp kicked off with opening remarks by each project leader and self-introductions by the students. This was followed by a mix of student-led activities, special lectures, and team projects sessions throughout the three-day program.
Student-led activities
In the student-led activities, participating students from each university prepared an introduction of their campus and certain cultural aspects of their home country or region. The activities were not limited to one-way explanations using slides, but also included quizzes and other creative ways to engage and entertain fellow students. The interactive communication, which went beyond the sharing of knowledge, resulted in plenty of laughter and lighthearted, enjoyable moments. In addition to giving a virtual tour of their campus, the Tokyo Tech student group held a mini-workshop on paper cranes.
Tokyo Tech’s student-led activity: Making paper cranes
Special lectures by faculty members from four universities
During this Winter Camp, faculty members from four universities gave special lectures on topics related to this year’s topic — New contribution of ART, Science and Technology in the new corona era.
- Special Lecture 1: Inventing the New: The Emergence of Innovative Research Through the Integration of Science and Art
Kayoko Nohara, Professor, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Tech
- Special Lecture 2: New contribution of ART, Science and Technology in the new corona era
Zhiyong Fu, Professor, Tsinghua University
- Special Lecture 3: Make future batteries smarter
Hong Jin Fan, Professor, NTU
- Special Lecture 4: Digital Meets Heritage: What Can Digital Technology Do for Heritage?
Jaehong Ahn, Professor, KAIST
The lectures in a wide range of fields including art, science and technology, and architecture, provided an outstanding opportunity for the participating students to gain knowledge outside their fields of expertise. They also allowed students to think about the connection and collaboration between science and technology and art, providing valuable input that furthered enriched the content of the team project.
Team projects and presentations
The team project, which is the main part of the Winter Camp, was also centered around this year’s topic, “New contribution of ART, Science and Technology in the new corona era.” The participating students were divided into five teams, with each team including members from four different universities. The groups discussed their team name, interpretation of the topic, selection of the problem to be tackled, devising the solution, and their project’s relation to art, preparing for the presentation on the last day. All discussions were held online. Despite the limited time, each team’s presentation was wonderfully organized and was evaluated by the faculty members of the four universities and the participating students. At the end of the presentations, the most impressive groups were rewarded with the Best Project Award, the Faculty Award, and the Student Award. The participants seemed to thoroughly enjoy the program, many provided positive feedback at the end of the camp.
Group photo taken after closing ceremony
Comments from participating students from Tokyo Tech
Shummei Ekawa
4th year, Civil and Environmental Engineering
What episodes of personal growth did you experience after participating in the program?
Over the three days of the program, I was able to experience growth in both my skills and my mind. I participated in this program because I wanted to gain experience in discussions in English before I start studying abroad this summer. However, I saw that my skills were more insufficient than I had imagined. At the same time, I was able to clarify my current position and next steps by reflecting on what I lacked, what I did well, and what I could have done better through the program’s discussion time. By looking up and trying to understand new phrases and words that I encountered through the discussions and lectures, I was also able to acquire expressions and specialized vocabulary that I could use in discussions. In general, I was able to absorb a lot during the three days of the program by experiencing and thinking about various fields and meeting students from overseas.
Advice to prospective participants in similar programs
Being left behind in discussions can also be a good experience. If you find yourself thinking that your English skills are not sufficient or you don’t have confidence in discussing topics in English, then I would recommend even more strongly that you to participate in this program. Sure, it may be difficult to discuss topics at a high level, but I think this kind of program can stimulate you and make changes in you. Hang in there, we can do this together!
Teru Hashimoto
3rd year, Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering
What episodes of personal growth did you experience after participating in the program?
Having used English for the three days of the program, I think my tolerance for English has increased greatly. Thanks to the group work, we not only listened to English, but also spoke it a lot. Therefore, I feel that I got into the habit of thinking of ways to express what I wanted to say in English. After the program, even when I was talking with my Japanese university friends, I began to think about how I could express what I wanted to say in English.
How would you like to utilize your experience in the program in the future?
I have been able to speak English at a daily conversation level for a long time, but I wanted to be able to have more in-depth discussions in English, which brought me to participate in this program. I think my English skills have improved through the program, but I also found some issues such as vocabulary, so I hope to continue to make progress in the future. Also, I have been exchanging messages with the students in my team through Instagram, and I am looking forward to the day when I can meet them offline.
Advice to prospective participants in similar programs
It can get slightly tiring because you are in a different environment, but the program is short, so if you are even a little bit interested, I think you should participate! Sometimes I couldn’t understand what others were saying because we were speaking in English. When that happens, I recommend that you do not just let it go, but ask people for clarification. Everyone will be very polite and explain everything to you!
