A (Belated) Welcome to 2011's New FGL Undergraduates!

This autumn, Future Global Leadership welcomed some 17 international students into its undergraduate programs. Descriptions of the courses and pictures of the new recruits are as shown below.

The AMC Welcome Ceremony

AMC: The Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science offers the Advanced Molecular Chemistry Course. Most students enrolled in this course are assigned to the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, and Advanced Institute for Materials Research from the latter half of their third year to prepare their graduation theses. 

This year's new AMB students

AMB: The Faculty of Agriculture offers the FGL Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree in Applied Marine Biology. It combines a solid general education with a practical grounding in marine biology through stimulating research in the laboratory and in the field. 

IMAC-U: The International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Course undergraduate course (IMAC-U) is specifically designed for international students. Students are required to learn technical drawing and to familiarize themselves with experimental procedures and the use of machine tools. TAs will coach international students, as necessary. 

New IMAC-U students and their professors

-FGL Staff

2011 Tohoku University Festival

In Japan, school festivals are an important autumn event, whether at the primary, secondary, or university levels. Tohoku University is no exception, and the students enjoy their festival a lot! This year the school festival was held from November 3^rd to the 5^th under the theme of “Link Tompei” (Tompei is a nickname for Tohoku University).

Visitors, which included both students and the general public, were able to sample a variety of food at stalls set up around Kawauchi campus. There were art exhibitions, concerts, and various entertainment provided by the students. The annual school festival is an opportunity for the different student-organized clubs to publicize their activities, and for students with hidden talents to perform in front of their peers.

The school festival also provides a chance for the school’s cosplayers to show off the fruits of their labor. Cosplay (costume play) is a hobby that has spread from Japan to other countries in recent years. Cosplayers enjoy constructing hand-made costumes inspired by their favorite manga, anime, or video games and wearing them out to public events. It's not just a hobby; it's a way of life!

-FGL Staff

November 26, 2011 Trip to Yamadera

November 26, 2011 Trip to Yamadera

The FGL Program organized a trip to Yamadera, a temple in nearby Yamagata Prefecture, for the FGL undergraduate students. The Yamadera area is one of the many places in Tohoku where the Japanese haiku master Matsuo Basho (1644- 1694) stopped off to write a poem during his wanderings.

The conical hat the student in the below photo is wearing is the traditional headwear of “ohenro-san” (pilgrims) who travel to famous temples, such as Yamadera, on foot, or (more recently) by bus.

In addition to taking in the sights around the temple, the students attended a pottery workshop where they were able to create their own dishes or mugs.

The autumn foliage was gorgeous, and the surrounding mountains already had a light dusting of snow. It was very typical autumn weather for this part of Japan.

 The students also held a friendly photo competition. It was a close race, but eventually this photo was selected as the winner!

Almost every town in Japan is famous for some kind of food, sweet, or style of cooking, so no excursion is complete without sampling the local cuisine!

-FGL Staff