Summer School 2014

Tohoku University invited high school teachers and prospective students to Future Global Leadership (FGL) Summer School again this year, from the 4th to 6th of August. 21 Participants joined the event from 7 high schools in China, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

During the three-day program, participants got detailed information on Tohoku University, FGL courses, the application process, and even the city of Sendai.

On the 2^nd and 3^rd day, participants took a tour of the labs in each faculty of the FGL program: the Advanced Molecular Chemistry Course (AMC), Applied Marine Biology Course (AMB) and International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Course (IMAC-U).

This is one of the labs in AMB. Students are working on research in the field of Integrative Aquatic Biology.

Students also learnt Japanese flower arrangement (Ikebana). This Ikebana class was taught by Prof. Chen. She is a professor of Nanomechanics in the School of Engineering of our university!

Thank you so much for joining the event. See you again!

Student interview: Dwiky Rendra of AMC

 The third-year student Dwiky Rendra from Indonesia has engaged some experiments during his high school years, and he wanted to continue conducting research in the university. He was accepted by the AMC course in 2011, and mostly completed studying the foundational scientific subjects by 2013. Now he enjoys most of his time experimenting for his own research, and looks back on how he chose his field of studies. “I was fascinated with learning about biological processes at high school, and the good thing for me is that there are biochemistry classes here,” he says. Although he is affiliated with the chemistry department, he was, and is still, drawn to the field of biology. He works on issues related to the human body.

Dwiky Rendra

 Dwiky is affiliated with Prof. Satoshi Takahashi’s laboratory, and specializes in a cancer suppressor protein called p53. They work together to look for roles of inker region in p53. “I was so happy that I could start experiments from the summer of freshman year. It is such a rare opportunity,” he smiled. While many international students have returned to their home countries to escape from the cold winter season, Dwiky is staying in Sendai to continue researching. The combination of chemistry and biology perfectly fits his area, so he truly thinks of his choice as suitable.

 Having lived at University House Sanjo for two years, Dwiky now resides at a house shared with his friend. His friend had already been living there for a while, so Dwiky easily found a place to live. One of the reasons is the existence of a large Indonesian community at Tohoku University, and their way of helping each other. Dwiky mentions, however, that many international students find a place to live without much difficulty. “Many friends of mine live in apartments in Sendai.” “Once they visit a local real-estate agency, they easily find nice apartments,” he continued.

 Students may think they will never need to go to a Japanese hospital. However, adjusting to a new country can be hard on your health. It is actually very common for international students to require medical care. For example, at the end of last year, one FGL student was diagnosed with tuberculosis, but recovered from it thanks to good care by the hospital. Dwiky also had to see a doctor this year suffering from a cold. When he visited a local clinic, he was given a medical interview sheet in English, which was helpful. “Doctors seemed to be used to foreign patients,” he recalled. His full recovery shows that there is nothing to worry in the event of sickness.

 Having found his own objective at Tohoku University, Dwiky genuinely looks forward to his future. By doing what he enjoys, he will be contributing to beneficial changes for human life.

Student interview: Yiwen Li of AMC

When asked about her student life, Yiwen Li cheerfully told us about every relevant topic. Since biochemistry was her research focus at high school, she was able to quickly decide to apply to AMC at Tohoku University. “As is known, Tohoku University’s chemistry department is prestigious!” she smiled. Then after she entered, she discovered more good sides of the department. First there was the equipment: there are many laboratories fully equipped with the latest tools. If you go to Katahira campus, you will find modern buildings such as the Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics, and WPI- AIMR Main Building. The second is the personal side: she has already had a lot of chances to share time with the skilled staff and experience their assistance during her research and experiments. One of the university’s mottos is “Research First,” and her story was true to this motto.

Yiwen Li

 According to Yiwen, professors profoundly care about students, and there is a special program called the “Homeroom Section” which was started by the AMC course. There are three professors and two student mentors exclusively for AMC students, and they share time and talk with them at a special room prepared for them on Katahira. “The topics we chat about there have such a variety” she says, “about everyday life, questions that came up through lectures, scholarships, and even Japanese food culture… anything!” Taking time for communication nurtures the students' social nature and capability for problem-solving. For her, Sendai is quite international like Shanghai, her home town, and everyday life is full of discovery.

 Yiwen is truly a science girl, so she enjoys any subjects concerned with math and science. Asked about other fun classes, she named two—business management and health. “Particularly the subjects that Prof. Nagatomi deals with at health class tend to be hotly-debated among students since they are familiar subjects like sleeping, diseases and radiation,” Yiwen said.

 Recently she has been trying to learn foreign languages like Thai and Indonesian. Going out downtown with other students, sharing cultural food with them, tackling the tasks from the professors with classmates…her interests go beyond science, and all of them will, like a chemical reaction, interact with each other resulting in the creation of her own original research field.

FGL Summer School 2013, VISIT US!

 Tohoku University’s summer school, “Future Global Leadership Program, Tohoku University Summer School 2013: VISIT US!” was held From August 5 to 7. It was a three-day program for high school teachers and prospective students, and nine high schools from six countries (Indonesia, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore and Thailand) participated in this event.

Student Interview: Chanon Pornrungroj, Advanced Molecular Chemistry

The second-year student Chanon Pornrungroj has a dream—to do satisfying desk study as well as experiments.  Tohoku University is committed to the “Research First” principle, and when Chanon heard about this, and about the existence of the English degree course, he felt ready to apply.  After acceptance by the university, however, his family members and friends were concerned about his departure because of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the radioactivity.  Nevertheless, he decided not to waste this opportunity, and his ardent professors and kind senpai (older students) made his study environment perfect.  “Now I feel very comfortable being here from every aspect,” he says.  Behind this remark is the fact that he tried to meet more people by joining the Tohoku University Foreign Students Association. Through it he met many people, from international to Japanese students.

Student Interview: Farsai Taemaitree, Advanced Molecular Chemistry

Taemaitree Farsai is a first year AMC student from Bangkok, Thailand.  Since her high school years, she has been accustomed to doing research with fine experimental tools.  So she always wanted to go to the university with the best chemistry department in Japan.  “Tohoku University’s motto ‘research first’ is exactly the same as that of my high school,” she says.  Her goal is now to become a chemist in the future.

Farsai participated in a three-week program at Ritsumeikan in Kyoto last year.  However, her encounter with the Japanese academic world happened earlier than that.  Tohoku University’s professors often visit high schools around the world to promote the FGL program, and professors from the chemistry department visited her high school.  This helped her learn about Tohoku University and the course, which lead her to decide to apply.

Now, four months have passed since the start of university life.  According to her, the lectures are tough and impressive at the same time, and her favorite class is Chemistry A by Professor Zhanpeisov.  

“Because I get to know about things that I had never known before,” she says.

Farsai hopes to join some student clubs to intermingle with Japanese students from next semester, but now she does not have time for anything thanks to the large amount of school work from each lecture.  She is, however, already concerned about missing her busy days when staying in her home country during the spring break.

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