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: Lailatul Binti of IMAC-U

 Lailatul Binti from Malaysia used to go to a different university where she was majoring in a different subject. However, she decided to get back to her original dream one year ago, and applied for universities which have aeronautical engineering faculties. 
“I found that there were two such universities in Japan, Tohoku and Kyushu, but eventually I chose Tohoku University because of its character,” she said. By character, she meant the “research-oriented” aspect of the university. “I was attracted by that so I submitted application materials, and thanks to God I’m here!” she laughed.

  After graduating from a local high school, Lailatul went on to the matriculation course of the University of Malaya (UM) in Kuala Lumpur. There, she studied hard to prepare for university education for one year, and later became a student of UM majoring in actuarial science. When asked about the reaction of her parents to her change of mind, she said “they were not surprised. Now I am in the same grade as my younger brother, but it’s good. We share a lot of talk since he majors in electrical engineering, another faculty of engineering.”
 She has always made much effort when it comes to studying her favorite subjects, such as mathematics, from an early age. This way, she figured out what suits and does not suit her. So now Lailatul has a picture of the days ahead: she wants to continue her research at Tohoku University until acquiring a Ph.D, and become an engineer in the field of aeronautics.

 She saw snow for the first time in her life in Sendai. “When I saw snow in the light at night, it was so beautiful.” In fact, it snowed so much in many Japanese places in February that it set an all-time high record since observations began. Sendai was not an exception: the city awoke to more than 35cm of snow on the morning of February 9th. Sendai is famous for having snow every year but it had never snowed so much all at once. So this year’s snow is unusual. She is now enjoying her spring vacation in Malaysia, but must bring a lot of winter clothes to Sendai!

 The FGL students so far are from 13 countries, but Lailatul is the first Malaysian student to be accepted to the FGL program. Having been in Sendai for six months, she really wants to recommend Malaysian students apply for Tohoku University. She said with a smile that, “Sendai is so beautiful and safe. I love this city. The area damaged by the earthquake is limited now. If not, why are there people here? Be positive!”

Student interview: Sirinda Khurewattanakul of IMAC-U

Sirinda Khurewattanakul

 An IMAC-U student Sirinda Khurewattanakul is spending her 3rd year at Tohoku University. Having moved from Bangkok Thailand, she has gone through the first two years acquiring a solid foundation in liberal education on Kawauchi Campus. Now, she mainly stays on Aobayama Campus to focus on experiments and specialized classes, and says that the new environment is very different from previous places. “Before, almost all students at lectures were international students, but now I get to know quite a few Japanese students of my own age through a laboratory, which is nice” she says. She belongs to Prof. Kosuge’s system robotics lab, where there are more female students than at other laboratories. Joining the department’s field trip let her get to know the other female students well. Asked about the Japanese students, she says “they are always very helpful, whether male or female. If handouts are in Japanese, they explain them for me.”
 To our surprise, Sirinda’s first choice for her field was not robotics at the beginning. “I was drawn to the computer field, but rather than just dealing with information and serial numbers, assembling stuff and machines was more fun, I found,” she said. In fact, her knowledge of computer and programming helps her very much when working on robots and mechanisms. As is often said, everything is of use! “I still need to know more about programming for controlling mechanics…” She seems to have been, and still is, on the right truck.
 IMAC-U students actually participate in a program called Team-Based Engineering from sophomore year, in which Sirinda studied about silicon dioxide. There, doing experiments with a team was the main purpose, and she had to wear special white cover-alls, and get air-showered to become completely clean to prevent the experiments from being contaminated. So students can do fully-fledged experiments from an early stage. According to her, some other laboratories let their student participate in an international competition, and they were able to fly to the US where the competition was held.
 While being super busy with her school work, Sirinda thinks of what she will do in the future. “After receiving a bachelor’s degree, I want to go for a master’s degree, then work at some Japanese company in Thailand.” She has a clear picture of her future self. Though a student on an English degree course, she speaks Japanese quite well. Thanks to the new environment with many Japanese students, her abilities are improving more and more. With brilliant equipment and tools added to her competence, Sirinda will be able to become an outstanding female engineer.

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: Qiang Gu, International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The first-year student Qiang Gu from China had no hesitation about coming to Sendai to study at Tohoku University.  She knew from before that she wanted to study engineering at some excellent school, but her decision became firmer when Professor Ying Chen of IMAC-U gave a presentation on the FGL program at her high school and her school counselor recommended the program to her. 

Ever since she had entered, she has not become tired in most cases: she believes the reason for this is that she enjoys student life, from studying to leisure.  But one thing she admits is the great role of Professor Chen.  “She has been so helpful and encouraging,” Qiang said.  According to her, Professor Chen always tells students to contact her if any problems arise, so for a lot of students she is someone who understands the difficulty of living abroad and doing something at the same time.

In fact, Qiang already had trouble after her arrival from China: she had a small bike accident.  The one who helped her out was an older student at her dormitory.  “One senpai (an older student) fixed my bike, so thanks to him I can ride it to school,” she said.  Having been asked if she often comes to school by bike, she said: “if it snows, then no, but otherwise yes.”

Since she did not have many engineering classes in the first semester, she is looking forward to the later years.  The time when she finds her own special field must be not too far away.

Imonikai: A Tohoku Tradition

Today, I would like to talk about a specialty of Sendai: imoni. This literally means “cooked potato.”  That is, imoni actually means to enjoy cooking somewhere outdoors, such as along a river, to promote friendship among a group of people.  The main dish in Miyagi is a bowl of stewed pork, taros, scallions and konjak, which are cooked on a stove.  People help themselves to it, and relax and chat with friends, family members, neighbors and so on.

This custom is widely seen in the Tohoku region, the northern part of the main island of Japan, and it is often considered to be one of the two most anticipated events: Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in spring and Imonikai in autumn, every year. 

 The reason why it is carried out in autumn is that taros are perennially harvested in October, and the newly harvested taros are always the main ingredient for the dish. 

 On October 20^th, students of engineering department voluntarily planned an imoni party alongside the Hirose River, and many international students participated in the event.  In addition to imoni, various barbecue items—sausages, pork chops, vegetables and many others—were prepared there, and the participants truly felt full from the delicious feast.

Bunya Seminar at the Insittute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University


Hi there. I am Houken from the Institute of Fluid science, Tohoku university. Two years ago I applied for the IMAC-G program and entered the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The Research and study environment in Japan may be different from your country. Bunya-seminar is one of thing you might not experience in your country. Let me introduce it briefly first.



Houken Presenting at Bunya Seminar


 n  What is Bunya Seminar?

In the Tohoku university Department of Mechanical Engineering we have this special seminar for first year master degree students. Every student is asked to prepare a one-page printout to simply introduce his/her research and give a 10min presentation which is open to all master and doctor students. Especially in recent years, since the number of foreign students is increasing, presentations in English are very common and popular as you can see in the photo. Furthermore, many Japanese students start to prepare presentation and printout in English in order to enhance their English communicating skills.  

n  My experience during Bunya-seminar

Although foreign students can choose their presentation language freely, I chose to speak in Japanese. It was really hard to prepare because using technical language properly in Japanese is even more difficult than daily communication. However I believe it is especially meaningful for foreign students to learn how to communicate with Japanese not only in daily life but also in their work or research. Communication skill in Japanese is absolutely important to live and work in Japan. Bunya-seminar is just a wonderful chance to learn and practice!

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Text and photos by Houken

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