Tokyo Tech's Institute for Liberal Arts organized a joint poster presentation event on the Ookayama Campus, where both international students completing the Intensive Japanese Course and students in the inaugural year of the Global Scientists and Engineers Program (GSEP), Tokyo Tech's English-language bachelor's degree program, showcased their insights and interests in Japanese culture and language.
Ten international students, including two Japanese government-sponsored students and two master's program students, delivered their final presentations after dedicating themselves to Japanese language and culture immersion five days a week for four months in the Intensive Japanese Course. Additionally, six GSEP students, who had studied similar topics twice a week for a year, participated. These students hailed from seven countries: Thailand, India, South Korea, Togo, France, Bolivia, and Vietnam.
During the presentations, each speaker had the freedom to select their content, covering a wide array of topics such as the language, history, and culture of their home countries, introductions to traditional events, comparisons of gastronomic cultures, and explanations of school systems in Japan and other nations. The audience comprised numerous Tokyo Tech faculty, staff, and students, including President Kazuya Masu, faculty members, laboratory friends, and senior international students who had previously delivered similar presentations.
The event also welcomed approximately 130 fifth and sixth-grade students along with their teachers from Senzokuike Elementary School, who had reciprocated the international exchange by joining the event. Furthermore, members of the Kanagawa Systematized Goodwill Guide Club (KSGG), a volunteer group that guided Tokyo Tech's international students around Kamakura, attended as well.
Towards the event's conclusion, Masu extended words of encouragement to the elementary school students, receiving warm gratitude from Principal Satoshi Ito and a student representative for the unique and enriching experience offered by Tokyo Tech.
