Activity Report - Kobe University Engineering Summer School 2025
ad_kyo
“Kobe University Engineering Summer School 2025” (hereinafter referred to as “the Summer School”) was held over a 10-day period starting from July 1. This year, following a competitive selection process from over 100 applicants, a total of 19 students from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia) and Mahidol University (Thailand) participated. Together with students from Kobe University’s Global Challenge Program (GCP), the Summer School brought together participants from ten countries, making it a truly global program.
During the Summer School, participants not only engaged in academic programs on campus but also deepened their mutual understanding through student-led exchange activities, making the ten-day program a highly fulfilling experience. As part of the Faculty of Engineering’s Global Challenge Program (GCP), second-year undergraduate students are scheduled to undertake a short-term study abroad program at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology next March. Even after the conclusion of the Summer School, students will continue their collaboration through an online joint project with RMIT, culminating in presentations to be held in Melbourne in March.
Feedback from participating students reflected a wide range of experiences—from academic and socio-cultural learning to career development. Comments included: “In the Japanese language class, we were taught not only standard Japanese but also a bit of the Kansai dialect, which helped me connect what I learned in class to what I heard in daily life and during sightseeing outside the program,” and “This program has motivated me to seriously consider working in Japan, and I now want to actively seek information about internship opportunities.”
This year’s Summer School offered not only academic learning through lectures and lab tours on the Kobe University campus, but also site visits to key industrial and research facilities such as the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ hydrogen facility, and the Kobe University Center for Advanced Medical Engineering Research and Development. In addition, students engaged in disaster and risk reduction education through visits to institutions such as the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (E-Defense) and the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution. The program thus provided a comprehensive learning experience across academia, industry, and government.
The site visits to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (E-Defense) served as valuable opportunities to bridge classroom learning with real-world technologies and societal issues. For the participants, these experiences offered insights beyond their academic specializations, fostering broader knowledge and new perspectives.
Many students remarked that these site visits reaffirmed the significance of their academic research and provided valuable insights to support their future career development.
In addition, the Summer School offered a diverse range of programs fostering intercultural understanding. Participants developed skills for effective communication across linguistic and cultural differences, gained basic Japanese expressions through interaction with Japanese students, and took part in hands-on cultural activities such as a calligraphy workshop organized by the Kobe University Calligraphy Club. These experiences enriched their intercultural awareness and understanding.
Within the limited time frame, working collaboratively with peers from diverse backgrounds while respecting each other’s perspectives provided participants with valuable experience that enhanced their adaptability, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities.
The Kobe University Engineering Summer School serves not merely as a short-term training program, but as a platform for cultivating the next generation of global engineers equipped with both intercultural competence and practical skills.
The “Kobe University Engineering Summer School 2025” was implemented as part of the project titled “International Collaborative Learning Programs for Engineering Students to Address Global Challenges,” selected under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s FY2022 Inter-University Exchange Project for the Promotion of Global Development of University Education—Support for the Formation of Inter-University Exchange with the Indo-Pacific Region.
(Faculty and Graduate School of Engineering)
＜Details of Program＞
|
|
AM | PM |
|---|---|---|
| July 1 (Tue) | Welcome Lunch with Kobe University Students | Opening Ceremony Welcome Speech Program Overview Keynote Lecture A: Kobe University’s Initiatives on the SDGs Campus Tour Welcome Reception |
| July 2 (Wed) | Japanese Language Class Department of Computer and Systems Engineering: Lecture & Lab Tour |
Department of Applied Chemistry: Lecture & Lab Tour Japanese Calligraphy Experience & Performance |
| July 3 (Thu) | Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering: Lecture & Lab Tour | Department of Civil Engineering: Lecture & Lab Tour Workshop with Kobe University Students: Consensus Building |
| July 4 (Fri) | Off-campus Study Visit: E-Defense (NIED) | Off-campus Study Visit: Akashi Kaikyō Bridge |
| July 5 (Sat) | Off-campus Visit: Kobe City Museum City Tour and Lunch Guided by Kobe University Students |
Off-campus Visit: Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution Cultural Activity with Kobe University Students |
| July 6 (Sun) | Free Time (All Day) | Free Time (All Day) |
| July 7 (Mon) | Free Time (All Day) | Free Time (All Day) |
| July 8 (Tue) | Department of Architecture: Lecture & Lab Tour | Department of Mechanical Engineering: Lecture & Lab Tour Workshop with Kobe University Students: Understanding Diversity & Inclusion |
| 9日（水） | Study Visit: Kawasaki Heavy Industries | Study Visit: Kobe Maritime Museum & Kawasaki Good Times World Study Visit: Kobe University Center for Advanced Medical Engineering and Medical Lab |
| 10日（木） | Japan Study live and work in Japan | V-school Workshop "Crisis Communication Ideation”" Closing Ceremony: Certificate Awarding Farewell Party |
