Notice
A member of Executive Committee of TNI and T.I.T. Symposium
Associate Professor, MIZUNO Fumio
Dept. of Electronics and Intelligent Systems
Faculty of Engineering
On October 17, 2014, Tohoku Institute of Technology held a joint symposium with Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) from Thailand, one of our international exchange institutions. This joint symposium, which is held once every two years at alternate campuses, was held at room 133 of our university.
Eight lectures were delivered by TNI (five lectures from faculty members and three lectures from graduate students), and five lectures were delivered by faculty members from our university at the symposium. The joint symposium was attended by 36 people from both inside and outside of our university. Four undergraduate students also joined the visiting party from TNI. They installed a TNI booth as part of our school festival held on the following day, Saturday October 18, made a presentation of the results of their research work, and also gave a wonderful Thai dance performance on the festival stage.
Through this joint symposium, it is expected that there will be the chance for a lot of interaction with faculty members between TNI and our university, further promoting the cooperation both in our education and study fields.
■Joint symposium with Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology
http://www.tohtech.ac.jp/news/2014/10/post_366.html
【After exchanges with Thai students】
Yuya Funayama
First Year Student
Dept. of Management and Communication
Faculty of Life Design
This time, I played a role as a tutor for students from Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI). Although it was just one week, it was a very fulfilling one. While experiencing cross-cultural communication which we seldom encounter in daily life, I realized the importance of conversation and communication. To be honest, I felt very anxious on the first day, wondering whether I would be able to make friends with them or not. However, all the students from TNI were so friendly that I felt like I was the one who received a welcome. As the days went by, the idea of saying good bye to them became harder and harder to bear. I was really enjoying their company, and wished that their stay would last longer. They gave me very kind words, such as “When are you coming to Thailand, Yuya?” and “You can stay at my home, so please give me your contact details.” From the bottom of my heart, I felt that I really want to meet them again in the future. I am sure that this activity will have an extremely significant meaning in my student life. If there comes an opportunity like this again, I really would like to take part. Thank you very much for providing me with such a wonderful opportunity.
【Role of Tutor】
Yuta Koizumi
Third Year Student
Department of Management and Communication,
Faculty of Life Design
In the position of tutor for the first time, I had the chance to assist students of Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology during their visit to our university. This opportunity made me think about the meaning of giving warm hospitality to foreign nationals. In my opinion, the role of tutor at Tohoku Institute of Technology is to introduce Sendai, and to understand what foreign nationals want from their stay. When I walked around Sendai Station with Thai students, I was asked several times: “What are the recommended foods in Sendai?” At that time, I could not think of anything else other than “Gyutan (Oxtongue)”. Despite my living in Sendai for more than a decade, I finally realized that I did not fully understand the fascination of Sendai. Also, I was reminded that what foreign nationals want to know about are things that people who live here come into contact with in their daily lives. Thai students visiting Japan for the first time took an interest in autumn-tinted trees, which were a very familiar sight to me. They do not have many chances to see colored leaves in Thailand.. To put it differently, in my daily life, there exist unusual and unexpected things for foreign nationals to see and experience for the first time. From these experiences, in order to inform foreign nationals about Japan and Sendai, I felt that it is necessary for myself in the first place to understand the good points of Japan and Sendai.
During exchanges with students of Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology, as well as simply carrying out my tutor activities, I became their friend. When visiting a mountain temple in Yamagata, guiding them at Aoba-jo Castle, having a conversation at an informal social gathering, spending time at our school festival, and going shopping, I had such a fulfilling and unforgettable time with them. Although I felt some language barriers due to my lack of studying, it was an extremely valuable experience for me to spend time with them, as we exchanged words in Japanese, Thai and English. Without this opportunity, I would never have experienced these things.
For a long time, I have been interested in international exchanges. I have actively applied for various programs both from inside and outside of our university, and have had the chance to meet people from Thailand, Taiwan and China. However, those programs mainly focused on rather passive activities on my part, and I often ended up simply being welcomed by foreign nationals. Therefore, while reflecting on my past one-sided international exchanges, I now have even stronger feelings of appreciation toward the foreign nationals who have taken care of me in the past. In the future, I would like to make best use of what I have noticed in the process of undertaking the tutor activities, as ideas for facilitating international exchange as well as cross-cultural understanding.