Tokyo Tech News

TiROP Short Visit Program 2015: Tokyo Tech students experience UK university life

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Published: November 20, 2015

Six third-year undergraduate students visited Imperial College London, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge through the Tokyo Institute of Technology International Research Opportunities Program (TiROP) Short Visit Program, conducted from September 16 to 27.

Tour of London with Imperial College London Professor Roderick Smith (2nd from right)
Tour of London with Imperial College London Professor Roderick Smith (2nd from right)

What is the TiROP Short Visit Program?

The Short Visit Program is one of the outbound programs offered by Tokyo Tech under TiROP, a MEXT-funded student mobility program between Tokyo Tech and 17 overseas partner universities in the US, Europe, and Asia. Tokyo Tech students may receive academic credit for the program through the Global Scientists and Engineers Course.

Only 10 days in length, the Short Visit Program allows undergraduate students an opportunity to receive direct instruction from faculty members and interact with students at two or more TiROP partner institutions. Through these experiences, the program is intended to prepare students for future participation in long-term international exchange programs. TiROP Short Visit programs in 2012, 2013, and 2014 focused on US universities.

Date
Activities
Location
Tue. 9/15
Wed. 9/16
22:30 Gather at Haneda Airport(HND)
00:30 Depart from HND
12:15 Arrive at Heathrow Airport(LHR)
Tokyo --> London
Thu. 9/17
11:00-12:00 Presentation at Imperial College London
12:00-13:00 Campus tour
13:45-16:00 Visit the Science Museum
London
Fri. 9/18
09:30-14:30 Special city tour with ICL faculty
Sat. 9/19
Free time
Sun. 9/20
Mon. 9/21
10:00-12:00 Travel to Oxford
14:00-16:00 College Tour
London --> Oxford
Oxford
Thu. 9/22
08:30-11:30 Attend the UK-Japan Symposium 2015
-Materials Under Extreme Conditions-, University of Oxford
12:30-15:00 Visit MINI plant Oxford
19:00-21:00 Symposium dinner
Oxford
Wed. 9/23
08:30-12:30 Attend symposium
14:00-16:30 Travel to Cambridge
17:00-18:30 College Tour
Oxford
Oxford --> Cambridge
Cambridge
Thu. 9/24
10:00-12:00 Visit the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge
13:00-16:00 Visit Dept. of Engineering, University of Cambridge
Cambridge
Fri. 9/25
10:00-12:00 Visit the Cavendish Institute, University of Cambridge
14:00-15:00 Visit BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
Sat. 9/26
10:00-11:30 Visit the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
14:30-17:30 Travel to LHR
20:40 Depart from LHR
Cambridge
Cambridge --> Heathrow
London-->
Sun. 9/27
22:45 Arrive at HND
-->Tokyo
Viewing University of Cambridge facilities with Department of Engineering Professor Kenichi Soga (2nd from left)

Viewing University of Cambridge facilities
with Department of Engineering Professor Kenichi Soga
(2nd from left)

Dinner at the University of Oxford

Dinner at the University of Oxford

From left: Arata Suzuki, Takayuki Kishi, Yuta Shimizu, Tatsuyuki Sekine, Cambridge Research Fellow Hisashi Sugime, Cambridge PhD student Hajime Shinohara, Tokyo Tech SERP student Takahiro Yuuki, Tomoki Nakazawa, Yuji Isshiki, Assistant Professor Kosuke Takahashi

From left: Arata Suzuki, Takayuki Kishi, Yuta Shimizu, Tatsuyuki Sekine, Cambridge Research Fellow Hisashi Sugime, Cambridge PhD student Hajime Shinohara, Tokyo Tech SERP student Takahiro Yuuki, Tomoki Nakazawa, Yuji Isshiki, Assistant Professor Kosuke Takahashi

Report Session

Group presentation

Group presentation

The TiROP Short Visit Program team members reported on their experiences in the UK at a report session held on October 28. Students who had visited France, Germany and Austria, and Sweden in short-term visit programs organized by the Global Scientists and Engineers Course also shared their experiences.

The TiROP team described their visits to the three universities in the UK. They also commented on the international joint symposium and shared their impressions of the program overall.

Sharing experiences with classmates
Sharing experiences with classmates

Comments from students

Takayuki Kishi
Department of Control and Systems Engineering

The opportunities to talk with teachers and students outside my major changed my perspective and opened up new career options for me.

Arata Suzuki
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

In terms of my major, I learned about transportation conditions in London, including the public bike sharing scheme. Unrelated to my major, attending the formal dinner at Oxford was an invaluable experience for me.

Yuta Shimizu
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

This trip increased my motivation for learning English and broadened the range of career paths I may consider.

Tatsuyuki Sekine
Department of Physics

I realized a difference in the quality of information I obtain from Google and that which I can learn by visiting a place. My perspective was broadened by going overseas.

Tomoki Nakazawa
Department of Social Engineering

I was faced with an impasse about my future and research by thinking only of possibilities in Japan, but after the trip, I am again excited about my future and thinking on a global-scale.

Yuji Isshiki
Department of Chemistry

Through this trip, I felt a great sense of personal growth because I was able to actively engage in conversation with new people. The feeling that if I did not talk, I would lose valuable information or connections with people, gave me the impetus to do so. Once I started engaging, it was surprisingly easy. The exposure to people with unique ideas who had come from various countries expanded my own way of thinking and seeing the world.

Contact

TiROP Office, International Student Exchange Division,
International Affairs Department
Email tirop@jim.titech.ac.jp
Tel +81-3-5734-2984

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