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Tokyo Tech News
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)
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)
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
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
The opportunities to talk with teachers and students outside my major changed my perspective and opened up new career options for me.
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.
This trip increased my motivation for learning English and broadened the range of career paths I may consider.
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.
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.
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