Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS 2013

Sixteen Tokyo Tech students visited Thailand from September 8 to18 on Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS 2013.

Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS is the successor to the Japan-Asia Young Scientist and Engineer Study Visit (JAYSES) which ran until 2012. From the 2013 academic year, the program was renamed and became part of the Global Scientists and Engineers Course, which operates it as their Overseas Study and International Internship Program. Participating Tokyo Tech students can earn credits.

Participating Tokyo Tech students attend preparatory classes in English before departure. This year there were classes pertaining to the Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS 2013 theme, "From Asia to the World," and Thai language and culture classes taught by Thai students. Additionally, students researched companies and organizations to visit in Thailand and had presentation training in English. They also visited the Bridgestone Tokyo Plant to get a firsthand look at such a site in order to be able to make comparisons with plants in Thailand later.

• 

  Preparatory class

• 

  Thai language class

Participating Universities

Tokyo Tech students visited Thai and Japanese companies, government agencies, a JICA project and several universities with 27 students from Southeast Asian partner universities in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. The aim of the visits was to provide students with the occasion to ask questions and deepen their understanding of the issues they researched in advance of the trip. The visits also fostered a better understanding of social and industrial problems in Thailand and gave students the opportunity to observe field sites which is rare.

Students were so enthusiastic about the visits that they regularly went over the allotted time for each one. This was especially true at the Nissan Motor plant, a popular automaker in Thailand. Students asked many insightful questions about technical matters and the environment. The president of the plant answered them respectfully and extensively spoke about development and production methods unique to Thailand as well as management's efforts to cut costs. It was a valuable experience for participants.

Final presentations were given based on the students' group discussions on the last day of the program.

The subject of the best-received presentation at Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS 2013 was "What is a good company in Asia?" Members of the group analyzed, organized and presented the information they acquired at the various companies they visited. The highlight of this presentation was a video the group made earlier in the day. The video had three inspectors evaluating a fictitious company according to the principles of good management. It reminded many students of a famous TV program abroad. The group drew considerable applause not only for the content of the presentation but also for the skillful way in which they presented.

Some Tokyo Tech students who initially were not comfortable speaking English, were actively participating in discussions by the end of the trip after seeing how strongly committed to the discussions the other Asian students were. All of the students felt they grew thanks to the serious discussions and having lived together over the course of the 11-day program under the same roof. Through this fulfilling program they expanded their knowledge and made friends. They also strengthened their motivation to act globally.

The Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS administration office offers its heartfelt thanks to the companies and government agencies which kindly received students, to the partner universities which participated in the program, and to the host university of Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS 2013, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.

• Tokyo Tech-AYSEAS
• Global Scientists and Engineers Course

Published: October 2013