The 16th International Summer School was held from September 9th to 13th, 2024, inviting students and teachers from Asia and South America.

The Summer School has been held since 2008 with the aim of sharing knowledge and skills through a global perspective between students and young researchers from the Graduate School of Biosphere Science (prior to the current reorganized Graduate School.) and overseas universities, mainly those with international exchange agreements.

This year’s summer school followed the previous format, which was inviting not only students but also their academic supervisors that would foster further opportunities towards implementing cooperative research. Also, on September 12th, the “International Symposium on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” was organized.

On the first day, September 9th, 9 teachers and students from 2 universities in 2 countries came together to participate in the summer school. 

During the laboratory visits, the participants were divided into 2 groups, each led by a student tutor, and visited the laboratories of 4 programs: Integrative Hydrosphere Science Program, Applied Animal and Plant Science Program, Food Science Program and Molecular Agro-life Science Program, where they had the opportunity to hear about state-of-the-art facilities and their research activities.

At the welcome party marked by a friendly atmosphere, students and staff of HU along with the visiting participants, mingled over light refreshments. During the Japanese cultural experience session that followed, they enjoyed taking photos dressed in their favorite yukata.

For the following two days, on September 10th and 11th, the invited guests visited different laboratories to experience and discuss specific scientific interests.

In those days, the participants took part in 'Science Program Work' based on their fields of specialization and experienced cutting-edge science and technology through hands-on activities with their host teachers and HU students.

At the briefing session presenting some opportunities for studying in Japan, Dr. Suzuki, Chairperson of the International Exchange Committee, introduced the university and explained about studying in Japan, followed by presentations made by government- and privately-funded international students studying at Hiroshima University concerning their own pursuits of overseas study experiences and the various challenges of daily life in Japan.

On the fourth day, the International Symposium on SDGs was held from the morning until 2 PM, including a lunch break. Discussions were deepened through presentations and Q&A sessions by the 5 summer school invited teachers and 1 HU teacher, focusing on how their research contributed to each of the 17 SDGs and what challenges they faced. Additionally, a poster session was held simultaneously, featuring research presentations by 4 summer school invited students and 9 graduate students from HU, with 71 faculty members and students (including online participants) attending.

After the International Symposium, the summer school participants went on a company tour to Satake Corporation. There, the students learnt about social implementation in the field of agricultural science and learned how the company is actively employing foreign human resources to expand its business globally, which may have further motivated them to study overseas.

After the company tour, a farewell party was held, where the participants were presented with certificates and commemorative gifts by Dr. Suzuki. A total of 28 participants, including teaching staff and student assistants, joined the party to bid farewell to the participants with the hope of further deepening exchanges into the future.

On the last day or the 13th, a tour was conducted to learn about the history of Hiroshima. Through visits to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Atomic Bomb Dome and Miyajima Island, the participants were able to get a bird's eye view of Hiroshima's history and learned how the city has grown into a symbolic city that seeks peace, thereby adding to the significance of studying in Hiroshima.

< Comments from the summer school participants >

• I am grateful for the invitation to the Hiroshima summer course activity, I hope this is not the last time my university joins in this activity. I hope my campus and Hiroshima University can cooperate in the long term. Once again, thank you for your activities. I hope you all stay healthy and safe.
• I am very grateful for the opportunity given so that I can gain new experiences and knowledge through this activity. I hope that this program will continue to exist and can promotion of collaboration between countries through research.
• Everything is organized and prepared excellently. I would like to thank the Director of the International Summer School for supporting us with free accommodation and course fee. And, also provided full support for one of the students. It means a lot to us. I am positively hopeful that this collaboration continues to blossom in the future, especially continuous support in terms of research capability to the university from developing regions like VSU. Domo arigato gozaimasu!
• Everything was great, from the accommodations and tours to the program work; everything went very smoothly. I hope that Hiroshima University will invite more universities so that more people will be inspired to study and explore science and research.
• The International Summer School was well-planned and organized, and I can't think of anything to improve because I had a great time. Words cannot express how fortunate I am to be a part of this program; everything is well worth it. There are no ideas for future conduct of the summer school because everything is excellent!
• It was fun and ended in a more fun way. It was informative, as well as enticing for us to go and study at the school. Everyone were welcoming, and I met many people to connect with. Big thanks to everyone who made this event possible, to Dr. Nakamura and Mayo-san, for accepting us in their laboratory, Ai-chan, Yujin-kun, and Kin-kun, for making our stay in Japan more maximized and more memorable. I can't wait to meet them again soon.