ICREMER’s “Short Stay Program for Resource Science and Technology Learning 2012” (October to November, 2012)
The International Center for Research and Education on Mineral and Energy Resource (ICREMER) carried out a four-week “Short Stay Program for Resource Science and Technology Learning” from October 15 (Mon) to November 9 (Fri), 2012. This year, the Program accepted a total of nine students from the partner universities in Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Botswana.
On the first day, Prof. Noboru Yoshimura, President of Akita University, gave a speech to welcome and encourage the students at the opening ceremony. After the ceremony, they had a tour to visit facilities on Tegata campus, including the Akita University Venture Incubation Center (AU-VIC) where they enthusiastically listened to explanations about an assay device with application of cutting-edge technologies which they saw for the first time. During the first week, starting from the second day, they attended a series of lectures given by not only the ICREMER and cooperation faculty members but also guest speakers with different specialties specially invited for this program. Those lectures helped students better understand the basics of resources in Akita prefecture and Japan in general, which would be beneficial to their individual research projects at the later stage of the Program.
In the course of the second week, the students prepared and made presentations of their country reports, indicating the present status and problems of resource development in their home countries. In the latter half of the week, the group made a field study trip with several destinations mainly in Akita prefecture. During the three-day trip, they visited DOWA Group’s Eco-Recycle Co., Ltd. in Hanaoka, the Kosaka Smelting and Refinery Co. Ltd, the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation Matuso Mine Pollution Control Project Support Office in Iwate, the historic site of Osarizawa Mine and the Tamagawa Dam, where they were attended by staff members of those organizations and facilities to guide them.
From the third week, each student worked on his/her own research theme under the guidance of ICREMER faculty members, to present individual concluded work on November 8 (Thu).
At the closing ceremony held on November 9, the last day of the Program, ICREMER’s Director Toshio Mizuta handed out a certificate of completion to each of the students. Ms. Okassova Aigerim, students from the East Kazakhstan State Technical University, in representation of the students addressed, “We learned a lot on resources, enjoyed the exposure to the beauty of nature in Akita and met warm-hearted Japanese people, all of which made our experience of participating in this Program a precious, unforgettable memory.”
Although we often had rainy and cold weather during the one-month program, ICREMER believes that the students would return to their countries with enhanced motivation for their studies, newly developed friendship and good memories from Akita. We look forward to seeing them again in Akita or some other place on this planet.
