Tokyo Institute of Technology: Tokyo Tech CAMPUS Asia Plus Online Summer School 2022 held successfully
The Institute hosted Tokyo Tech CAMPUS Asia Plus Online Summer School 2022 (Summer School), an online program of CAMPUS Asia Plus, for five days from July 19 to July 25, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
CAMPUS Asia Plus is an educational program jointly operated by a consortium of four universities — Tokyo Tech, Tsinghua University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) — as part of the Inter-University Exchange Project (Re-Inventing Japan Project) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Summer School 2022 was conducted online to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with a total of 10 students participated from Tokyo Tech, Tsinghua University, and KAIST. This Summer School consisted of team projects and presentations on the theme of “Art Thinking in Science and Technology,” Japanese language classes for students from partner universities, a virtual campus tour by Tokyo Tech students, and a hybrid tour of RIKEN.
Team project
In the team project during Summer School 2022, the participating students were divided into two teams both consisting of members from all three universities. Their task was to create their own future scenarios for 2050 and 2100 while utilizing the Future Scenarios created by the Laboratory for Design of Social Innovation in Global Networks (DLab) at Tokyo Tech as inspiration. For students specializing in science and engineering, this was an outstanding opportunity to not only present solutions to achieving SDGs and other social issues using scientific and technological knowledge, but also to incorporate artistic thinking into their approach. Graduate-level students from Tokyo Tech’s Engineering Design course were assigned to each team as mentors to provide advice as needed. As the teams prepared for their presentations, three special lectures on the theme of “Art Thinking in Science and Technology” also offered additional motivation.
Special lectures
Three faculty members gave special lectures related to the theme of this Summer School, “Art Thinking in Science and Technology.”
Special lecture 1
Artistic Approach to Extraterrestrial Life
Professor Akihiro Kubota
Department of Information Design, Faculty of Art and Design, Tama Art University
Special lecture 2
Reframing Disability through Art
Professor Asa Ito
Institute for Liberal Arts, Tokyo Tech
Special lecture 3
Connecting Nano, Macro, and the Future
Professor Ken Nakajima
School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Tech
The three lectures on different fields provided an opportunity for the participating students to learn knowledge outside their field of expertise, think about the differences and relationships between science and technology and artistic thinking, and consider the connections between science and technology and the future, all of which deepened their understanding of “artistic thinking in science and technology.”
During this Summer School, six 100-minute online Japanese language classes were offered to the students from partner universities. The students learned greetings, self-introductions, and simple phrases expressing existence, possession, and preferences. During the sessions, Tokyo Tech students also joined in the fun with various lighthearted exchange activities.
In order to familiarize students from partner universities with Tokyo Tech’s Ookayama Campus, the Institute’s students offered a virtual tour. The tour started in front of Ookayama Station and included live shots of the Main Gate, Centennial Hall, Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza (Taki Plaza), the Ookayama Library, and the Main Building. The tour not only showed participants the main structures at the heart of Ookayama Campus, but also effectively conveyed the atmosphere of midsummer at the Institute.
During Summer School 2022, one student, one mentor, and one of the faculty members in charge of the program visited RIKEN in Wako City, Saitama Prefecture in person, while other participants joined virtually. This was a valuable opportunity for all students involved to learn about the leading Japanese research institution, and to gain a deeper understanding of the cutting-edge science and technology, internationalization, and other efforts taking place at RIKEN.
Team presentations
Professors Kubota and Nakajima, who gave special lectures earlier in the program, were also present at the team presentations, where students spoke about their future scenarios for the years 2050 and 2100. Each team’s future scenario included possible challenges and descriptions on how these challenges could be solved through science, technology, and artistic thinking.