京都府立鳥羽高等学校

The second year Global Course students had Innovation Studies II on December 7 (Sa), in which they revised their research project planning sheets by reflecting on the feedback they received about their poster sessions they had given during the Annual SGH Research Projects Conference on November 22 (F).

We held the Annual SGH Research Projects Conference on November 22 (F), where high school and university teachers and business people from around the nation participated in various workshops and open classes: Global Communication I and II, Social Intelligence, and Landscapes of Kyoto and the World in the morning, and Innovation Studies II in the afternoon. All the second year Global Course students took part in Innovation Studies II, in which about 20 research project teams gave a poster session on their research projects. Some of the teams joined in the a videoconference through SINET, the Science Information Network, a Japanese academic backbone network, with students at Kyoto Prefectural Mineyama High School, located in the northern Kyoto, and Ms. KANKI Kiyoko, professor at Graduate School of Engineering and Faculty of Engineering of Kyoto University, who was visiting Thailand on that day. In the closing session, Mr. KAKIZAWA Toshinobu, specially appointed associate professor at the University of Osaka, Mr. INUI Akinori, professor at Koka Women's College, and Mr. NAITO Yoshihiro, executive director at Kyoto Prefectural International Center gave us their comments on the poster sessions. After school, an exchange program was held, in which Toba students had a casual conversation about their interests with friendship ambassadors of Kyoto Prefecture and foreign students studying at universities and colleges in Kansai area. Last, but certainly not least, we would like to extend our special gratitude for all those who made time in their busy schedule to be here with us today.

 

On the morning of the fourth day (11/14(Th)), Class 2 visited ITE College West, which is "a public vocational education institution agency in Singapore that provides pre-employment training to secondary school graduates." Toba students joined a sports classes, in which they played tug-of-war, SepakTakraw, and several other sports with local students. Class 3 to 8, on the other hand, visited local companies respectively: Shinobi Sauce PTE LTD, IBM Global Services Pte Ltd, Albirex Singapore PTE LTD, Leeden National Oxygen Ltd, JTB Singapore and Canon Singapore Pte Ltd. During the visit, Toba students learned how each company operates and got a message that they should go outside Japan while they are young and try to get as many chances to gain extensive experience as possible. In the afternoon, the students visited Resorts World Sentosa in groups. After this visit, they are going to have dinner, and visit Marina Barrage to enjoy the night view of Marina Bay area.

On the third day (11/13(W)), all the students went on the city excursion in groups: China Town, Little India, and Marina Bay. They tried hard to communicate with local people on various occasions during the excursion, and even though it was a little difficult for them to make themselves fully understood, they seemed to enjoy being exposed to diverse cultures during this activity. Tomorrow is going to be the last day in Singapore; we hope that all the students will be able to make this study tour fruitful, and get back to Japan safely.

On the second day (11/12 (Tu)), General Course students (Class 2-6) took part in the B&S program in the morning, in which Singaporean university students showed Toba students around the city of Singapore providing information about the city and its local culture, and took lunch together with Toba students. After that, they visited Sigapore Zoo, in which they were able to see animals they can rarely see in Japan, such as giraffes, zebras, and hippos. Global Course students (Class 7 and 8), on the other hand, visited Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, which is a full-time, private Islamic institution providing secondary education, in the morning. In the opening ceremony there, Toba students gave a presentation about Toba High School, and after that they gave several quizes about Singapore and Japan. After the ceremony, Toba students were divided into several groups, and participated in various activities, such as the Malay language, rock climbing, and so on. Tomorrow, all the students are going to walk around the city on their own in groups to see what it is like to be in a different culture, which will undoubtedly give them valuable opportunities to communicate with local people in English.

 

After about a 6-hour-flight, both A Group and B Group separately arrived in Singapore safely, and then had a Chinese dinner at a nearby restaurant. They are going to participate in B&S program of the city excursion tour with Singaporean university students tomorrow morning, and after that, General Course students (Class 2-6) are visiting Singapore Zoo, while Global Course students (Class 7 and 8) are experiencing an enxhange program with an Islamic School called MADRASAH ALIUNIED AL-ISLAMIAH in the morning and having B&S program in the afternoon.

 

 

17 Toba students (15 second year students and 2 first year students) participated in the Round Table Meeting, organized by Kyoto Association of Small and Medium-sized Business, which was held in KYOTO Economy Center on November 2 (Sa). In this event, executives and employees of small and medium-sized companies, students from the University of Fukuchiyama and Toba students were divided into several small groups, and had a heated discussion on how they can provide employment information that can make job applicants fascinated in their business, and after that, several research teams of Toba students made their presentations on their research projects they have been working on in Innovation Studies II. This opportunity gave the Toba students a chance to think of how they will be able to get involved in society and work in it in the future. All the participants of the meeting shared the significance of discussing one focused issue across generations and between people of different social positions.

We visited Kataoka Corporation Shanghai Office on the morning of November 1 (F). After brief introduction of the corporation about how the company established and how the business operates now, Toba students, in turn, made their presentations on their research projects, to which some of the staff members at the office gave their feedback. During our visit at the company, the students were given valuable opportunities to learn what types of personnel the companies based overseas are looking for, what are the merits and demerits of globalization, and how China's economic, political, and social situations are like.

In the afternoon, we visited Shanghai Office of Ishida Corporation, manufacturer of weighing equipment, or various scales. After brief explanation about the company, we were provided with a factory tour to see how various products were manufactured with a helpful assistance of a staff member. During our visit to the company, students asked about the things that are directly related with what they have been working on, such as how easily women are able to work in China and what qualifications and abilities should be required for global human resources.

Even though the time spent at both the companies was limited, it seems that the students were very impressed to look at what is happening on the front lines of the international corporations.

 

 

After leaving Shanghai Pudong International Airport, we visited Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Shanghai Office. After the brief explanation about the organization, we received a lecture about what is going on in the rapidly changing Chinese society and how Japanese companies deal with this huge market. We learned about the social problems China has been facing: declining birthrate and aging population. Toba students asked how new businesses are begun in China, how academic background is evaluated, and how women are involved in social advancement, and so on. The answers to the questions gave the students some new insights into their research projects. It seems that the students have been actively working on various tasks since they arrived in Shanghai, and they are looking forward to learning a lot in this study program.

Some members of the first year Global Course took part in a workshop about reference services of library at Kyoto Prefectural Library as part of Innovation Studies I on October 26 (Sa). They were given a lecture about the basic role played by the library, and they took part in a tour around the facilities of the library. This opportunity gave the students a valuable insight into their research project.

The first year Global Course participated in a workshop, organized by Mr. Sugioka Hidenori, an associate professor at the University of Fukuchiyama, on October 26 (Sa), whose title was "How to Make an Impressive Presentation Which Ignites the Curiosity of Listeners." This workshop provided the students with an opportunity to learn basic skills for effective presentations, through which they realized that it is the listeners of the presentation, not those who make a presentation, that play the leading part in presentation. This made them think of what should be done in order to make their presentations effective and persuasive.

Toba High School accepted 14 students of Lycée Nevers, which is located in southern France, for one-week study experience at Toba on October 15 (Tu). As a kick-off event, we had a ceremonial meeting, in which all the French students met their host families. At the beginning of the event, 3 volunteer students gave their brief presentation about Toba, followed by the gift exchange between both of the schools. After that, all the students had a good time talking with each other using Japanese and English, and got to know each other better, since almost all the Toba students do not speak French well. It seemed that both French and Toba students enjoyed this occasion, and were looking forward to the study experience programs at Toba starting tomorrow.

Today was the last da of the program, and it seems that some of the students fell aspeep while traveling from one place to another on the bus or train, but once they took aprt in the activities, they enjoyed them, which made the staff happy. We had exhange programs at Hanyoung High School, in which various presentations about traditional Korean cultures, such as sweets and games, and the school orchestra played a several tunes for us. During the lunch break, we had a chance to make tteok-bokki, a popular food, together with Hanyoung students, and ate it. The Toba students seemed to be taking part in all the activities actively, and they had intewviews with Hanyoung students about topics of their research projects. Having Finished all the programs, we arrived in Kyoto Station. The students started their prior learning session in June, and they completed all the researches they had planed. Now they have to organize these data they collected during the Study Program into a presentation.

One of the students said, "This Study tour was a great opportunity. The reason is that I was able to talk a lot during the activities with Hanyoung students: during the lunch break, I asked questions about the topic of my research project directly and was able to learn something new, even though it was sometimes very difficult to have Korean people understand what I wanted to express."