From August 31 to September 4, the Environmental Management Course in the Environmental and Social Infrastructure program of the School of Engineering, Okayama University, held the OU Course in the NTU-MAK-OU Exchange Program: Research Experiences in the Field of SDGs Field Environmental Science (hereinafter, the “OU Course”).

The program was attended by nine second-year students from the Environmental Management Course. Twelve undergraduate students from National Taiwan University (NTU), accompanied by Assistant Professor CHANG Feng-Hsun and administrative staff member WU Cailing, and three undergraduate students from Makerere University (MAK), accompanied by Assistant Professor Sam Cherotich, also participated in the program at Okayama University.

At the opening ceremony, Dean Norikazu Takahashi of the School of Engineering delivered welcoming remarks, followed by an introduction to the Environmental Management Course by Professor Shin-ichi Nishimura, Course Director, and a presentation on Okayama’s culture by graduate students from Okayama University.

The participating students attended eight lectures covering a range of environmental science and engineering topics, given by Professor Morihiro Maeda, Professor Hiroaki Somura, Professor Yasushi Mori, Associate Professor Ayumi Hashiguchi, Associate Professor Ryoji Kudo, Associate Professor Toshifumi Shibata, Assistant Professor HABUER, and Assistant Professor Koki Katsuhara, as well as Associate Professor Hidenori Harada of Kyoto University. During laboratory tours, the students had the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge research activities. At a research presentation session, they presented what they had learned through the lectures and laboratory tours to other groups and faculty members.

As part of a field trip, the students visited the construction site of the Kojima Bay Closure Dyke Seismic Reinforcement project. After receiving an overview of the seismic reinforcement work from Deputy Director Shunji Harigai and staff member Sei Sato of the Okayama South Land Improvement Construction Office, Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, they toured the construction site.

The students also visited the Marugame Main Irrigation Canal with Ecosystem-Conservation Design, Mannoike Pond, and the Kozumori Pond Canal with Ecosystem-Conservation
Design. Section Chief Akira Yajima of the Shikoku Land Improvement Survey and Management Office, Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Mitsuo Saito of Wesco Inc. explained environmentally considerate construction methods for agricultural canals, conservation of aquatic organisms, and the history and significance of Mannoike Pond, which is recognized as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure.

Prior to the OU Course, the NTU Course was held in Taipei from August 10 to 14. The same nine Okayama University students who participated in the OU Course also took part in this course. Following an opening ceremony and campus tour, the students attended lectures on topics including water infiltration in unsaturated soils; watershed management, modeling, and analysis; greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in soil environments; climate change mitigation in the built environment; probabilistic slope stability risk analysis; circular economy technologies and carbon dioxide removal; water resources management and system dynamics modeling; urban drainage and fluid dynamics simulations; and biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services in aquatic environments.

The students also visited the irrigation management system of the tea plantations in Pinglin, where they learned about practical applications of the knowledge covered in the lectures.

Through these activities, students from the three universities gained insights into different approaches to environmental research and the latest research findings at partner institutions. They also experienced the enjoyment of communicating in English with students from other countries. The program also provided an opportunity to showcase the educational and research activities that the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology have developed over the years. This led to discussions on further faculty and student exchanges and potential collaborative research.

Building on the success of this program, the Environmental Management Course of the School of Engineering plans to further promote international exchanges among students and faculty members.

This bilateral exchange program has been held annually since fiscal 2022 with support from Wesco Inc. The OU Course was also supported by the JST Sakura Science Program.

We would like to express our gratitude here. For more detailed information, please visit the URLs below.
31 August to 4 September 2026　OU course in the NTU-MAK-OU Exchange Program
10 to 14 August 2026　NTU Summer Course 2026 in the NTU-OU Exchange Program

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