JSPS Summer Program

Bonn Office Reports on Pre-Orientation for Summer Program

On 3 June, JSPS Bonn Office held a pre-departure orientation at the Gustav-Stresemann-Institut for participants of the Summer Program in Japan. The orientation, held this year for the first time, assembled four of the seven German participants in this year's program and nine of the participants in last year's.

The orientation began with self-introductions by the participants; a briefing on JSPS's international activities, including the Summer Program; and an introduction to the German-Japan exchange program implemented by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). After a coffee break, two of last year's participants gave animated presentations on their experiences of living and doing research in Japan under the Summer Program. Then, Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus, chair of the JSPS Club, introduced the participants to the German fellows' alumni association with an eye to inviting their membership upon return from Japan. Lastly, a Q&A session was held on life and research in Japan.

For this year's program participants, the meeting provided a good opportunity to get to know each other as well as to learn from the experiences of the past participants, which all the more spurred their motivation to go to Japan this summer. As for last year's participants, they were both happy to share their experiences and to have the chance to get back together with their Summer Program colleagues. Both gave the meeting high marks and expressed thanks to JSPS for holding it.

NSF Holds Summer Program Orientation

On 4-5 April, the National Science Foundation in the US held an orientation for participants under its East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program. Attending were students bound for Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia. About 60 of the some 150 participating students would attend JSPS's summer program in Japan. The orientation began with a general session for all the participants on the nature and purpose of the NSF program. It was followed from the afternoon of the first day by location-specific meetings. In the one on Japan, JSPS Washington Office director Prof. Akira Masaike and his staff took part in a session for the students scheduled to go to Japan, in which they explained the summer program and provided support for a lecture given on Japanese language and culture.

Pre-Departure Summer Program Meeting & Alumni Fellowship Evening in UK

Pre-departure meeting

In the afternoon of 20 May, a pre-departure meeting, organized by the JSPS London Office and the British Council Japan, was held for participants in the JSPS Summer Program on the premises of the British Council UK. The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize the participants of the Summer Program, while laying the groundwork among them for utilizing their summer experience in continuing collaboration with Japanese colleagues. An explanation was given of the program and information provided on necessary pre-departure preparations. An introduction was also given of JSPS programs that can offer the participants a next step in advancing joint research at Japanese institutions after the Summer Program ends.

Alumni fellowship evening

The meeting started off with remarks by the British Council Japan, followed by a program description from the JSPS London Office. Then, representatives of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, The Royal Society, and The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation offered introductions of UK-Japan exchange carried out by their respective organizations. The British participants said the meeting offered them a good chance to meet their fellow travelers.

Following the meeting, the UK-JSPS Alumni Association held an "Alumni Fellowship Evening." Bringing together researchers who had participated in JSPS programs and others interested in Japan, the event provided a good opportunity for exchanging information on Anglo-Japanese research activities, while expanding communication between researchers of the two countries. It was held at Galerie Besson, where the "living national treasure" Japanese potter Tatsuzo Shimaoka was conducting an exhibition, thus giving the participants, including those who had attended the pre-departure meeting, a unique opportunity to observe firsthand Japanese culture.

These young researchers, it is expected, will contribute to the alumni association's activities upon returning from Japan after the Summer Program, helping to broaden the scope of the Anglo-Japanese research community. Though small in scale, it is hoped that such events will be held in other regions, contributing to similar bilateral research community building in them as well.