Summer program, "International Human Resource Development for Construction of Disaster-Resilient Countries", concludes (3-13 August 2015)

Published on

2015/09/17

From 3 through 13 August, two departments of the Graduate School of Engineering -- Department of Civil and Earth Resources Engineering and Department of Urban Management -- hosted a summer program, "International Human Resource Development for Construction of Disaster-Resilient Countries", in partnership with the Consortium for International Human Resource Development for Disaster-Resilient Countries. This program was organized as part of Kyoto University's "Project to Enhance the Promotion and Support of Internationalization" and focused on the study of "Disaster and Health Risk Management for Liveable Cities". Participants comprised 24 students from eight overseas institutions -- Brawijaya University (Indonesia); Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (Ethiopia); Asian Institute of Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University (Thailand); Vietnam National University; Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia); and National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan) -- together with 15 from Kyoto University and four auditors from Kansai University.

On 3 August, orientation and a welcome party were held with Prof Kayo Inaba, Kyoto University's Vice-President for Gender Equality, International Affairs, and Public Relations, in attendance. The next two days were devoted to field trips with visits to the Hanshin Expressway Earthquake Museum and the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution in Kobe, and Kiyomizu Temple and the Yasaka area in Kyoto, where the participants observed and learned about the local firefighting system. They also operated a fire hydrant. From August 6 through 13, the students attended lectures by faculty members of the Graduate Schools of Engineering and Medicine and two lecturers from outside academic institutions. They also took part in group work, discussing and presenting on what they had learned through the program. The 11-day course concluded with each participant receiving a certificate of completion.