From 11 through 18 November, five students each from the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) and the Graduate School of Engineering (GSE) took part in an environmental studies program held in Thailand. Five other participants attended from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, five from Mahidol University, Thailand, and four from the Asian Institute of Technology, also Thailand. The total of 24 students represented nine countries and diverse areas of study.
The program encouraged the students to work together on understanding local culture and environmental issues, with opportunities to discuss relevant topics from the perspectives of the students' respective home countries and research interests, so as to foster international and interdisciplinary understanding.
After program leader GSGES Professor Shigeo Fujii delivered opening remarks, participants divided into five groups, where they used presentation posters to share and discuss their research projects at length with fellow members.
On 14 November, the students delivered poster presentations at the International Symposium on Global Environmental Studies Education and Research in Asia, held on Mahidol University's Salaya Campus, sharing their work with a wider audience.
A study tour of Koh Larn Island followed on the 16th, where the group visited a sewage-treatment and other environmental facilities to learn about specific efforts underway in the field.
On the final day, each group delivered presentations on technologies and university initiatives that might be effective in addressing environmental problems identified by the program. Some of the suggestions elicited enthusiastic comments from attending Mahidol U faculty, who pointed out that preparing such compelling presentations must have required extensive group discussion.
Among the program participants were Mahidol U students who had audited GSGES classes during the 2015 and 2016 academic years, and who were delighted to be reunited with their former classmates. The program also fostered new friendships, with some participants forming social media groups to stay in touch with each other after returning home to their respective countries.
The week-long program concluded successfully, and is anticipated to lead to even more active student exchange among participating universities.
Participants sharing their research in a group discussion
Experiencing local cuisine
Poster presentations at the Symposium
Participants chatting
At an environmental facility
Group presentation
