Eleven-day winter school for ASEAN students held in Kyoto (13–23 January 2015)

The winter school program, "AUN-KU Seminar on Human Security Development and Energy Science"*, took place 13-23 January with the participation of 12 undergraduate students from various ASEAN countries. It was organized by Kyoto University's Human Security Development Educational Unit as part of its ASEAN University Network (AUN)-Kyoto University (KU) Student Mobility Program Toward Human Security Development, which is supported by the Japanese government under the "Re-Inventing Japan Project". The program offered two transferable credits to its participants, who had been selected from a pool of 300 applicants from the 30 AUN member institutions.

Three KU researchers -- Professor Keiichi Ishihara of the Graduate School of Energy Science, Professor Hideki Ohgaki of the Institute of Advanced Energy, and Dr Hiromi Tobina, Lecturer at the Human Security Development Educational Unit -- conducted the 11-day seminar, for the duration of which the participants were enrolled in the Graduate School of Energy Science as short-term exchange students.

The program included nine lectures: "Introduction to Human Security Development", "Current Energy Situation", "Solar Energy", "Energy Technology", "Wind Energy", "Biomass Energy", "Energy Policy and International Relations", "Energy Efficiency", and "Electricity Liberalization". These were delivered by the above and several other KU faculty members -- professors, an associate professor, and an assistant professor variously from the Graduate School of Energy Science, the Graduate School of Economics, and the International Center -- and an associate professor from Doshisha University.

Participants also took part in field trips to several energy-generation facilities -- a thermal power plant in Kainan City, the "Mega Solar" photovoltaic power plant in Arida City, the Yura Wind Farm, and the Hidaka Port New Energy Park (EE Park), all of which are located in Wakayama Prefecture, and a biodiesel power plant in Kyoto, called the Kyoto Municipal Waste Edible Oil Fuel Production Facility -- where the students learned about various aspects of sustainable energy technologies, including the basics, utilization in Japan, and potential social, economic, and technical hurdles to widespread adoption.

Throughout the seminar, the students worked in three groups, engaging in regular discussions and preparing two presentations, both of which were delivered in the latter half of the program. For the presentations, the students were given the task of estimating the energy needs of an imaginary island and to design an adequate energy supply system. After the first presentations, the groups were assigned to discuss and address additional constraints, and prepare to present their solutions on the final day.

When the time came, each group described an industrial structure that would enable the island to achieve sustainable development in the face of given geographical and demographic conditions, the energy requirements of industries involved, and a strategy for meeting both the energy and human security needs of the local population.

In addition to these activities, the seminar participants experienced cultural activities in Kyoto and Wakayama, and enjoyed meeting KU students.

The 12 participants hailing from eight different countries represented diverse fields of study, including engineering, economic development, international studies, environmental management, communication and design sciences, and journalism. The seminar provided them with a valuable opportunity to engage in multinational, multidisciplinary discussions on human security, energy and environment, and other topics of interest. Although most of the students had never spent time in Japan -- some not having traveled outside their home countries at all -- they appeared to adjust quickly to life in Kyoto and enjoy a highly productive 11-day stay.

*AUN = ASEAN University Network; KU = Kyoto University