On June 19-28 July 2016, one of MPPDAS student Desy Wahyuning Tyas joined in Sakura Science Program in Chiba University Japan. Sakura Science Program is a program for enhancing exchanges between Asia and Japan of the youths who will play crucial role in the future field of science and technology through the close collaboration of industry-academia-government. The program is a new project beginning in April 2014, held and funded by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The program facilitates short-term visits of competent Asian youths to Japan for learning science and technology. The program aims at rising the interest of Asia youths toward the leading Japanese science and technologies at Japan universities, research institutions and private companies. The program want to promote science and technology as well as culture of Japan to Asia youths.
Every period, JST receive visitation proposals from educational institutions, local governments, foundations, semi-public corporation, and business enterprises. One of them is Chiba University. Faculty of Education on behalf Chiba University hosted Sakura Science Program for the first time on July 2016. Although it was the first Sakura Science Program, all activities were well planned. There were 10 participants from Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippine, and Thailand. We are bachelor and master students of varying majors. They were education, geography, biology, and engineering. In 10 days of Sakura Science Project, Faculty of Education of Chiba University provide tight and interesting activities. We met other staffs, lecturers, and students who involved in this program in the first day in a simple welcoming party (Fig 1).
Figure 1. Simple and cozy welcoming party held by lecturers, staffs, and students of Faculty of Education, Chiba University
The second until the ninth day, the program provide science experiment class, high school visits as well as cultural visits (Fig. 2). The science experiment were all basic things in biological, medical, physic, chemistry, and geography. The classes were so interesting because we did not only read and listen the material, but also did something. In the other day, we visited high school and made some interactive science games with participant. The program took students to visit Japan Science Museum and Sakura Historical Museum, assisted by University as well as High school students. In the Japan Science Museum, participants saw many science and technology applied on games, daily life as well as others field like medical, transportation, etc. While in the Sakura Historical Museum, participants learned Japanese history include their historical and traditional food, houses, cloths, samurai, etc. All participants also shared and told each other about our own history and culture.
Figure 2. Learning redox reaction in Chemistry experiment class
All of activities, participants, lecturers, Japanese students, as well as people and public facilities were very helpful and interesting. However, it would be much more impresive if the host add other subjects related geography or other appropriate subjects to their participant background. Over all, everything was very well organized and students learned more about science as well as culture. JST via Chiba University made the Sakura Science Program’s goal to promote Japanese science, technology and cultural wealth to Asian youths. Every participants are impressed and wishing to come back to Japan for studying as well as working related science and technology.