2022.11.02

Students and faculty members from Nagaoka University of Technology took part in JSTS 2022, organized by the National Institute of Technology, Kagoshima College.

The Japan Seminar on Technology for Sustainability (JSTS), organized by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), is a student-led seminar co-sponsored by Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT) and Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT). This academic year, for JSTS 2022, NIT, Kagoshima College was involved in running the event as the institution in charge.

JSTS 2022 was held over five days from Monday, September 12 to Friday, September 16 and adopted a hybrid format—online and in person at the venue in Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture. The seminar explored the theme of “Realization of “Super-smart society and clean energy” that leads to social happiness,” with 62 participants from Colleges of Technology (KOSEN) across Japan, NUT and TUT, and universities in Malaysia, Thailand, and Finland, divided into nine groups.

In advance of the seminar, our students prepared for their presentations on the final day by learning about the SDGs, engaging in group work, and discussing the themes following activities such as on-site observations. On the day, some of the participants also took on roles such as facilitator in each group, helping to ensure that the group activities proceeded smoothly.

Because the seminar was conducted in English, our Assistant Professor Nur Adlin and University Education Administrator (UEA) Dr. KATSUMI Mami provided pre-seminar training prior to the event. Asst. Prof. Adlin’s facilitator training, delivered in English, focused on the role of a facilitator, including how to bring groups together for events conducted in a hybrid format (in-person and online) and the skills needed to facilitate problem-solving. UEA Dr. Katsumi’s group discussion training, delivered in both Japanese and English, included an explanation of roles other than facilitator, and key points for facilitating group work, such as generating ideas through brainstorming and checking aspects of English communication.

We will continue to support the effort to nurture human resources who can contribute to solving social issues from an SDG perspective in the future.