On March 5, 2024, Professor Keiichi Ogawa and his four international graduate students, Mr. Danilo Dalmon, Ms. Nadia Bengo, Ms. Sreymech Hoeun, and Mr. Rakibul Hassan visited Himeji Shikisai High School to attend the presentations of the school students. The program was arranged to facilitate high school student’s English speaking and presentation skills so that they could interact with international graduate students. After the self-introduction of the international graduate students, Professor Ogawa made an introductory presentation on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the efforts of international organizations to achieve those goals. The high school students and international graduate students from Kobe University were assigned to different rooms to attend the presentation of the high school students. Eight groups of students presented on eight group topics related to SDGs as follows:
- How can we make our energy use more environmentally friendly?
- How can we make low-cost, healthy, local food for everyone?
- How can we discourage people from buying fast fashion?
- How can we improve schools to be more inclusive?
- How can we change our local behaviors to affect the global climate?
- How can we encourage social participation that leads to equality?
- How can we prevent the media from affecting our mental health?
- How can we improve transportation in our city?
During the presentation, high school students had the opportunity to receive comments and questions from Kobe University international graduate students. That session helped high school students to share their spontaneous responses to the comments from Kobe University international graduate students. After the presentation, there was a free-talk session where high school students could freely interact with Kobe University international graduate students on any topic they liked. Both high school students and Kobe University students could interact on various topics like international graduate student’s life and education in Japan, their thoughts on SDGs, the importance of university education, their research, experiences, and so on.
At the end of the presentation and free-talk session, Professor Ogawa and his international graduate students gave closing speeches. In his closing speech, Professor Ogawa remarked that the high school students made remarkable progress in their English speaking and presentation skills compared to their skills when they visited Kobe University in August 2023. International graduate students echoed Professor Ogawa regarding the progress of the high schoolers, and cordially thanking Professor Ogawa and Himeji Shikisai High School authority for giving them such a wonderful opportunity to visit a Japanese high school, they expressed that it was a great experience for them.
Authored by Rakibul Hassan (Master’s Student)
