RU ACHIEVEMENT
SAKURA EXCHANGE PROGRAM IN SCIENCE
TEN DAYS OF THE EXCHANGE STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN!
10 Raffles University Students from Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and Bachelor of Interior Design (Honours) were selected to participate in the Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science (SAKURA Exchange Program in Science) from 21st June 2018 to 30th June 2018. The program was sponsored by the Science and Technology Agency, and the partner university was Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech).
The Participants
The Crucial Role of the Young Generation in the future field of science and technology
Promoting science and technology is a crucial engine to materialise a bright future of Asia, and it is vitally important to enhance the exchange of youths in Asian countries and Japan who will play a crucial role in the field of science and technology.
Research Topic: The Impact of Virtual Reality (VR) for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through Cognitive Perception
Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science, “SAKURA Exchange Program in Science” is the program for enhancing exchanges between Asia and Japan of the youths who will play a crucial role in the future field of science and technology through the close collaboration of industry-academia-government by facilitating short-term visits of competent Asian youths to Japan. This program aims at raising the interest of Asian youths toward the leading Japanese science and technologies at Japan universities, research institutions and private companies.
Culture Exchange with students of Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech)
Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) is one of the top university in Japan in engineering and architecture since the year of 1905. The students had a campus tour around the campus to experience the NITech student life, the unique culture and to know the academics and programme offered by the NITech.
The RU students had an opportunity to interact with the Japanese students. It was a meaningful cross-cultural experience where the students from both countries would be able to exchange their culture to each other.
The RU students completed a cross-cultural performance in front of the Japanese students. They showed them the Batu Seramban, Indian traditional custom & Saree, Malay song “Rasa Sayang”. Meanwhile, the Japanese students guided RU students to make Japanese local street food – Takoyaki (Octopus Ball).
Attended NITech Associate Professors’ Workshop
- Associate Professor Atsushi SATO’s Lab
The workshop was about the construction materials used in the civil engineering industry in Japan. The three fundamental structural elements that are commonly used in Japan’s construction are reinforced concrete, steel and timber. These fundamental structure elements are served to give enough strength and support for the building. Associate Professor SATO further emphasised the importance of timber as the crucial element to stable a building which can reduce the risk of getting hurt during a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
- Associate Professor Mine SUDO’s Environment Study
RU students were given a chance to expose the effect of temperature in the environment. They experimented on this topic. The takeaway message from this workshop was that people may always overestimate or underestimate the temperature in our environment.
- Associated Professor Masatoki SUTO’s laboratory
RU students were given a chance to experience various situations via a new prototype of VR glasses designed in Associated Professor Masatoki SUTO’s laboratory. Each of the wearable glass given different advantages and disadvantages to the situation.
NITech Students’ Presentation in KITAGAWA’s laboratory
RU students were invited to be the audience of the presentation of NITech students on their research that they had previously conducted. Their presentations included a Q&A session to engage everyone in the room and enable them to gain more knowledge and understanding of their studies.
Special Lectures by RU Lecturers
- “Designing According to Context: TheMalaysian Traditional House.” – Mr Syukri
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of issues with contemporary Malaysian housing such as flooding, the soaring cost of energy bills and invasion of animal species. All these problems should not have happened if we carefully studied how traditional Malaysian houses were designed. This lecture aimed to emphasize some simple solutions to current issues through pilotis system of the traditional Malaysian house.
- “Psychology 360: The way Psychology in our life.” – Dr Samuel Chen
This topic was to explain how psychology influences our life as psychology is part of the arts and science. It is an art because it is part of a lifestyle; however, it is also a science because it follows the pathway of a systematic enterprise that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Therefore, the audiences were invited to join the mystical and mysterious journey of psychology.Dr Samuel also demonstrated how psychology could be applied to our daily lives.
VR Experimental Workshop as part of the Research Study
Raffles students were also invited to participate in an experiment that was about a driving test via VR (virtual reality). This workshop aimed to explore the space with depth of cue and cognitive perception. While driving the VR vehicle, the time to arrive at the final destination and the number of hitting blocks were counted.
The purpose of the research is to reflect the objective of this trip: To study Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through the concept of depth cue and relative size at the Japanese manufacturing industry.
Presentation by RU Student
Before the end of the trip, RU students presented their studies and reflections on this trip. The content included the learning outcome, their observation, their unique experience on cultural difference and exciting activities in this trip. All these contents were related to the OSHA and experience through VR as part of the research.
