Report on the Business Trip to Canada – March 1st – 9th, 2023
President Ezaki, Professor Matsushita, and I visited Edmonton Alberta from March 1st to March 8th,2023.
March 1stAfter arriving in Edmonton via Vancouver from Narita, a car was rented, and we settled into thehotel.
March 2nd
AM: Conducted online virtual meeting with Vanessa
Ostapchuck of the Edmonton Waste Management Facility. The
facility looks like a good place for our students to see how theissue of waste management is being handled in Alberta,Canada.
PM: Visited and toured the TELUS Science Center. It wasdetermined that this facility would be a good place for students
to learn English while studying simple topics connected toscience.
March 3rd
AM: Visited and toured the South Edmonton facilities for ATCO
Energy. The tour gave us a brief explanation and history of theATCO company and we discussed various engineering sites thatthe students could visit. We then did a tour of the gas pipeline
control center and decided that this would be a very goodeducational opportunity for our students. The subject matter isquite advanced so students will be required to study about thesesites before they go on the trip to Canada.
PM: Visited the Royal Alberta Museum. This site would be a good half-day tour for students that will
help them understand a little bit about the history of the land and people of Alberta, Canada.
March 4th
AM: Conducted a self-guided tour of the university of Alberta Campus.
We walked through various Engineering buildings and Educationbuildings. We ended our tour by examining the physical education
facilities as well. Students will be able to tour the same sites in
September and negotiations are still underway about the activities. We
have been assured that we will have a guided tour for our students in
September at the least. Classroom and lab visits are also possible.

PM: Visited the Old Strathcona and Whyte Avenue areas ofEdmonton. These areas will provide students with a chance to
see local area small businesses and some local Edmonton
historical sites. This will provide the students with a greater
understanding of Canadian authentic modern lifestyle andhistory.

March 5th
AM & PM: Visited the West Edmonton Mall which is one of
the largest shopping centers in the world. It has hundredsof shops, along with restaurants, movie theaters, an ice
rink, water park, hotel, go-kart racing, and indoor theme
park. This will be a great place for students to spend one of
the tour days exploring and shopping in a modern
Canadian shopping center.

March 6th
AM: Visited three different hotels in the South
Edmonton area. These hotels are currently being
contacted and negotiations are underway to secure
cheap, safe, and comfortable rooms for the students.
We then met Ben Feldman from Ross Sheppard forlunch and discussed the possibility of touring someEdmonton engineering sites in September. He has aconnection to the Dean of Engineering at the University of Alberta who alsoowns his own engineering company that is currently building and expanding apublic transit rail system in Edmonton.
PM: Visited the Edmonton Police Service’s Northwest Division and did a tour ofthe facilities. This division is not only a police station. It is also a training andmonitoring facility for all of Edmonton. Students will be able to see inside a realpolice training and policing facility. This could provide a valuable insight andcomparison to similar Japanese facilities.

March 7th
AM & PM: Visited the Northern
Alberta Institute of Technology(NAIT) to meet with the president ofthat school and sign a memorandumof understanding (MOU) between
the two schools. We met with thepresident and 6 members of thestaff and administration. Aftersigning the MOU, we were given atour of the schools various buildings
and departments. We were also given lunch in the school-run restaurant. The nature of thepartnership was discussed, and many future possibilities were put forth including the option of NAIT
staff and students visiting Nagano, Kosen students doing training and internships at NAIT, and thepossibility of creating joint online projects between students and professors of both schools.

March 8thWe returned to Narita from Edmonton via Vancouver.