2019. 12. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.86
PDM (Ph.D. of Disaster Management Program),
Kansai University and PDM Summer CampThis article is supposed to be the information exchange for the international
activities/international courses in civil engineering. As the course of civil engineering
education in Kansai University, there has been Faculty of Environmental and Urban
Engineering in the main campus of Kansai University. However, the field for civilengineers’ activity is not limited in the traditional field of civil engineering, but it isspreading into multi-disciplinary field such as disaster mitigation and accident
prevention. Thus, this time, I would like to introduce graduate school education inKoji Ichii

Faculty of Societal Safety Science and Graduate School of Societal Safety Science in （Kansai University）
Kansai University, which relate to the field of civil engineering.
The Faculty of Societal Safety Science and Graduate School of Societal Safety Science in Kansai University
were founded in 2010, and these are quite new educational programs. The programs are committed to thedevelopment of human resource equipped with practical skills to analyze safety problems that abound in modern
society and formulate proposals for possible solutions. Although the number of faculty staff is not quite large(full-time faculty staff is less than 30), the faculty staff deals with various research field such as engineering,law, psychology, sociology, economics, etc. Currently, five faculty staff members with the background of civilengineering are working on various disasters such as tsunami, flood, geo-disaster, and earthquake engineering.
There are not so many faculties which condcut the research/education of safety of society, focusing on disasters
and accidents. Especially, it may be the only educational program to solve problems related to the safety ofsociety, from both perspectives of social science and natural science including the staff of civil engineering
background. However, the education from both sides of social science and natural science is not easy. Especially,
it is quite difficult to offer that in English. For example, you can imagine how hard it would be to discuss Japanese
legal systems in English (of course, the related laws are written in Japanese), and vice versa. I recently haverecognized that the field of civil engineering is more easy to work together in global, with less feeling of thebarriers from language and country differences.
However, the recent circumstances imposes Japanese universities to offer the international education program.
For example, in order to teach appropriate international communication skills to Japanese students, it is necessary
to provide them with many opportunities to meet foreign students. Of course, it might be too much to have thegoal as “half of the classes in schools shall be conducted in English.” It is obvious that most of Japanese students
who have just graduated from regular high schools cannot understand the contents of the classes, if the classes
are in English. The important thing is the skills to work without allergic reactions to foreign languages. The1

skills include the usage of translation systems in internet, such as google translation. I think these skills can beobtained in the opportunity which they work with foreign students.
As a result of discussions of the necessity to enhance international education, the Graduate School of Societal
Safety Science in Kansai University launched English-based Ph.D. Program: PDM(Ph.D. of DisasterManagement Program). Some of the faculty staff deliver classes in English. In addition to writing dissertation,
students are required to take at least three lecture classes such as psychology of societal safety, risk management,economics of disasters and policy analysis for disaster reduction, urban disaster reduction planning.
As the celebration of the 10th year of the faculty and launchof PDM, we have international symposiums and students
summer camp in 2019. In the summer camp, some students
from related universities in Asia were invited, and theseinvited students together with students from Kansai
University did some group works. Total 17 students from 7
universities in 7 countries including Kansai University(Figure 1) spent together in a seminar house of Kansai
university for one week. They were requested to compare

Figure 1 The Universities of the Participants inPDM Summer Camp 2019 in Kansai University

between disasters in Japan and those in other countries. In
addition, they were requested to make a proposal about disastermitigation based on the comparisons and anaylses that they made.
Their group work results were introduced by oral and poster
presentations at the international symposium. Photo 1 shows theparticipants of the summer camp, and Photo 2 does their posters witha Ph.D. student in PDM from ITB, Indonesia. Each student groupmade 2 posters for the comparison of disasters and the proposal ofcountermeasures, and heated discussions were carried out in thePhoto 1 Participants of PDM SummerCamp 2019 in Kansai University

poster presentation.
Most of the participants said, “I was really nervous to join theprogram at first”; however, all of them got good experiences making
friends with each other. Some students also said, “We need to be
familiarize ourselves with each other to complete such heavy tasks
in a short time.” It is true that the tasks were so heavy to finish within
one week, and some students regret that they couldn’t complete task
at a satisfactory level due to the limitation of time. Anyway,
including their feeling of regret, it was a good educational program.

Photo 2 Posters of the Group Works(4 Groups and 2 Posters from EachGroup) and a Ph.D. Student of PDM
Program, Kansai University (Ms. Karina
Sujatmiko from ITB, Indonesia)

At least for me, I am really satisfied with the program, since thestudents had quite good facial expressions showing their growth. Ina sense, it was a really happy time for me as a teacher.
The preparation of such international activity is quite tough, and it also costs much. Thus, it is difficult to havesummer camp every year. For PDM, Kansai University, not the memorial event but the continuous andsubstantial education in the program is the most important task. Anyway, sharing of good practices and know2

how to conduct activities are important for us, and I am very happy if this article is informative for you.
【Reported by Koji Ichii, Professor, The Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University】

Report on the JSCE Open Campus 2019
Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides,andriver inundations frequently occur throughout Japan, whichhighlight the importance of civil engineering. The JSCE
Communications and Public Relations Center has held theJSCE Open Campus since 2017 as part of its efforts tocommunicate the attractiveness of civil engineering, which isessential for a safe and secure life, and to boost interest in civilengineering.
For this event, we open the headquarter premises of the Japan

Experiment of Landslide DisasterSociety of Civil Engineers to the public. Using materials,technologies, and knowledge of the Society and its members,
we provide opportunities for “listening to”, “looking at”, and“touching” civil engineering. As a result of proactive public
relations activities at places such as local elementary schools,
283 people (138% year on year) visited the third Open Campus
this year. Six committee members from sectors including
investigation and research participated as staff in the event, andentertained visitors by demonstrating the attractiveness of civilengineering.
In Doboku-Fureai Festa (an event to enjoy civil engineering),

Staff of JSCE Open Campus 2019
Ca

which is popular among children, there were 10 experiencebased programs on the themes of the mechanism of landslidedisasters, the shapes of bridges and tunnels, the water qualityof tap water and nearby rivers, the material characteristics ofconcrete, disaster prevention, etc. These programs wereintended to make children enjoy learning about civilengineering.
With the Olympics approaching in 2020, in the special

Making Accessories with Concrete

exhibition 1964 Tokyo Olympics, we displayed magazines and videos published in 1964 and valuable exhibits
from the collection of the JSCE Library. Engineering drawings used for the construction of the Tokaido
Shinkansen, scenes from the construction, and the achievements of civil engineers were presented.
Seven movies were shown at Doboku Theater (civil engineering theater). The purpose was to help visitors learn
about civil engineering by watching movies that won prizes in the Japan Society of Civil Engineers Movie
Contest in the past.
According to a survey of visitors, many adults and children were “attracted to and interested in civil engineering,”suggesting that the event achieved its purpose. For the fourth Japan Society of Civil Engineers Open Campus
3next year, we expect to welcome more visitors, enhance public relations activities targeting local residents inparticular, and effectively distribute information before and after the event.
【Report by JSCE Communications and Public Relations Center/
Attractiveness of Civil Engineering Group, Citizen Exchange Group】

Report on JSCE Study Tour Grant 2019
Since 1992, the Committee on International Scientific Exchange Fund has run the Study Tour Grant (STG)
program with financial support from the JSCE International Scientific Exchange Fund Charitable Trust. The
purpose of this program is to foster civil engineers who will be able to serve as bridges between Japan andoverseas, through inviting talented students and young engineers who are studying civil engineering and arerecommended by overseas academic societies with which we have agreements and overseas subcommittees, andthrough deepening relationships with Japanese civil engineers working in the field.
This year, we had one participant from each of Myanmar, Vietnam, Mongolia, Turkey, the Philippines, Thailand,and Bangladesh. During one week from September 1 to 7, they learned about civil engineering technologies inJapan and boosted exchanges with Japanese civil engineers and researchers.

STG Participants
Name

Recommending Organization

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Lan

Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations (VFCEA)

Mr. Munkhsaikhan Battumur

Mongolian Association of Civil Engineers (MACE)

Mr. Wai Yar Aung

Myanmar Engineering Society (MES)

Mr. Gül Pinar Avci

JSCE Turkey Section

Mr. Mark Allen T. ZapantaPhilippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE)

Mr. Washirawat Praphatsorn

JSCE Thailand Section

Mr. Omar Faruqe Hamim

Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB)

On September 2, the first day of the program, the participants
visited the Nishichofu Complex of Kajima Technical ResearchInstitute. During the tour, we explained the purpose of STG andthe schedule during their stay in Japan. Then, they visited
construction sites, such as the tunnel connecting the terminals ofTokyo International Airport (a joint venture between Shimizu
Corporation and Penta Ocean Construction). After the visit, theparticipants flew to Takamatsu.
The JSCE Annual Meeting started on September 3, the second

The Tunnel Construction Site of TokyoInternational Airport

day of the program. In the morning, STG participants joined the21st International Summer Symposium held at Kagawa University and presented their research papers. Through4the presentations, they actively exchanged opinions with international students studying in Japan. In theafternoon, Assistant Professor Ji Dang of Saitama University and two of his international students joined. They
went to Teshima and listened to a lecture on the background of a case of illegal dumping of industrial waste andthe state of recovery. In the evening, they returned to Kagawa University for a networking reception hosted by
the International Activities Center.
In the morning of September 4, the STG participants and guests from overseas visited the Kabagawa Damconstruction site and Sanuki Mannou National Park. In the afternoon, they took a bus via the Shimanami Kaido
to Kure City, Hiroshima, where the hotel was located.
The next morning, accompanied by Professor Yusuke Kanda and Associate Professor Daisuke Tanikawa of theNational Institute of Technology, Kure College, the participants visited a site where reconstruction was underway
from the disaster caused by heavy rain which hit Higashi-Hiroshima City in July 2018. The destinations in theafternoon were Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. After visiting thesesites, they went to the dike of Misasa River, which was being restored after being damaged by the heavy rain in
Higashi-Hiroshima City, and saw the reality of rehabilitating a dike. The participants then traveled from
Hiroshima to Kobe by Shinkansen train in the evening.
In the morning of September 6, they visited the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Museum. They thenvisited Maiko Marine Promenade in the afternoon to see the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the world’s longest
suspension bridge. After returning to Sannomiya Station, the participants enjoyed sightseeing around the station.
On September 7, they flew back to their countries from Kansai International Airport.
In conclusion, thanks to the assistance of everyone involved, particularly the Shikoku Regional Development
Bureau and Chugoku Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism, the program was concluded successfully and smoothly. We express our sincere gratitude and hope toreceive your ongoing cooperation.
【Reported by Committee on International Scientific Exchange Fund】

The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC)

37th Executive Committee Meeting in Goa, India
1. Overview
The Executive Committee Meeting (ECM), the highest-level decision-making body of ACECC, was held from
September 25 to 27 in Goa, India. In the 37th ECM, meetings of the Technical Coordinating Committee and thePlanning Committee were held on day one. On day 2, the ECM was held with the participation of representativesof each member organization, and decisions on the agenda of the previous day were made. A ceremony tocelebrate the 20th anniversary of ACECC was held in the morning of day 3, and symposia of TC17 and TC23
were held in the afternoon.
This report outlines the deliberations approved at the ECM, matters to be reported, and the 20th anniversary
5ceremony of ACECC.
2. Technical Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM)
At the Technical Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM), a report on the activities of the TechnicalCommittee (TC) that are currently under way within the framework of ACECC was made, and the contents ofthe report were approved. Among the activities, reports on TC16 (Technical Committee concerning ITS for
resolvingurbancity

trafficproblems)andTC21(TechnicalCommittee

concerning

disasterreduction/prevention), in which JSCE plays a leading role, were delivered. TC16 reported that CECAR8 was its
last activity, and TC21 reported on its activities during the last three years and the future course of action for
CECAR9.
3. Planning Committee Meeting (PCM)
On behalf of JSCE, Hironori Kato, Chairperson of the Committeeon Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council, made asummary report on the results of CECAR8 held in April 2019 inTokyo. Participants of PCM spoke highly of the success ofCECAR8. Also, the Institution of Civil Engineers, India (ICE, I)
reported on the status of preparations for CECAR9 to be held from
September 21 to 23, 2022 in Goa, India. The theme of CECAR9is Sustainable Design and Eco Technologies for Infrastructure.

Prof. Kato Reports the Summary of theCECAR8Please visit the official site of CECAR9 (http://cecar9.com/) for
further information.
4. Executive Committee Meeting (ECM)
At the ECM, items that were accepted at PCM and TCCM held on the previous day were re-approved. After theelection for the next Secretary General, Dr. Udai P. Singh of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
was approved as the next Secretary General.
Regarding future Executive Committee Meetings, it was decided that the 38th ECM is to be held from March
12 to 14, 2020 in Karachi, Pakistan, and the 39th ECM in the fall of 2020 in the Philippines.
5. ACECC 20th Anniversary Ceremony
Commemorating the 20th year since the establishment of ACECC, the 20th anniversary ceremony was held on
September 27, the date that ACECC was established. In the ceremony, Dr. Kenichi Horikoshi, Secretary Generalof ACECC, gave a talk on the 20-year history of ACECC and its activities.
Then, Dr. Osamu Kusakabe, the former chairperson of ACECC who has been engaged in its activities sinceestablishment, talked about the background and significance of the establishment of ACECC and its role inpromoting multilateral international cooperation in the future.
Dr. R. M. Vasan, the current chairperson of ACECC, announced the course of action of ACECC for the next 10years. The ceremony ended on a high note.
6. Conclusion
The ACECC secretariat will be transferred from JSCE to ASCE, in line with the change of ACECC Secretary
General. We would like to keep conducting useful activities and making contributions within the framework ofACECC in cooperation with JSCE International Activities Center.
6

The ACECC 20th Anniversary Ceremony

Dr. Kusakabe Delivers a Presentation

ACECC Members【Reported by Masashi Inoue, Committee on ACECC】

Updates◆Up-coming Events

1. 2019 Joint Company Information Session in Tokyo (December 7, 2019)http://www.jsce-int.org/node/642
2. 3rd Seminar on the Dissemination of Japanese Technical Standards Overseas (December 17, 2019)http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/154
3. The 4th Engineers’ Lounge “DOBOKU” (December 23, 2019)http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/155
4. Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders Symposium Series No.15 (February 5, 2020)◆JSPS-sponsored Seminar on Concrete Technology“Japan's Experience on Durability and Maintenance of Concrete Structures”(13:00-17:00, December 20, 2019@Hochiminh City University of Technology)
https://www.facebook.com/JSCE.en/posts/3103916639637700◆Civil Engineering Design Prize 2019http://design-prize.sakura.ne.jp/◆jhappy - JICA’s Grant Aid Cooperation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhappy20161110/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jhappy_official◆The International Infrastructure Archives– A Compilation of Japan’s Greatest Projects in Transfer of Civil Engineering Technology in Service –http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive/◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/118◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 104, No.12, December 2019http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Journal of JSCE
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce§ IAC News Subscription §The IAC News is one of the communication tools to share information and ideas with the members. We would like to invite
you, your friends and colleagues to join the communication and to subscribe the IAC News. Please register online:(http://www.jsce-int.org/node/150). We look forward to meeting you.

7§ IAC Facebook §Recent activity of International Activities Center is introduced on this Facebook. Please see this home page.
(https://www.facebook.com/JSCE.en)
Comments and Questions
Please send us your feedback and comments to help us improve the IAC news. We look forward to hearing from you.
JSCE IAC: iac-news@jsce.or.jp

8