Cross-Cultural Student Seminar for Communication Training
in Multidisciplinary Field of Study:
Application to Biomedical Engineering
Shigehiro HASHIMOTO
Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Kogakuin University, Tokyo, 163-8677, Japan
shashimoto@cc.kogakuin.ac.jp
http://www.mech.kogakuin.ac.jp/labs/bio/
chance for communication training.
ABSTRACT
Misunderstanding occurs often in multidisciplinary field,
because each field has its own background of thinking.
Communication training is important for students, who have apotential to develop multidisciplinary field. Because eachnation has its own cultural background, communication in aninternational seminar is not easy, either. A cross-cultural
student seminar has been designed for communication training
in multidisciplinary field of study. The seminar has been
applied to biomedical engineering field. Students from varietyof back ground have joined in the seminar. In the presentation
training, each student proposes his own project, which relates tothe biomedical engineering field. After the other students
review the presentation, one project has been selected and its
contents have been discussed in the group of students.
Equations and figures are effective tools for communication in
the field of science.
The seminar works well forcommunication training in the multidisciplinary field of study ofbiomedical engineering.
Keywords: Multidisciplinary Field, Biomedical Engineering,
Cross Culture and Communication.

1. INTRODUCTION
Common base is necessary for communication.
Similarexperiences develop the common-base. When common rules
are defined, the communication becomes easier. That is thereason why you learn language, mathematics, SI unit, etc.

Explanation of a project on biomedical engineering is not sodifficult, while biomedical engineering is interdisciplinary.
Every project in biomedical engineering relates to human-being,
so that people can image the contents related to himself.
In the present study, a cross-cultural student seminar has been
designed for communication training in the multidisciplinary
field of study.

2. METHODS
Presentation training in international student seminar on
biomedical engineering
1)

2)
3)

Visiting departments
1)
2)
3)

Biomedical engineering field is interdisciplinary [1-7]. In thefield, communication is important between engineering andmedicine. Both experimental procedures and technical terms
are different between these fields. Both figures and formula,on the other hand, are convenient tool for communication in theinterdisciplinary fields.
In an international project, you may experiencemisunderstandings, which depend not only on the language, butalso on the cultural background. In a research project ininterdisciplinary field, you also experience misunderstandings,
which depend on the methodological background [7]. In thispoint of view, both international projects and interdisciplinary
projects have common problem. The problem supplies a good

Each student makes presentation on his research plan
related to biomedical engineering (Fig. 1). The slides areavailable for the presentation.
Foreign students of different special field of study review
the presentation, whether it is easy to understand.
After the exercise in the seminar room, students visit some
cultural site, and take training for introduction of theirculture.

4)

International student seminar on “Introduction tobiomedical engineering” (Fig. 2).
Seminar on “How do you create interdisciplinary field
between engineering and biology” (Fig. 3).
Experimental project for students in biomedical
engineering: transportation through membrane, which isclinically applied to the dialyzer (Fig. 4).
Visiting laboratory of biomedical engineering (Fig. 5).

Exercise on “Find a project to be solved in biomedicalengineering field”
1)
2)
3)
4)

Find an interdisciplinary topic, which biomedical engineer
may be interested in.
Make presentations on the topic for a competition.
After the competition, vote a topic for discussion.
Group discussion on the topic (Fig. 6).

Fig. 1: Presentation training in international student seminar on
biomedical engineering.
Fig. 4: Experimental project for students in biomedicalengineering.

Fig. 2: International student seminar on “Introduction tobiomedical engineering”.
Fig. 5: Visiting laboratory of biomedical engineering.

Fig. 3: Seminar on “How do you create interdisciplinary field
between engineering and biology”.
Fig. 6: Exercise on “Find a project to be solved in biomedicalengineering field”.

3. RESULTS
Presentation training in international student seminar on
biomedical engineering
The seminar was held five times in Japan from 2002 to 2010.
Approximately fifteen students from Thailand and fifteen
students from Japan joined in the seminar. It was the firstexperience for Japanese students to make a presentation inEnglish. The evaluation to their presentation was not very
good, but the presentation of every Japanese student wasunderstandable. The figures in the slides might help for Thaistudents to understand the outline. The presentation gave
Japanese students good opportunity to express themselves to theperson of the first meeting. After the seminar, some students
took Thai students to sight seeing in Japanese traditional places.
Some students kept in touch with the participants by e-mail.
Visiting departments
The group of students visited some departments of biomedicalengineering abroad four times, since 2005: USA and Thailand.
It was not easy for the students to understand the lecture in
English. The experimental project for students is familiar toJapanese students, because they have experience to see themedical instruments. Visiting laboratory was interesting forthe students. Students made exchange of ideas looking theexperimental system.
Exercise on “Find a project to be solved in biomedicalengineering field”
The seminar was held in 2011 in Thailand. Five Japanese
students and five Thai students joined in the seminar. The
topic, which every student found, was as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Freeze technique for erythrocyte bank.
Serum for boosting cell regeneration.
Simulator on human nerve system.
Intelligent walking stick for blind-deaf person (both sightand audio assist).
5) Telemedicine network for rural health care (counseling).
6) Controller for emotion of a subject with medicine.
7) Can we distinguish mechanical properties between cancer
cells and normal cells?
8) Collaboration between engineering and medicine to make a
rescue system for a sever accident.
9) Temperature regulator to control viscosity of blood.
10) Tissue engineering for reconstruction of cartilage.

“Intelligent walking stick for blind-deaf person” was selected
for discussion. Students found several different back-groundbetween countries through the discussion: traffic situation in thecity, etc.

4. DISCUSSION
Recently, we have many tools for communication. Althoughe-mail system is very convenient for communication,communication on face to face has more information than digital
signals: movement, atmosphere, and many expressions.
Letters can reveal feeling by hand writing. Telephone can givetone of the voice. Shaking hands tells temperature, and forceof muscle. Paying attention to the background is important forcommunication training. You may surprise if some language
systems do not have a term, which means “Reflection”. Theculture might be positive.
At the beginning, students tend to pay attention to the language
itself. After the seminar, students found: "it is easy to find therule, but difficult to understand the background". The common
background of “Biomedical Engineering” helps them find a wayof thinking.
The shocking experience of cross cultural seminar makes
students to notice “It is important to understand the backgroundof thinking to learn multidisciplinary field of study”. One ofthe students advanced the experience to the internship abroad.

5. CONCLUSION
A cross-cultural student seminar has been designed and applied
to the biomedical engineering field. The seminar works wellfor communication training in the multidisciplinary field ofstudy of biomedical engineering.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Authors are thankful to Dr. Mana Sriyudthsak of Chulalongkorn
University, Dr. Jackrit Suthakorn of Mahidol University, Prof.
Robert A. Linsenmaier of Northwestern University, to Prof.
Richard L. Magin of University of Illinois at Chicago, forcollaboration to our project.

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