2023. 3. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.125
Discussion Session between the Subcommittee for Making Civil
Engineers More Internationally Minded and the UK Section– Issues in Making Civil Engineers More Internationally Minded as Seen from the UK –A discussion session between JSCE’s Subcommittee for Making Civil Engineers More Internationally Mindedand its UK Section was held on January 18, 2023. During the discussion session, after the introduction from theUK Section about the differences between the Japanese and British civil engineering industries (see “theDifferences between the Japanese and British Civil Engineering Industries” in IAC News No.121※), a broad
range of topics such as the gap in the work environment from that of Japan, the problem of Japanese civilengineers’ English proficiency level, globalization issues, and the skills required of top management werediscussed from the first-hand anecdotes of new and former UK Section members with experience working in
the British civil engineering industry. The event contained content that is thought to be beneficial for thoseengaged in the civil engineering industry in Japan, and so the following is a report on what was discussed.
As examples of the gap in the work environment, thedifferent work approaches in Japan and the UK and thetolerance of diversity were mentioned. In comparison to thecivil engineering industry in the UK, which has a large
percentage of personnel of different nationalities and races,
and global companies in Europe where English is the official
language used to communicate within the company, thetolerance of language and cultural aspects at Japanesecompanies have been said to be a possible issue inpromoting diversity and the recruitment of global

London Bridge

personnel.
On the topic of Japanese civil engineers’ problems with English, it was put forward that at present, the lack ofEnglish proficiency of the Japanese in conducting work on the international stage is tied to the low level ofproductivity in operations. In Japan, although English is taught in the department of civil engineering at someuniversities, it was pointed out that this does not necessarily lead to civil engineers working overseas, and thatin order to acquire English proficiency at a level that enables said civil engineers to carry out work globally, itis necessary for English to be taught to students as young as possible as a government scheme and for individuals
to study abroad from their time at university.

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As issues for making civil engineers more internationally minded, it was pointed out that in Europe and America,
the contribution of each society of civil engineers is passionately discussed toward achieving carbon neutrality
by 2050, whereas in contrast, in Japan, there are seemingly delays in addressing this trend. The fact that it isdifficult to access global information due to the language problem can be said to be a major issue in the failure
to keep up with the trends of the international community and possibly advance “Galapagosization” (theisolation of Japan) in Japan’s closed and domestic-focused civil engineering industry.
As skills required by top management, one civil engineer mentioned the importance of “project management
skills”, which are a set of skills different from those acquired in the process of climbing up the career ladder toa management position. It was pointed out that in advancing Japanese companies’ global business in the future,
the strengthening of the management structure and management skills is essential and it is the acquiring of theseskills practically through competition that is the first step to true globalization.
Going forward, Subcommittee for Making Civil Engineers More Internationally Minded will continue holding
discussion sessions while narrowing down some of the key themes that were put forward during the latest
discussion session.
※IAC News No.121: https://www.jsce-int.org/pub/iacnews/121

Fish and chips

Westminster Abbey【Reported by Subcommittee for Making Civil Engineers More Internationally Minded】

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– Student Voice No.12 –Experience is the best teacher
Hello, I am Azam Amir from Pakistan, and am a civil engineer by profession witha master's degree in Structural engineering. I always had a dream to complete mydoctorate in civil engineering at a world-renowned university and my pursuit ofhigher studies enabled me to get in touch with the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan office which facilitated me in getting
admission at Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT), Tokyo, where currently I ama Ph.D. scholar studying under the guidance of Associate professor Dr. Michael
Henry in the “Social Infrastructure Management Laboratory”. After my selectionfor a “Road Asset Management” scholarship program funded by JICA at SIT in
September 2020, I could not physically join the university due to Covid-19
restrictions, but my professor facilitated me in my research and enabled me tojoin my laboratory online which greatly helped me as I was in my home country.

Azam Amir(Regional Environment
System Course, Graduate
School of Engineering andScience,
Shibaura Institute ofTechnology）

After the covid-19 restrictions were relaxed, I arrived in Tokyo in September
2021 and after my arrival, the university student affairs section took good care of me in every aspect fromdocumentation in city hall to providing me accommodation and assisting me with the procedure for inviting myfamily as well.
My experience in Japan has been phenomenal as I am working under the supervision of a very experienced andknowledgeable professor, Dr. Michael Henry, who is well-known for having diversified experience in the fieldof Civil engineering. Michael sensei is currently supervising 11 international students and is providing anexceptionally good research environment to all the students due to his experience. He takes a keen personal
interest in guiding his students in the research subjects and is also concerned about the well-being of the studentswhile the laboratory is well-equipped for conducting research in our relevant fields.
Japan in general and Tokyo in the particular offer amultitude of opportunities and is a truly multicultural
capital as it offers an opportunity to meet and greet people
from all over the world. The city offers many scientific andcultural attractions, which I and my family haveexperienced for the first time in our lives. Japanese society
even though much different from the society where I comefrom has an openness that accommodates people fromdiverse cultures, and one does not feel alien in a shortperiod of time. Since I am living with my family and have

Michael Henry’s Lab

recently enrolled my daughter in a local school and wasamazed to see the school system which is much different from the system in Pakistan but due to the tender careof the teachers, my child has adjusted well to the new environment.

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Having a background in Civil Engineering, the things
that greatly impressed me regarding Japan was how it
has taken great strides in various fields since thesecond world war and has set very high standards foreven western countries to match. The quality, design,and standard of urban infrastructure in Tokyo andother cities in Japan are amazing and breathtaking forany engineer. The urban transport system of Tokyo

Field visit under JICA Road Asset Management
training in Saitama

and the Shinkansen (the bullet train) are all projects
which were launched after the second world war and are an example of the commitment with which theengineers execute the projects to the satisfaction of the masses
and have endured the rigors for almost half a century. I wasgreatly impressed to see the mega structures built in Tokyo, acity that is prone to frequent seismic activities, but theJapanese engineers have developed good seismic codes whichenabled them to build these mega structures which canwithstand the probable seismic activities in the future as welland it strengthens my decision of doing Ph.D. in civilengineering in Japan. I am 100 percent confident that it willbe the best experience of my life and I will effectively utilize

Badminton Team of my international friends inTokyo International Exchange Center, Tokyo

this experience in the future.
Japan has developed in almost all spheres of life but still, the Japanese society has maintained its unique culture
which they are proud of. The society is extremely disciplined, with extremely high work ethics which puts itapart from other nations. Japan has much more to offer for tourists as well, the numerous parks, tree-lined Ginza
Dori shopping mall, museums especially preserving the history of Japan, Japanese food, sports arenas, andseveral other attractions coupled with safety, security, and hospitality of the Japanese people put it apart fromthe other world capitals and is a wonderful experience. The Japanese society is like the symphony of Beethoven,or Mozart or like the music of Ravi Shankar, or like a morning breeze that can be felt but cannot be describedin words.
【Reported by Azam Amir, Shibaura Institute of Technology】

4Updates◆JSCE Feedback Web Form「多門に多聞&多問」
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/chair/node/59◆2022 JSCE Annual Meeting IAC Discussion Follow-up Seminar online
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/320◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/iac_dayori_2023◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 108, No.3 March 2023
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https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce◆5th JSCE Concrete Committee Webinar “Frontiers of Concrete Technology”
https://www.jsce-int.org/node/814◆Concrete Committee Newsletter No.67, (January 2023)
https://www.jsce.or.jp/committee/concrete/e/newsletter/newsletter67/index.html◆The 4th Asian Concrete Federation (ACF) Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Structural Longevity(ACF2022_ETSL): https://acf2022.aconf.org/index.html◆Breakwaters 2023
https://www.ice.org.uk/events/conferences/breakwaters-2023/◆CECAR10：http://www.cecar10.org/◆IABSE Symposium Istanbul 2023
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