Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace
TAO AKATAOYAKA NewsletterVol. 6 Winter 2016
Inside This Issue
Message from Academic
MentorSensing World --------------- 1
Welcome to TAOYAKA!
Opening Ceremony ------ 3
Introduction of New
Student ----------------------- 3

After the final presentation at Onsite Training in Nijo Kominkan, Shimane, August 2016

Message from Academic Mentor

Sensing World
Dr. Ishii: Professor and Academic Mentor
Technical Creation Course Leader

TAOYAKA program is anenterprisingmultidisciplinary
5-year PhD education program inwhich various administrators andinnovators from different cultural,technical, and social academic
fields work together to develop
innovative human resources whoare capable of meeting the demandsof the onsite fields in the
disadvantaged regions of Japanand other developing countries. It
has been three years since the
TAOYAKA Program was launchedin 2014, and I sincerely appreciate
the multidisciplinary students whoare part of our onsite-domain

Onsite Education
Onsite Course Rotation:
Spring 2016
1. Regional Innovation
Based on the Sixth
Industry ---------------- 4
2. Smart Village Park
Design with Solar
Power ------------------ 6
Onsite Training: Summer
2016
Village-Hub
Development in Nijo,
Shimane ---------------- 8
InternshipToshiba India Private
Limited (TIPL) ---------- 10
Gunma University &CSIR-Central Electronics
Engineering ResearchInstitute ----------------- 11
Special Summer Program
2016
Leadership Training
Program at the
University of Texas --- 12
Award Recipient Interview
Three Minutes
Competition for Future
Doctors 2016 ---------- 13
International Workshop
RURAL-URBANSYMBIOSIS -------------- 15

Dr. Idaku Ishii
Technical Creation Course

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 20161

education program in cooperation
with our academic and professional
mentors.
Inspired by the innovative onsite
education system in the TAOYAKA
program that aims to develop
culture-oriented human resources,
Hiroshima
University
haspromoted onsite multidisciplinary
integrated research. The research
focuses on sensing technology,
such as high-speed vision that isfaster than human vision, and its
social im-plementation based on
the key phrase ‘Sensing World’.
The HiSENS Research Center was
established in 2015 as a cuttingedge Center of Excellence (COE)at Hiroshima University. It isevidently different from theconventional technology-based laboratory research that is prone to
Galapagosization. The rest of thisarticle describes the concept andprospects of the HiSENS Center.
[Concept of the HiSENS Center]
The HiSENS Center consists ofthree units that expand on theirrespective research areas: advanced
sensing, technology and policy
management, and internationalsociety
implementation.
Inaddition, based on the central
theme of Sensing World, thisCenter aims to (1) introduce aninterdisciplinary laboratory system
to promote joint research among
various disciplines, (2) establish aninternational
cooperativelaboratory to conduct international
onsite joint research, including thedevelopment of sensing technology
and its social implementation, and(3) provide a HiSENS-integrated
education that includes multiple
disciplines within the TAOYAKA
program. The objective of these2

initiatives is to develop a social
sensingtechnology
andimplementation center that is
unique to Hiroshima University. In
addition, the program aspires topromote global development alongwith the advancement in technology
and field demand.
[Importance Expansion Prospectsof the HiSENS Center]
The HiSENS Center is significant
since it aims to become acomprehensive
researchandeducation center with the intent toevolveadvancedsensingtechnology and im-plementationon the sites. The goal is to promotesensing research with provenresults, such as the world’s fastest
robot eyes. The research will be
conducted in cooperation withresearch groups that focus on social
implementation and have gained
significant
experienceininternational cooperative projects.
This approach has been preferredover the method of conducting
isolated advanced research in thelaboratory. This approach allows
the HiSENS Center to conduct
expansion prospects that differ

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

from the conventional advanced
scientific research that is prone to
Galapagosization.
Most sensing research centers
focus
on
their
respective
disciplines, including sensing,robots,andsemiconductors.
Conversely, the HiSENS Center is
unique in its aims to become asensing research center that is
focused on onsite and adaptive
problem solving research with theaim to evolve technology. Thisevolution will result from an equal
cooperation between the sensing
research group and internationalsocial implementation. Several
social innovation centers, such as
the D-Lab at MIT that designs
products on low-cost technology,
aim to increase the quality of life indeveloping countries. In contrast,
the HiSENS Center is innovative
since it aims to evolve advanced
sensing technology on the sites,
and it is a research center whose
technological domain differs fromthat of conventional social
innovation centers.

Schematic view of the HiSENS

Welcome to TAOYAKA Program!

Opening Ceremony: October, 2016
The sixth opening ceremony of
TAOYAKA Program was held on
October 3, 2016. The members andstudents of the Program warmly
welcomed a new student fromTurkey. Including this student, a
total of 47 students are part of the
program. The students are from 15
countries with various academic
and professional backgrounds.
During the ceremony, the Program
Director of TAOYAKA Program,
Makoto Miyatani (Executive andVice President of Hiroshima
University), gave the opening
address to congratulate andmotivate the new student, ‘From
now, during the 5 years, I
expect you to study hardin order to be a global
leaderandwork
globally’.

design and implement ‘onsite
reverse innovation’ to solve issues
with the aim to actualize amulticultural society.

Along with the senior
students, the new student
is expected to become a
global leader who will

Introduction of New Student

S ocial Implementation Course
Pinar Temocin (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Programin Development Science)

My name is Pinar and I am fromTurkey. My academic backgroundbegan in engineering and philosophy
in Turkey and Germany. Aftercompleting my university degree, I
decided to pursue a career inpeacekeeping and humanitarian

From: Turkey
relief, and I have had internships
on politics and international
relations at various institutes in
Ankara, St Petersburg, and Prague.
My interest and enthusiasm fornumerous fields increased myawareness of some compelling
political situations, and, based onthat, I chose to study European
Studies in Germany, which was
followed by a year of Comparative
Politics and Public Policy inFrance. I wrote my master’s thesison anti-nuclear activism against
the first nuclear power plant inTurkey.
My research project focuses on theefficiency
ofcivil
societyorganizations regarding conflict
resolution and prevention issues.
Generally, I am interested in citizenorganizations’ capacities, grassroots
peace activists, independent activists,and hibakushas (the surviving
victims of the 1945 bombings ofHiroshima and Nagasaki) to work
effectively for peace. Therefore, I
want to initially focus on
Hiroshima’s peace-seeking efforts
through prominent NGOs, anti-war
institutes, local establishments,
regional groups, and so on. In my
doctoral studies, I want to expand
the scope of my research and focus
more on the local people and thenon-violent activities of grassroots
organizations by assessing theFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

3

ways that local peace-building
organizations have worked onbehalf of peace for the Kashmiri
dispute and the Israel-Palestine
conflict (as case studies). I want toinvestigate the interactions between
peace and its promoters by learning
the dynamics and structure of the‘peace’ perception while seeking abetter understanding of theirperformances, political awareness,and constructive dialogues. The
project aims to focus on facilitating
communication
andthecontributions made through theempowerment of local communities
and the new generation of peacebuilders.
I love being involved in public
speakingonenvironmental
philosophy and ecology-related
issues, such as nuclear energy,
climate change, and the ecologicalcrisis. I have spent a significant
amount of time in the past focusing
on expanding my skill set and on
debating. My ultimate goal is toanalyse complex global issues.
After Taoyaka, I plan to enter postdoctoral work at a peace research
institute together with education onpolitical cinema. I want to continue
with a long-term career as an
academic conducting research onsocial integration projects in
disadvantaged regions. I consider
myself a researcher with diverse
experiences in multiple regions
around the world.

Onsite Education

Onsite Course Rotation: Spring 2016

The first stage of the onsite education which consists of six classes including a one-day
onsite visit

1. Regional Innovation Based on the Sixth Industry:
Fukutomi-town, Higashi-Hiroshima
April 15~June 3, 2016

By Nao Ishikawa
Special-Appointment Associate Professor, Graduate School of Letters

1. Summary
The theme for this onsite visit was‘Regional Innovation based on
sixth industry’. Sixth industry
refers to the combination ofprimary, secondary, and tertiary
sectors of industry. In some cases,
large
companiesinJapan
monopolize the second and third
industries. In the recent times, thefirst industry, such as agriculture,
has become a supplier or
subcontractor of materials for thesecond and third industries. The
sixth industry aims for the
economic independence of firstindustry by adding value toagricultural products.

4

The basic objective of the Cultural
Creation Course is to understandthe
regionbasedonits
characteristics, such as the daily
life of the locals, industry, andhistory. To achieve this goal, first

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016we
provided
students
theopportunity to visit the area,interview the local people, andidentify the regional structure andchallenges.

Listening to the interview at the Farm Cadore

Our target area was Fukutomi town
in Higashi-Hiroshima city. We
visited three facilities: Farm
Cadore, Fukutomi Dam andRoadside station, and Shakunage
store. The sixth industry can bedivided into two types: (1)Business-oriented type aims toincrease competitiveness andpromoteemployment.
(2)
Community-oriented type aims toincrease collaboration among
farmers and improve the life andsocial ties in the community.

2. Visited Facilities(1) Uenohara Farm Cadore
Uenohara Farm Cadore is based on
the business-oriented type ofindustry. Their base industry isdairy farming. We interviewed
Mrs. Ueda who is the Chief
Director of Cadore and the wife ofCadore’s president.
We learned the history of thecompany and its development as
the sixth industry. Mr. Ueda’s
parents started dairy farming in the
1970s in Fukutomi. Mr. Ueda
joined the farming business inInterviewing Mrs. Ueda, Chief Director of theFarm Cadore

1987. For him, the first 10 years
were a period of trial and error. He
was concerned with improving thisbusiness. There were two options:to increase the number of cows or
to add value to the farm products.
Mr. Ueda chose to shift to the sixth
industry by processing dairy
products. Currently, Mr. and Mrs.
Ueda run multiple operations. They
manage a gelato shop, restaurant,
cheese factory, and café.
(2) Fukutomi Dam and RoadsidestationThe roadside station has two mainfunctions: (1) as a rest-stop facility
on general roads and (2) for local
development. The roadside station
originated in Hiroshima prefecture.
A private group, which wasconsidering ways to develop
regions, proposed the idea of aroadside station in 1990, and thenthe Japanese government adopted
it. Therefore, it is a good example
of bottom-up development.

Fukutomi Dam

The Fukutomi dam was constructed
in 2009 and it greatly influenced
the development of Fukutomi
town, especially when 90 ha of theland submerged and 41 households
had to migrate for the constructionof the dam. A new community wasbuilt near the dam for the
resettlement of residents. One ofthese facilities is ‘Roadside station
Fukutomi’. It is one of the biggest
roadside stations in Hiroshima
prefecture. The facility is an
economic hub because, besides a

In front of the Shakunage Storeparking area, it has a farmers’market, playground, auditorium,and camping site. The sales profit
is around 200 million yen per year.
(3) Shakunage store of Fukutomi
products
The store is an example of thecommunity-oriented
typeof
industry. It was built by the
Fukutomi town office in 2002.
The store is managed by a group ofnine local farmers. They process
and sell their agricultural products
at the store. They have a farmers’market, a shop selling homemade
processed food, and a restaurant.
According to Mr. Mizuwaki, thedirector of the Shakunage store, thestore positively affected them andadded to their source of income.
First, the facility is a place forcommunication among the locals
and visitors. Second, it provides
employment to many female
farmers. While working, theyexchange information and shareideas. The store motivates them.
They work enthusiastically andthis attracts more customers to thestore.

Interviewing Mr. Mizuwaki, Director of the
Shakunage store

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 20165

3. Activities

Technical Creation Course

After onsite visits, the students
conducted a series of activities.
They were divided based on theircourses, had discussions, and madepresentations. There were twotasks that involved group work.
The first task was to make twomodels of regional innovation
through the sixth industry based on
two actual cases, such as the Farm
Cadore and Shakunage store. The
second one was to propose ageneral model to facilitate regionalinnovation through the sixth
industry in disadvantaged areas inJapan.
On the day of presentation, threegroups presented. Each groupsuccessfully described their uniquemodel from the perspective of theircourse. They inspired each otherand understood the importance ofmultidisciplinary cooperation to
make effective contribution for theregions.

Cultural Creation Course

Social Implementation CourseGroup Photo at the Farm Cadore

2. Smart Village Park Design with Solar Power:
Kodani, Higashi-HiroshimaJune 6~July 29, 2016

By Sonoko WatanabeSpecial-Appointment Lecturer, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

BackgroundPhoto2: The Kodani Community Photovoltaic Power Station

6

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

The second module of onsite
course rotation in AY2016 was
conducted on the theme of ‘Kodani
smart village park design with
community photovoltaic power
station’ from June 6 to July 29,
2016. The purpose of this course
was to develop the students’practical knowledge and onsite
learning. In addition, the course
aimed to promote an understandingof the current onsite scenario andtrain students to develop the ability

to analyse the problem structure
using
the
problem-solving
approach through discussions withstudents from diverse backgrounds.
Kodani is located in the easternpart of Higashi-Hiroshima with apopulation of approximately 4,500
people. The major facilities are the
Shiraichi JR station, Kodani
Service Area of Sanyo Expressway,
and Ohsora housing complex. Over80 percent of Kodani residents livein this housing complex, which
was constructed in the 1970s.
The Kodani community is working
to improve the overall attraction of
the towns and develop the local
resources, such as renewableenergy.

Taoyaka Open Seminar
On June 6, three keynote lectures
were delivered by Mr. Tateo
Kaguri, (Director of Organization
for
KodaniCommunity
Development), Mr. Yoshiyuki Date
(ManagerofEngineering
Department, Energia Solution &Service Co.), and Prof. Naoto
Yorino (Graduate School ofEngineering,
Hiroshima
University). First, Mr. Kaguri
presented the community historyof Kodani area and the issues facedby the local community.
In the next lecture, Mr. Datedescribed the various innovative
approaches in the technology andthemanagementofsolar
photovoltaics. Finally, Prof. Yorino
showed the development of a newenergy system that was suited for asmart village park design. In
addition, he mentioned the trend ofresearch on smart village and clean
energies and the innovative
progress of solar power generation.
Through these lectures, students
understood regional development
from
three
perspectives:
community,
company,
andresearch.
Moreover, they recognized theneed to address the challenge of aregion while maintaining active
communities and appropriatetechnology development.

Onsite Visit
On July 1, seventeen students of
Taoyaka participated in an onsite
visit to the Fukuyama and Kodani
areas. During the morning session,
they visited the Fukuyama NextGeneration Energy Park, wherevisitors can experience nextgeneration energy (Photo 1).

Photo1: The Fukuyama Next-Generation
Energy Park

The main purpose of this visit wastoobservethe
Fukuyama
Photovoltaic Power Station and the
Fukuyama recycle plaza andunderstand the characteristics of alarge-scale solar power generation
system and technology that uses regenerable energy efficiently. In theafternoon session, they moved tothe planned construction site of the
Kodani Community Photovoltaic
Power Station and were instructed
about the development of clean
energy and smart communities for
efficient energy use in the region(Photo 2). The power station is
located near the Kodani Service
Area and the energy produced will
be supplied to the Service Area in
the future. Through the effort andcooperation of Toshiba Co.,
Taoyaka students were able toexperience the assembly process ofthe photovoltaic power generation
module during their onsite visit.
(Photo 3).

Discussion
After the onsite visit, students are
divided by their course, social
implementation, cultural creation,or technical implementation. They
worked in groups to prepare for thepresentations.
On July 15, the teams from eachcourse presented their suggestionof the smart village design withsolar power that is harmonizedwith the culture and nature in
Kodani. They exchanged various
views and ideas.

Photo3: Experience of the solar panel
installation

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

7

Onsite Training: Summer 2016

The second stage of the onsite education involving a short stay in Japan and one of thefollowing countries: India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Training in Japan
Village-Hub Development in Nijo, Shimane
August 17~21, 2016

By Makoto Chikaraishi,
Special-Appointment Associate Professor, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

Together with Dr. Ko Fujiyama(Shimane Mountainous Region
ResearchCenter)andhiscolleagues, TAOYAKA programorganized a training program titled‘Village-Hub Development inJapan’ in Nijo, Shimane in August
2016.
There are growing concerns aboutsustaining and revitalizing underpopulated
communities
andvillages in Japan, which havediminishing and aging population.
Aroundone-thirdofthecommunities have a population ofless than 50 people (the Syuraku(集落) level), and the elderly (aged65 years and above) form morethan 50% of the population in about
one-sixth of the communities. If
this trend continues, it will become
increasingly difficult to provide
services within an accessible
location.

8

To resolve this issue, the Ministryof Land, Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism (MLIT) implemented
Village-Hub Development (VHD).
The main idea of VHD is to relocate
the facilities and functions that are
essential to daily living (such as
stores, medical clinics, and centresof regional activities) to the villagehub that is accessible fromneighbouring villages. The VHD isbased on a bottom-up approach,rather than a top-down approach,bysupporting
community
initiatives in various sectors
including transportation.
In this training program, we
focused on the possible ways of
implementing a successful VHD in
Nijo. To successfully implement a
VHD, first, the residents’ needs andresource constraints need to beunderstood. Next, different services
must be systematically coordinatedFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

and combined. A typical example
is to combine freight and passenger
transports and, thereby, reduce thecost of the drivers. Consequently,
the combined transport would
provide a sustained daily bus
service. Finally, the idea needs tobe shared with the local people.
Considering these aspects, theprogram was designed to attain thefollowing:1) Develop skills to interview the
locals about the difficulties they
face in daily life and their hopes forthe future.
2) Understand the impacts of theVillage-Hub Development in Nijo.
3) Consider the challenges ofproviding efficient service in adiminishing and aging populationof a community or village.
4) Develop communication using
the visualizing approach to help the
locals understand the proposedsolutions.
5) Develop the skills required to
manage a small research project.
For group tasks, the students
formed groups of four or five

Village walk in Nijo

members. Each group designed the
hub and services to gain crosssector benefits through the VHD.
The detailed structure of the
training program is as follows:
DAY 1 (August 17): Half-day
tour of the Nijo District
Understand the present situation of
the area and to share the positive
features and problems of Nijo.
DAY 2 (August 18): On-site study
at the community (Syuraku)
Visit the community and interview
several households to understandthe benefits and the problems ofliving in the area (There are fivecommunities in Nijo: Kurosu,
Katsuragahira,Kashihara,
Kamikurodani, and Asaka).
DAY 3 (August 19): Design a‘Village-Hub’ and transport
network
Design a Village-Hub and transport
network (both intra- and interdistrict transport) based on thepossibilities and constraints of the
Nijo District and the community.
DAY 4 (August 20): Create a
Village-Hubandtransport
networkCreate a Village-Hub and transport
network both inside and outside thecommunity using Lego blocks.
This will help to visualise the real
operation.

The first group proposed acomprehensive village hub called‘NIJYO-Hotal Kyoten’. The hub
included a playground, internet
centre, event hall, sports centre,
restaurant and bar, morning market,
gas station, remote assistance, andmedical centre. These functions arewell organized in the small hub.
The key challenge is to attract
enough visitors to maintain thiskind of a comprehensive hub.

The developed village hub (Group 1)

The concept of the second group’s
proposal is ‘Repurposed’, whichaims to reinvent purpose incommunity life rather thanproposing drastic revitalization
measures. The proposal includes
three hubs: (1) community andinformation centre, (2) restaurant,
grocery, and farmers’ market, and(3) Seinan junior high school. The
key challenge lies in securing
human resources to sustain thethree hubs.
The third group proposed ‘Hotaru
Hub’. It involves three key
concepts: connected, old and new,and green. In addition, the groupproposed a new transport networkthat would provide better access to
Masuda city. Their proposal wasquite concrete (a website wasdeveloped), and won the vote of
the local residents!
The forth group’s hub concept is‘Hidden treasure of Nijo’. It
included a unique idea of using
wild animals that destroy crops:
Instead of killing the animals, keep
those animals in a designated zoo
located in the hub. The proposed
hub utilizes existing facilities,
including vacant houses; however,it could require extensive humanresources.
The fifth group focused on theconnection between the village hub
and the least populated Syuraku(集落),Asaka.
Insteadofdeveloping a comprehensive hub
in the central area of Nijo, thegroup proposed to put a small hub
in Asaka by considering feasibility
and convenience, which makes the
proposal realistic.
Overall, with the help of Nijo local
residents, the training program was
successful in improving ourunderstanding of the situation inrural Japan. Moreover, we realisedthat it is important to work closelywith local people to develop a
feasible plan.

DAY 5 (August 21): Deliver thepresentations and share thefindings and proposals
Deliver presentations on the fivedays of fieldwork and share them
together, including with the local
peopleOn the final day, the five groups
presented their proposals.

Presenting and sharing findings and proposals with Nijo local residents

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 20169

Internship
Internship at
Toshiba India Private Limited (TIPL): Gurgaon, India
August 17~September 16, 2016

By Hiroshi Zenitani
D1, Graduate school of Engineering, Department of System Cybernetics,
Technical Creation Course

Myself: at the front of the Chhattisgarh State
Renewable Energy Development Agency(CREDA)In India, Renewable Energy (RE),including solar power, has become
popular thanks to aggressive
introductory activities based on the
Indian government’s policy. Solar
Home Systems (SHS) contributes
to lighting the lives of people wholive in remote or mountainous
areas that have no or weak power
grids.
The purpose of this internship is toobserve the actual situations of
SHS and understand people’s realneeds. To accomplish this purpose,
TIPL gave me the opportunity tovisit the following places.
1) Retail Market in the Old Delhi
area
There are many and various shops
in the Old Delhi area, which is theLajpat Rai market. I visited somesolar products’ shops that sell solar
panels, solar lanterns, and so on.
Almost all of their panels appeared
to be used items from China orIndia; therefore, the prices werevery low and there were no
warranties.
102) Solar Panels and SHS Vendors
I visited four companies that handle
Solar Home Systems: Moser Baer
Solar, RBP Renewable Energy
Solutions, ICON Solar, andKAHO. Their explanations helped
me to understand SHS functions,detailed costs of SHS, and thewarranty service system. I also
visited an solar panel factory of
ICON solar to observe its assemble
line.

Indian and Chinese companies
promoted their solar panels. The
prices of solar panels made in India
and China were very competitive.
However, developed countries in
Europe, the US, and Japan used thepavilion to introduce their power
operation technologies and energy
solutions.

TOSHIBA Booth at REI 2016
TOSHIBA Booth at REI 2016

Solar Home Systems Kit

3) Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy
Development Agency (CREDA)CREDA works very well to connect
SHS integrators with villagers.
Every village has some support
from CREDA or similar companies
as mediators or educators. I learned
that collaboration between privatecompanies and the government isvery important for disseminating
SHS.
4) Renewable Energy India (REI)
2016 at the India Expo
The tenth REI was held on 7
through 9 September, 2016. Many

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

Through these observations, I
learned the following things.
● Trends of RE in India that are
differ from Japan● People’s
preferencesanddecision-making on RE in India● Business models for spreading
SHS to non-electric areas
This internship also inspired me toconsider the ways that new solar
PV technology competes withconventional PV.
I am grateful to the TIPL staff.
Without their guidance andpersistent help, my training would
not have been possible. I hope tomake excellent use of theseexperiences in my research and on
the Onsite Team Project.

Internship at
Gunma University: Kiryu, Japan and
CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute(CSIR-CEERI): Pilani, India
February 15~20, 2016 & March 18~April 2, 2016

By Michiaki Inoue
M2, Graduate school of Engineering, Department of System Cybernetics,
Technical Creation Course

Thus, my proposed camera system
can capture clear images evenwhen an object is moving at highspeed. I observed the system’s
efficacy
throughofflineexperiments; my next steps are toobtain real-time feedback.
Making a presentation on this internshipexperience at Hiroshima University, October
2016

Everywhere in daily life, we see

the blur caused by motion. Rapid
movements when a camera’s
shutter is open causes motion blur.
It is used to create effects in movies
andphotographs.
However,particularly in the case of
inspections of product lines, vision
sensors are influenced by motion
blur when we request accurate
images of objects without stopping
the objects’ movements.
My study proposes a motion-blurfree camera system. This system isconsisted of a high-speed visionand high-speed mirror actuator.
The system algorithm alternates
between the camera shutter open
and closed depending on the stateof the actuator’s timing, which area mirror-tracking control and backto-home control, respectively.

Saccade Mirror

To achieve my goals, advanced
understanding is necessary in twoareas. The first area concerns
optical design. Because I will be
designing optical parameters, suchas mirror size and lens focal length,
I will need deep knowledge of
optics. Second, image processing,particularly edge detection, is
required. Edge detection involves
calculating the extent of luminancegradient. I will use that as the
motion-blur evaluation. However,this method takes a long time toprocess. Therefore, I will accelerate
the
image
processing
byimplementing on the FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA)
circuit. This internship would
deepen my understanding of optics
and FPGA design gained at eachhost institution.
While I was at Gunma University, I
acquired basic knowledge anddesign skills regarding opticalparameters with the Pupil Shiftlens of the Saccade Mirror. The
Pupil Shift lens is designed forhigh-speed vision using a wideangle lens. I improved myunderstanding of optical design,
such as the view of angles andF-values.

In CSIR-CEERI, Pilani, I learned
FPGA circuit design though IDPExpress in CSIR-CEERI. In the
robotics laboratory at Hiroshima
University, the IDP-Express board
was designed for high-speed video
processing and recording. In thissystem, the image processing
algorithms were implemented byhardware logic on the FPGA.

CSIR-CEERI, Pilani

Guest House in CSIR-CEERI, Pilani

Moreover, I had valuable discussions
about FPGA circuit design withFPGA design professionals.
Last, I am grateful to Gunma
University and CSIR-CEERI,
Pilani, for providing me with anadvanced understanding of opticaldesign and FPGA through thisinternship. I also thank Associate
Professor Oku, Dr Solomon, andthe staff for their ample and helpfuladvice.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 201611

Special Summer Program 2016
Leadership Training Program at the University of Texas
July 11~22 , 2016

The University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) School of Public
Affairs, invited TAOYAKA students to participate in their summer program,”
Public Management and Leadership Program.” One of the successful
scholarship recipient shares his learning experience.
By Bing He

D1, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Program in Development Sciences, Social Implementation Course

It was a valuable opportunity toattend the 2016 Public Managementand Leadership Program (July 11
to 22, 2016) organized by the
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Schoolof Public Affairs, University ofTexas at Austin. The topics in thesummer course were very helpful
to students studying in leadershipprograms, such as the TAOYAKA
Program.

The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs

The two weeks of’-intensecoursework at the LBJ School
included many topics about
leadership and management, but I
want to focus on several of themost unforgettable topics.
The first topic was finding own
personal strength. It is easy to
notice other people’s strength, butsometimes it can be difficult torecognize and precisely describe
one’s personal strengths. Throughthis course, I discovered that I havethe following five strengths: I am amaximizer, have empathy, am anachiever, have intellection, and I
have connectedness. Knowing ourstrengths helps our teamwork andhelps group leaders to manage theteams to guarantee that the12

teamwork is highly efficient.
The second topic was persuasive
communication skills. We knowthat whether ideas are accepted canhighly depend on the people who
express and how they express thoseideas. To be a good leader, excellent
communication skills are necessary
because you must convince others
to believe and follow you. To makepeople believe and accept our
opinions, being friendly and articulate regarding influential messages
are important and helpful qualities.
The third topic was negotiation
skills. As a group leader at acompany or in the government, an
important and necessary skill isnegotiating skill. Using games
requiring negotiation in the course,
I discovered that trust between theparties is necessary and that
persuasive communication works
after trust is developed. Then, thecompeting companies both reap
profits. Negotiation is a necessary
skill for leaders in rapidly
developing societies with fierce
competition.

Classroom Activities

benefit me in future studies andwork. I believe that persuasive
communication skills are the skills
that I will prefer to practice most in
my future studies and work because
they will not only help me todescribe my work and express my
opinion, they will help me tobecome a team leader.
I am very thankful to the faculty
members of the TAOYAKA
Program for selecting me to attend
this valuable educational opportunity with the generous amount offinancial support. I also am gratefulto Ms. Grossman and her partners
at the LBJ School for their kind
support while I was in Austin. As
well, I appreciate all TAOYAKA
administrative staff, specificallyMs. Hiroishi and Ms. Fukuoka for
their help in my preparations fortravel to the US.

Although two weeks at the LBJ
School was a short period, but thethings that I learned there will

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

A gameused fornegotiatingskillsAt the Graduation CeremonyAward Recipient Interview
Three Minutes Competition for Future Doctors 2016

At Higashi Hiroshima Arts & Culture Hall, Organized by HIRAKU:Home for Innovative Researchers and Academic Knowledge Users, Hiroshima University
September 24, 2016

The Global Challenge Award, one of the three major awards at theCompetition was presented to Mattana Tunchai, TAOYAKA Program.
Congratulations!!
Award recipient: Mattana Tunchai

D3, Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter,
Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Technical Creation CourseAwards recipients

Q. Please introduce yourself
including your study focus andgoal.
A. My name is Mattana Tunchai,and I am from Thailand. I came to
Japan four years ago for the
master’s course in the Global
Environmental Leaders Education
Program at Hiroshima University.
After receiving master degree, I
transferred to the TAOYAKA
doctoral program. My major areaof study is molecular biotechnology
focusing on chemical-sensing
systems of bacteria. My researchgoal is to develop a novel method
to stop bacterial infection by
disturbing their sensing systems.
Q. Summarize your speech andwhat you would like the audience
to learn from your speech.
A. I aimed to explain the goal of
my research so that the audiencewould understand the usefulness ofthe developed control method. I
began my speech by explaining thebackground of bacterial sensing
systems and how bacteria findplant-roots.
Then, I described the idea for
stopping bacterial infections byartificially adding the signal
compounds into the soil, whichmight lure the bacteria to otherplaces and blind the actual signal
released by the root.
After that, my research, in whichmalic acid is successfully used tocontrol bacterial wilt infection, waspresented. Because malic acid is afood additive, I emphasized safety
and the economic perspective on
malic acid as a promising control
agent.
I concluded my speech byexplaining the benefits expected to
be derived after my control method
is successfully implemented. For
example, the uses of antibiotics or
toxic chemicals as disinfectants
could be reduced and agricultural

production could be increased.

Performing 3 minutes speech

Q. Is this your first time
participating in this type ofcompetition? Why did you decideto participate in this contest?
A. I have presented my research toa non-specialist audiences manytimes, yet this is my first time
participating in a three-minutethesis competition.
Originally, this is not myintention to participate in thiscompetition. When I first heard
about it, I thought that it would be
impossible for me to fit my research
into a three-minute presentation, so

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 201613

I did not apply for it. Instead, mysupervisor,
Kato-sensei,
hadapplied for me. When I learned myparticipation from the HIRAKU,
Hiroshima University, I was
hesitated to do but I thought that if
my advisor believes I can do it, I
should be able to do it. That was
why I decided to participate in thiscontest!
Q. How long did you practice? If
you have any tips for preparing
for this type of competition,please share them with us.
A. I finished the first draft of myscript about two weeks before theevent. I kept revising and improving
it until the last day before thecompetition to finalize forrehearsal. I rehearsed all that day. I
have three tips to share with you.
First, know your audience andprepare your speech to fit theaudience’s background. Since mostof the audience were nonspecialists and high school
students. So, I used half of myspeech for introduction and usedexamples that are easy to follow.
Second, rehearse with nonspecialists. In doctoral research,
we focus deeply on our disciplines.
We can forget that the words weuse are not common words.
Third,
learn
from
other
performances. There are many
videos of three-minute thesis
performances on the Internet.
Watch and learn from them. There
are many interesting tricks thepresenters use to attract listeners’
attention that you can adapt to yourspeech.
Q. Tell us about the hardest andeasiest parts.
A. The most difficult part was
preparing the script to be clearly
understood and fit the people in theaudience, be compelling, and yet
14maintain scientific accuracy. As I
mentioned, I spent quite a longtime preparing the first draft of myscript and kept revising it for two
weeks.
Regarding the easiest part,compared to the usual academicpresentation, it might be that there
is no Q & A sessions. However,that means script preparation for athree-minute thesis is more difficult
because you have to clearly explain
everything in three minutes withoutleaving any questions unanswered.
Q. Would you like to participate
in this type of competition again?
Would you recommend it to yourfriendsfornextyearʼscompetition?

Q. What is your goal for nextyearʼs competition in Australia?
A. When I intentionally participate
in a competition, I always aim to
win. The Asia-Pacific three-minutethesis competition is certainly
challenging because the winner or
representative from each Australianand Asian university will compete
in this contest. Fortunately, I have
had almost one year to prepare, so I
believe that I
will do my bestin the AsiaPacific threeminute thesis
competition in
After the award2017.
ceremony
Q. Any additional comments?

A. Because I learned many thingsand had a good experience in thiscompetition, I certainly would
participate in this type ofcompetition
again.
I
also
encouraged my colleagues toparticipate
in
nextyear’scompetition. By attending thiscontest, you will gain the skills topresent your work to wide
audiences in a limited timeframe,
which will surely be useful in the
future. Moreover, you will
surprisingly learn more about yourown research.
Q. Please freely share youroverall feedback on yourparticipation in the competition.
A. This is the first time that all thepeople who I talked with after myspeech fully understood what I wastrying to tell them. Their comments
made me very happy because they
seemed to be satisfied with myspeech. It also feels great to knowthat they are interested in myresearch. All comments are usefulfor me to improve my performanceat the next competition.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

A. First, I sincerely thank Professor
Junichi Kato, my advisor, whopushed me to participate in thiscompetition. Without his action, I
would never have attended thecompetition. I also am grateful tomy friends and to Saijo Toastmaster’s club, for valuablesuggestions on improving my
script.
Last, I thank the organizing staff
members who kindly supported me
throughout the competition.
Mattana Tunchai’s speech at
the Three Minutes Competition
for Future Doctors 2016 can be
retrieved from the HIRAKU’s
website at:
http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/
hiraku/en/event/competition_
2016_en/report

Receiving Global Challenge Award Certificate

International Workshop
RURAL-URBAN SYMBIOSIS at Hiroshima University
August 7, 2016

The purpose of the Workshop is for doctoral candidates to demonstrate their doctoral
thesis progress and receive assessments, advice, and opinions from the attendees thatthey could use to further their research.

The first International Workshop entitled ‘RURAL-URBAN SYMBIOSIS’ was held on 7 August 2016 at Hiroshima
University. The doctoral candidates independently planned the content, and they invited three lecturers who were familiar
with their research, conducted the public relations activities, and hosted the Workshop.
Session1: Keynote Lectures
Guest Speakers

TitlesDr. Masayuki Moriyama(President, Vital LEAD Co.LTD)

Current and Future Measures
to Maintain Rural
Communities

Mr. Victorino Aquitania(Regional Director, ICLEI, Local
Governments for Sustainability
Southeast Asia Secretariat)

City - Region: Sustainable
Urbanization in Southeast
Asia

Dr. Kazuhiro Mochidzuki(Project Associate Professor,
Institute of Industrial Science,
University of Tokyo)

Sustainable Biomass
Utilization System for Local
Community

Session2: Students’ Presentations
Student Speakers

TitlesNattacha Paksung
D3, Technical Creation Course

Study of a xylose
decomposition under sub- andsupercritical water

Mattana Tunchai
D3, Technical Creation Course

Chemotaxis of Ralstonia
solanacearum as a target tocontrol bacterial wilt disease

Transport-based social
David Perez Barbosa
D3, Social Implementation Course exclusion and its implications
for urban policy
Andhang Rakhmat Trihamdani Urban Heat Island in the
D3, Social Implementation Course growing cities in a hot andhumid climate of Asia and its
mitigation

Student’s Voice: By Andhang Rakhmat
Trihamdani, one of student presenters
The International Workshop was anopportunity for students to share theirresearch with diverse audience. What isinteresting about this Workshop is that
we, as a group of students, played amajor part in the planning andorganizing of the event.
Our first task was to determine the main
theme of the Workshop. Because the Workshop aimed fordeep discussion on a particular topic, the main theme wasan important way to narrow down the discussion. We
ultimately chose ‘Rural-Urban Symbiosis’ as the theme. A
discussion on urban-rural connections to create sustainableregions was expected to emerge during the Workshop.
We expected the invited speakers to offer their insights on
the topic from their perspectives. Accordingly, we needed
to decide who would be the most appropriate speakers for
the Workshop. We were given two very helpful options.
The first option was to choose from the list of professional
mentors in the TAOYAKA Program, and the second option
was to choose based on our interests. So, students in the
Program who had interesting persons in mind, needed to
be prepared to contact them in advance!
Overall, the Workshop was very fruitful. The speakers
offered useful insights related to the topic, and they
provided constructive feedback on our on-going research.
In addition, we did our best to
satisfactorily present our research
to the audience. We greatly
appreciate
everyonewho
participated in this event.

From the left, Mattana, Andhang, Dr. Moriyama, Mr. Aquitania,
Dr. Mochidzuki, David, and Nattacha

Last, I am looking forward toattending the next International
Workshop! I hope it will be anotherbig success for the next group of
students!

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 201615

Upcoming Events
 Onsite Education: India (March2017), Nepal (March2017) The International Symposium TAOYAKA Seminars (please check our website and Facebook for details)

Admission Information
Admissions for October 2017 and April 2018 (both general and transfer into the thirdyear admissions) will be open soon in spring 2017. Please check our website fordetails!

Contact Us
TAOYAKA Program Office
Address: 1-5-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima,739-8529 JAPAN
Tel: +81 (0)82-424-6152
E-mail: taoyaka-program@office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Website: http://taoyaka.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/english
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taoyaka/

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace

TAOYAKA Newsletter Winter 2016
Vol. 6 / Issued in: December 2016
TAOYAKA Program for creating a flexible, enduring,peaceful society, Hiroshima University
Copyright©2016 TAOYAKA Program

16

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Winter 2016

TAO AKA