Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace
TAO AKATAOYAKA NewsletterVol. 7 Summer 2017
Inside This Issue
Message from Professional
Mentor“Texas Participation in TAOYAKA”
David J. Eaton, Ph.D. -------- 1

Welcome to TAOYAKA!

Opening Ceremony ---------- 3
Introduction of New Students - 3

Onsite Education

Participants and community members in front of the Rammed Earth/Bamboo House:
Onsite Training in Nepal, March 2017

Message from Professional Mentor

Texas Participation in TAOYAKADavid J. Eaton, Ph.D.
Bess Harris Jones Centennial Professor of Natural Resource
Policy Studies; Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs,
The University of Texas at Austin

Onsite Training: in Overseas:
Spring 2017
Training in India --------------- 8
Training in Nepal ------------10
Onsite Team Project:
Fall/Winter 2016
Revitalization of
Kita-Hiroshima Town
by Eco-Tourism ---------------12

Internship Reports

It is a pleasure to write this notefor the TAOYAKA Newsletter, as I
have been involved with Hiroshima
University’s TAOYAKA Programfrom the beginning. TAOYAKA is
unique among doctoral programsfor two reasons: its inter-disciplinary
design and leadership focus.
TAOYAKA accepts students/
Fellows from diverse fields such asengineering, natural science, social
science and humanities. As Ph.D.
candidates typically learn as muchfrom fellow students as fromfaculty, this TAOYAKA design

Onsite Course Rotation:
Fall 2016
1. Kita-Hiroshima -------------- 6
2. Kure --------------------------- 7

Dr. David J. Eaton

enables Fellows to develop a broad
perspective about contributions tohuman knowledge from many
fields. Fellows have to describe

1. Shree Kumar Maharjan(Nepal)-----------------------14
2. Nguyen Van Hoang(Thailand) -------------------15
3. Menoza Shikainnah
Glow Dalumpines(Philippines) ----------------16
4. Kohei Shimasaki(China) -----------------------17
5. Ryosuke Mori
(India) ------------------------18
6. Zhang Xiangyu(Japan) ----------------------19

Award Recipient

Campus Venture Grand Prix
2016: Chugoku-Region -----20

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 20171and defend their own projects topersons both within and outsidetheirdisciplinary
fields.
TAOYAKA asks each Fellow to
excel not only in her or his field of
academic excellence, but also todevelop and demonstrate leadershipskills in seeking to accomplish
practical outcomes through groupand individual field projects.
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of
Public Affairs (LBJ School) at The
University of Texas at Austin (U.
Texas) has been able to send groupsof students to participate within
three TAOYAKA field studies
since 2015, a first one in the Oki
Islands during August 2015, asecond in Nijo in Shimane inAugust 2016, and a third in Nepal
in March 2017.

existing energy
sourcesandstoragetoreplaceoilfired electricity
production.
A report on Oki-Island study
published by LBJ School

In August in 2016, two LBJ School
students also participated in asecond TAOYAKA program in
Nijo on the potential creation of acommunity services center in rural
Shimane prefecture. That project
also has led to a joint report. As aresult of the experience withTAOYAKA Fellows and faculty,
these two LBJ School master
degree students have applied forconsideration for admission toenter the TAOYAKA Ph.D.
program.

The Oki Island project sought toexamine whether all of Oki Island’s
electricity could be generated on a
cost-effective basis by renewableenergy sources replacing or
supplementing existing heavy oilfired power plants. The U. Texas
group joined TAOYAKA Fellows
as well as students from two otherJapanese universities in August
2015 to work with government andprivate-sector representatives to
examine the potential for solar,
wind, micro-hydro, biofuels, andenergy storage to supplement
existing energy sources. The results,
as reported in a joint report,
documented how wind energy
could provide a cost-effective andless expensive supplement to

A different set of U. Texas studentsjoined TAOYAKA and Tribhuvan
University students in the March2017 study of post-earthquake
reconstruction of rural housing in
Nepal. Participants in that study
examined engineering options,
including five appropriate housing
technologies, to facilitate more
rapid home reconstruction in rural
Nepal. The students visited
villagers in the field and conducted

A joint filed study in Oki-island 2015

A joint filed study in Nepal 20172

A joint filed study in Nijo, Shimane 2016

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

interviews of local citizens as wellas governmental officials and staff
ofnon-profit
organizationscommitted to home reconstruction,
so as to identify barriers to increased
momentum in rural housing
reconstruction. Field observations
from that research are being collated
into a report that should be of value
to international donors, the Nepali
government, the housing non-profits,
as well as to rural residents seeking
to reconstruct their own homes.

Giving a lecture in Nepal 2017

Students from U Texas who
participated in these programs with
Hiroshima University’s TAOYAKA
Program report that the fieldwork
has been a life-changing experience.
Many have reported that theircareer plans have been influenced
by
the
TAOYAKA
field
experiences. The opportunity tointeract with TAOYAKA Fellows
from around the world has helped
themvisualize
development
challenges
throughtheir
TAOYAKA colleagues. The two
programs in which I have taught
have been high points in myteaching experience, as the projects
required both intensive field focus
as well as helping students to learn
diverse skills in order to makeeffective use of the field
opportunities. Being asked to teachthe TAOYAKA course on
Leadership in Higashi-Hiroshima
every two years also has been an
opportunity, enabling me to modify
materials I teach in Texas for a
TAOYAKA class that focuses ondevelopment for underserved
communities.

Welcome to TAOYAKA Program!
Opening Ceremony: April 06, 2017
newly admitted six students from
India, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan.
TAOYAKA program has now 51
students from 17 countries withvarious academic, professional,
and cultural backgrounds.
New TAOYAKA Students in the front row

The TAOYAKA Program entered
to the fourth year. Its seventh
opening ceremony was held on 6
April 2017. The Program members
and students warmly welcomed

Program Director Makoto Miyatani(Executive and Vice President ofHiroshima University), opened the
ceremony, gave a congratulatory
address, and expressed the hopesand expectations for the newly
admitted students.

Although the new students belong
to different graduate schools andcourses, they will learn together
and gain knowledge from different
academic disciplines through theProgram’s multidisciplinary courses
and activities.
The students are expected to gain
global perspectives, skills, andinsights through the Program, andbecome innovative leaders to solve
issues for people in disadvantaged
areas.

Introduction of New Students

C ultural Creation Course
Tomoko OISHI (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Programin Educational Development and Cultural and Regional)I

am Tomoko Oishi from Shizuoka,
Japan. I graduated from Nihon
Fukushi University in Aichi.
During my bachelor degree, I
majored in international social

development. I was especiallyinterested in relations between
culture and development in theelephant village of Surin, Thailand.
Subsequently, I studied Thai
languageandsocietyin
Chulalongkorn
University,
Thailand. Then, I worked at theprefectural federation of small
business associations. I supported
local cooperatives to revitalize
their community.
Through these experiences, I
focused on the ways to support the
local people to develop theircommunity by following the

From: Japan
directions of development that they
really hope. Therefore, my research
focusesonendogenousdevelopment of a rural area in
Thailand and Japan. Endogenousdevelopment attaches greater
importance to the process of actions
and decisions, following thedirection of development based on
local people’s culture and sense ofvalues. I would like to verify theprocess of the development fromthe perspective of cultural
anthropology. In addition, I willconsider the role of the direction ofdevelopment and how an outsider
can assist the development.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 20173

T echnical Creation Course
Nikhil DEO (M1: Graduate School of Engineering, Program in System Cybernetics)
From: India
research focused on designinghigh-performance and low-powerelectronic circuits. Gradually, I
became interested in image
processing and deep learning. I am
grateful for the opportunity to fulfil
my dream at Hiroshima University.

I

am Nikhil Deo from India. I
graduated from the Department ofElectronics and Communication
Engineering of North Eastern
Regional Institute of Science andTechnology (NERIST). My initial

My plan is to develop computer
vision and deep learning algorithms
for real-time and high-speed visionsystems, which can be used forvarious applications, such aspedestrian detection for traffic
management. Traffic congestion
has become a challenging issue

with the increase in number ofvehicles on the road. Driver-lesscars, which will use computer
vision and deep learning forautomated driving, are the future.
After graduating as a student of
Taoyaka Program, my approach istodevelopsolutionsfordisadvantaged regions. Although I
would like carry on my research in
my home country, I also intend tobe part of an international researchgroup working for disadvantaged
regions around the globe, especiallyin Asia.

S ocial Implementation Course
Htwe NYI NYI (D1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Program in
Development Science)★Transfer student into the 3rd year of the Program
From: MyanmarI

am Nyi Nyi from Myanmar. I
obtained my Masters in Economics
from the International Universityof Japan (IUJ), Niigata, in 2015.
After graduation, I went back towork for two years. I believed that
I have worked effectively since mygraduation as I could merge theacademic concepts I learned inJapan with real-world situations.
My research focuses on theinternational trade trend from a
network approach. As globalization

shapes the world, international
trade becomes more complex andconnected to a person’s daily life.
In this case, analysing international
trade from a network approach will
enable a new perception and clearer
understandingofmoderninternational trade structure.
Taoyaka Program is a combinationof different fields, cultural andtechnical creation, and social
implementation, thereby providing
opportunities to approach a single

situation from different perspectives.
By efficiently utilizing the supportof Taoyaka Program, I can surely
achieve my goal.

Miyu SAKAMOTO (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Program in Development Science)

From: Japan

My name is Miyu Sakamoto. It is

TAOYAKA Program student.

my honour to be welcomed at theGraduate School for International
Development and Corporation as a

I graduated from Hiroshima
University in 2017, and entered a4Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

postgraduate program in the same
university.
Then,
I
joinedTAOYAKA Program. I studiedsocial science in my undergraduatedegree. As I am interested ineconomics and education, mythesis focused on the impacts ofJapanese degree for foreign
students on their income and career
after they went back their countries.

In TAOYAKA Program, I plan to
conduct a comparative study ofeducation returns on income in adeveloping country, comparing thedifferences of students’ future
careers and income between
students who receive scholarships
and those who do not receive one
for junior high schools in Lao rural
areas, which is supported by the
Public Foundation Civil Centre. By
analysing the effect of poverty
reduction on scholarship support, I
would like to propose a more
effective educational support

policy for poverty reduction.
In the future, I would like tocontribute to child welfare
worldwide. To achieve this goal, I
plan to play a role in planning andimplementing policies that would
solve the structure of the circle ofpoverty. Though this program, I
would like to learn how to integrate
solutions from different fields andcreate one initiative solution.
Through the exchange of ideas, I
can obtain a more diversified andflexible perspective.

Setyo NUGROHO (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Program in Development Science)I

am Setyo Nugroho from Indonesia.
I completed my bachelor’s degree
in architecture and master’s degree
in urban design at the Institut
Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember.
After obtaining the latter, I was
involved in research projects
related to urban design guideline
and conservation planning.
My recent research interest concerns
connecting architecture and urban
design to mobility as part of atransportation study. I chose this
topic because most cities in

From: Indonesia
developing countries nowadays are
improving their rail-based public
transportation.

the same interest in sketching, let’s
explore the city’s uniqueness andsketch together!

After completing my PhD in
Taoyaka Program, I hope to work
as a faculty member in the field ofurban design concerning therailway station area development,with a focus on Southeast Asia.
To obtain a deeper understandingof cityscape, I actively participate
in recording the city throughsketches. If you have free time andDaeyong SHIN (M1: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Programin Development Science)

I am Shin, from Korea. My
academic background is related togeography
education.
Aftercompleting my master’s course, I
worked at the Safety ResearchInstitute as a researcher. As a

From: Korea
researcher, I found that althoughdisaster can occur everywhere, indeveloping
anddeveloped
countries. The disaster management
gap between the two is salient
when a disaster strikes. Amongother reasons is the lack of studies
on an optimized evacuation planand decision support system under
severe disaster conditions indeveloping countries. Therefore, I
decided to study natural hazards
and disaster mitigation in thesecountries.

development and application of theAgent-Based Evacuation Modelfor decision making regarding
disaster management in coastal
regions. A research that employs
ABM can help establish an
optimized evacuation plan fordisaster management policy.
After completing the Taoyaka
Program, I intend to visit othercountries and gain experiences as a
researcher to assist in the decision
making on and assessment ofdisaster management.

The purpose of this research is theFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

5

Onsite Education

Onsite Course Rotation: Fall 2016

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

1. Participatory forest resource management for local revitalization<2016/10/07~2016/11/25>

One day visit to Kita-Hiroshima on October 21, 2016

By Toshiaki Kondo, Special-Appointment Associate Professor,
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

Sedoyama timber market

To learn the participatory forest
resource management for local
revitalization, a total of 19 members
from Taoyaka Program (13students, five professors, and one
staff member) visited KitaHiroshima town in Hiroshima
Prefecture on 21 October 2016,
and inspected the Sedoyama Forest
Regeneration Project implemented
by the local NPO (Natural History's
Collegium of the Western Chugoku
Mountains), in collaboration withthe local people.
The Sedoyama Forest Regeneration
Project is the participatory forest
resource management for natureand culture conservation, andsustainable biological resources
production. The goal of this projectis to promote the management of
unused areas known as sedoyama(a hill at the back of one’s home or
one’s village) and satoyama (asemi-natural area that coexists witha nearby populated area), bypromoting the use of woody
6biomass (mostly deciduous trees
such as konara oaks) and realize
the conservation of the region’s
landscape and environment. This
project also aims to revitalize thelocal economy using a local
currency that can only be used inGeihoku region of Kita-Hiroshima
in the distribution process ofwoody biomass.

Dr. Katsunobu Shirakawa from the Natural
History Museum of Geihoku explains thecharacteristics of mountainous ecosystems.

During our visit to Kita-Hiroshima,
we received a clear explanation on
the project from Dr. Katsunobu
Shirakawa, a chief curator of the
Natural History Museum of
Geihoku and a founder of the
project. We also inspected several
facilities and sites related to theproject, including the following:(1) Natural History Museum of
Geihoku and its surrounding forest
and wetland, (2) Sedoyama timbermarket, and (3) Geihoku Auk
Garden, spa, and health resort in
Kita-Hiroshima.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

At the Natural History Museum of
Geihoku,
welearnedthecharacteristics of mountainous
ecosystems in Japan and theircurrent situations. In the Geihoku
Auk Garden, which is the biggest
customer of firewood, the economic
benefits of using firewood forheating a bath were explained tous. We witnessed the processing ofwood in the Sedoyama timbermarket, which purchases timbersof broad-leaf trees produced in
Satoyama from the local people
and then sells wood products (e.g.
firewood) to companies andindividual consumers.
The final team presentation washeld on 18 November in Hiroshima
University. Four local people,
including Dr. Shirakawa, joined
the team presentation; the students
from Taoyaka Program and the
local people discussed local
revitalization
throughtheparticipatory
forestresource
management.

A group discussion with local people2. Bridge Inspection: Akinada and Mituta Bridges<2016/12/09~2017/01/27>

One day visit to Kure on December 16, 2016

By Fengwai An, Special-Appointment Associate Professor &Sushil Raut, University Research Administrator,
Graduate School of Engineering

Akinada BridgeInrecentyears,
varioustechnologies for structural healthmonitoring have been developed todetect and localize damages inaging infrastructures (e.g. bridge,
road, port, and harbor). To learn the
cutting-edge infrastructure healthmonitoring
andmaintenancetechnologies in Japan, 11 Taoyaka

Program students visited Akinada
and Mitsuta Bridges in Kure City,
Hiroshima Prefecture on 16
December 2016. Mitsuta Bridge,
an old bridge, is located inside theKure City, whereas Akinada
Bridge, a modern bridge, is aseaside-highway bridge. During
this visit, Kure City officials andstaff members of the bridge
maintenance company introduced
the technologies employed forstructural monitoring of thesebridges.

The top of the main tower of Akinada Bridge

Group Presentations
Group works were conducted on 6
and 13 January 2017. Taoyaka
Program students discussed andsummarized what they havelearned during the one-day visit.
Then, during the final presentation
on 20 January, three groups
discussed feasible solutions fromtechnical, social, and cultural
perspectives.
Acknowledgements:
We thank the efforts of the staff of
Taoyaka Program, Kure City, andthe maintenance company inconducting a successful technicalonsite visit.

Bridge inspection using a multicopter

Schedule
8:30-9:30
9:30-10:30

10:30-10:40
10:40-11:20
11:20-12:00
12:00-13:00
13:00-13:30
13:30-16:30
16:30-17:15

Move to Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture (from Bus stop of Daigaku Kaikan Mae)
Lecture: Bridge asset maintenance in Hiroshima Prefecture
Presenter: Staff of Hiroshima Association of Civil Engineering
Classroom: Meeting room in Culture Hall of Kure City
Walk to a bridge (Mitsutabashi) maintained by Kure City
Introduction of the bridge maintenance & Interview
Move to the bus & go for lunch by bus
Lunch time at Michi-no Eki “Deai-no Yakata”
Move to Akinada Bridge
1. Obtain experience of bridge inspection (move to the top of the main tower of the bridge)
2. Study and observation of bridge inspection by using drone system
Return to Hiroshima University

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

7

Onsite Training in Overseas: Spring 2017

The second level of the onsite education involving a short stay in the mountainous area
in Japan or overseas such as India, Nepal and Bangladesh

1. Rural Development in Mountain Regions: India<2017/03/04~2017/03/14>

By Nao Ishikawa, Special-Appointment Associate Professor &Lin Chen, Special-Appointment Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Letters

1. Overview
Aim of the training
Taoyaka Program provided two
overseas onsite training sessions
for students in FY 2016. One of the
training, which was mainlyorganized by the Cultural Creation
Course, was held in the Himalayan
State of India from 4 to 13 March.
It aims to study on rural development
in Uttarakhand, Himalayan State ofIndia, which is less developed
because of its mountainous
landscapes. To help the students
grasp the actual conditions of thevillagers’ life and understand theirdevelopment challenges in India,
we planned a deep survey in one
village where a research project ofHiroshima
University
wasconducted and produced affluent
research results.
Uttarakhand, India and thesurveyed village
Uttarakhand state is a mountainous
province in northern India in thecentral part of the Himalayas. The
eastern half is called the Kumaon
region, and the western half, theGarhwal region. As most areas in
the region are characterized by thepractice of subsistence agriculture
and low economic development,
the region has historically witnesseda steady outflow of people seeking

K village

8

All participants in a field survey

employment
opportunities,
especially head of households andfamily members seeking migrantspecific employment outside theregion. As a result, a type of
economic dependency known as a‘money order economy’ is aprominent aspect of the region’s
economy.
The surveyed village (hereinafterreferred to as ‘K Village’) is around12 kilometres (7.46 miles) by roadfrom Nainital, which is about 30
minutes by car. As access has
improved in recent years, it
exhibited the characteristics of a
suburban farm village. K Village islocated on a gently sloping hill,with a central elevation of around
1,635 metres. A small lake in thecentre of the village attracts tourists
to this small village.
2. Onsite-Training activities
Activities before going to the ﬁeld
Students were required to know theconditions of the field and set up
their own research themes.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

Therefore, we provided several
prior learning activities andmaterials for the students before
going to the field. On 22 December,Prof. Hidenori Okahasi had a brief
introduction of the onsite training
in India.

In front of K village mayor’s house

In January, we held three seminars
that focused on providing themwith an overview of Uttarakhand
and K Village, field surveys in
India, and field survey preparations.
In February, we required them toprepare an individual and a teamproposal. On 23 February, we
invited our local partner, Prakash
C. Tiwari, professor of the
Department of Geography inKumaon University, to deliver a
preparation lecture on Kumaon

Nainital Lakeregion. Then, the students weregrouped into four teams according
to their individual interests.
Activities on the ﬁeld
The field activities consisted of an
excursionaroundNainital,interview with the village mayor,
excursion around K Village, andgeneral field and team survey. After
arriving at Nainital on 6 March,
Prof. Tiwari organized a field
excursion in the downtown ofNainital district. It is helpful forstudents to be familiar with thehistory,
religion,
tourismdevelopment, and agriculturalcommercialization of the area. The
next day, we moved to K Village inthe morning, and conducted aninterview with the village mayor to
obtain a detailed information of thevillage. In the afternoon, Prof.
Okahasi carried out a field
excursion for the students to learn
the realities in the village.
From 7 to 11 March, we conducteda general household and a teamsurvey. In the first two days, theparticipants, including the staff andstudents, were divided into six
teams that would conduct a generalsurvey. In the next two days,
students formed four teams to
conduct their own survey. The
details of the two surveys are as
follows.

Household Survey

i. General household survey
We conducted two kinds of survey,
namely, household and teamsurvey. For the first survey, we
prepared and shared common
survey sheets for all the participants.
Based on the survey sheets, wevisited each household and obtained
general data on their agriculturaloperation, facilities at home,
experiences of migration, andfamily members. In total, we
obtained the data from 75
households in the village.
ii. Team survey
The general household survey wasfollowed by the students’ teamsurvey. There were four teams thatsurveyed the following topics.
1) Team for agriculture (twostudents)
Their main interests were in thelocal cultural landscape andorganic farming. They compared
the past and present farming
methods, which created the local
landscape. As Uttarakhand state is
promoting organic farming, they
asked the villagers regarding this
topic.
2) Team for tourism (two students)
They were interested in the tourism
benefits to community in economic,
social and environmental way.
They collected information on
cultural properties, such as local
festivals and foods. They alsointerviewed not only people whowork for the tourism industry but
also the residents. They found akind of conflict between tourism
and the residents.
3) Team water boys (two students)
Their main interest was in water
for drinking and irrigation. First,
they tracked from where thedrinking water comes, and foundcertain routes for water throughpipes that were connected todifferent water souses. Second,
they pointed out the major sourceof water pollution and suggested
desirable water governance.

4) Team for migration (one student)
She focused on the migration
experience as an influential factor
to rural development. Sheinterviewed returned migrants,
immigrants, left behind family
members, and young people whoare potential emigrants. She foundthe diverse experiences of local
people because of immigration.

A TAOYAKA student dancing at a festival

3. Overall impression and plans
During the onsite training, students
were required to set up their own
plan based on their academic
backgrounds and experiences. Thislearning process is important forthe students’ self-learning andpractice of conducting a real
survey. We are grateful to Prof.
Tiwari, who kindly assisted us
throughout the training; thestudents from Kumaon University,
who served as translators; the hotel
staff of the hotel where we stayed;
and the villagers who were willingto help us with the interviews.
The onsite training continued upon
the students’ return to Japan. We
invited Prof. Tiwari from Kumaon
University to Hiroshima University
and conducted a follow-up learningseminar on June 21, 2017.
Participants discussed the lessons
learned from the onsite training inIndia, received constructive advice
from Professors, and we concluded
the Training.

Final session at Hiroshima University

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 20179

2. Post-earthquake 2015 housing reconstruction in rural Nepal throughalternative building technology: Nepal<2017/03/11~2017/03/21>
By NIRAJ PRAKASH JOSHI,
Special-Appointment Associate Professor,
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation

A

massive 7.8 magnitude
earthquake struck Nepal in April
2015, causing the destruction ofnearly a million houses. Thus,
housing reconstruction remains aconsiderable challenge for thegovernment of Nepal. It hasprioritized post-earthquake housing
reconstruction
throughtheestablishment of the National
Reconstruction Authority (NRA).
It is extensively engaged in
enforcing building codes bypromoting 17 building designs as
an important strategy of housing
reconstruction. The adoption of adesign and the National Building
codes are major eligibility criteria
for the affected households toreceive housing reconstruction
subsidy provided by the NRA. The
designs mainly rely on the use of
conventional
construction
materials and methods, which are
not locally available in most
instances. This has constrained apace of the overall reconstruction
process.
Many initiatives are being carriedoutbynon-governmentorganizations (NGOs) at thegrassroots level, to promote
housing reconstruction by using
local resources and alternativebuilding technologies. Realizing
the importance of locally available
resources and their effective
contribution
tohousingreconstruction, the NRA also
acknowledged the importance of
these technologies. NRA is in theprocess of completing the second
volume of the building catalogue inwhich these technologies are
10

Participants of the onsite training in Nepal 2017recognized as part of thereconstruction process, making thealternative building technologies
eligible to receive subsidy.
Therefore, the Taoyaka Program,in collaboration with the Universityof Texas, Austin and Institute ofEngineering Tribhuvan University,organized an onsite training
program in Nepal under the themeof ‘Post-earthquake 2015 housing
reconstruction in rural Nepal
through an alternative building
technology’. The training wasorganized from 13 to 19 March2017 at the Center for Energy
Studies, Institute of Engineering,
Tribhuvan University.
This training aimed at familiarizing
participants with the process andprogress of ongoing housing
reconstruction
initiatives
undertaken by the government andNGOs. A systematic assessment offive alternative and a conventionalbuilding
technologies
wasconducted by the participants astheir group work. The learning

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

approaches adopted in the training
were:
i. A pre-lecture by experts/
practitioners
ii. Formulation of a draft report bygroupsiii. Lecture and interaction sessions
with experts/practitioners.
iv. Field visits, including a briefingof the pilot project on alternativebuilding technologies, observation,and interaction with affected locals
v. Group presentations based on
the field scenario and refined report
The detailed structure of the
training is as follows:

A lecture by the executive member of NRA

Day 1. (13 March 2017): A
lecture/interaction session withthe executive member of NRA wasorganized to provide a generaloverview of losses caused by theearthquake, initiatives taken, andchallenges
inhousingreconstruction. Similarly, a lecture/interaction sessions on labor
management and prospects ofrenewable energy in post-disasterhousingreconstruction
wereorganized.
Day 2. (14 March 2017): The
whole day was dedicated to
conduct interactive sessions withexperts/practitioners working on
specific building technologies. The
session was also helpful inorienting the participants of the
field they were visiting.
Day 3.* (15 March 2017): A fieldstudy was conducted at Kaule. It
included a briefing of earthbag
housing, which is promoted by
GoodEarth Nepal.

A discussion with the locals at Kotdanda

Day 4.* (16 March 2017): A fieldstudy was conducted at Kotdanda.
It included a briefing of Compressed
Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB)
housing, which is promoted by
Buildup Nepal. Participants moved
to Simpokhari in Kavre district,
where they had homestay.
Day 5.* (17 March 2017): A fieldstudy was conducted at Simpokhari.
It included a briefing of rammed/
compressed earth block andbamboo as important resources forhousing, which was promoted by
Abari.
*Observation and discussion withthe locals regarding problems andprospects of their housing
reconstruction were conducted in
all three field studies.
Day 6. (18 March 2017): Group
work and individual groupconsultations with the professors.
Day 7. (19 March 2017): Sixgroups presented their findings andsuggestions on assigned building
technologies.

A briefing on earthbag housing at KauleThe first group presented thesituation of the village anddiscussed the advantages anddisadvantages of Bamboo housing
in the villages where field studies
were conducted. They presented
the villagers’ perceptions ofbamboo housing. Similarly, thesecond group presented the overallfindings from the field study andprovided suggestions to make thegovernment process of housing
reconstruction more effective. This
group suggested certain measures
for widespread applicability of
CSEB in rural Nepal. The thirdgroup highlighted the hardshipfaced by the community because of
the loss caused by the earthquake,their hope, and future barriers. The
group showed important elementsof the community that signify
optimism about the future. They
presented their assessment of theearthbag housing, with importantsuggestions for scaling-up.
The fourth group presented theeconomy of the villages, theresources they possess, and housing
situation previously and at thepresent. The group discussed the
locals’ perception of NRA. Theysaw the possibility of spreading therammed earth technologies in thevillages, but suggested that the
government’s approval of thedesign is critical. The fifth grouppresented
thecomparative

situations of the villages in terms
of priority, preference, present
condition, and future barriers.
Financial issues were common
among the residents. This group
showed prospects of Hempcrete byovercoming
theunderlying
challenges. The sixth grouppresented important issues, such asuse of lightweight materials,
bracing systems, and design
simplification, which were related
to a conventional house, in making
houses earthquake resistant. The
group suggested ways to make thegovernment initiatives in housing
reconstruction more effective. All
these groups adopted the common
approach to assess these alternativetechnologies. This provided an
opportunity to form a synthesis
table illustrating the strengths andweaknesses of these building
technologies
ingiven
circumstances.

Consultation with professors for a group work

We would like to express our
gratitude to GoodEarth Nepal,
Buildup Nepal, Abari, and ShahHemp Inno-Ventures for theirsupport. Similarly, we are gratefulto Mr. Krishna Bahadur Adhikari
and Mr. Tilak Lama for their kindassistance in arranging the locals tointeract with the students for a fieldstudy.

Groups’ presentation of their findings andsuggestions

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201711

Onsite Team Project: Fall/Winter 2016

The final level of the onsite education. The third year (D1) of TAOYAKA program students
team-up with multidisciplinary course members and challenge a real-world problem.

Revitalization of Kita Hiroshima Town by Eco-Tourism<2016/05~2017/02>

The Team Members:
1. Novi Syaftika (D1), Graduate School for Engineering, Department of Mechanical Science andEngineering, Technical Creation Course
2. Teguh Nur Rohman (D1), Graduate School of Biosphere Science Department of Environmental
Dynamics and Management, Technical Creation Course
3. Nguyen Thanh Quan (D1), Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Program in Development Science, Social Implementation Course

We choose the location in KitaHiroshima, Japan to implement an
onsite project with the theme of‘Revitalization of Kita-Hiroshima
Town by Eco-Tourism’. KitaHiroshima is famous for its
beautiful nature and unique culture.
Nevertheless, this town is facing aserious problem of depopulation.
We believe that tourism is among
the important tools for its rural
revitalization. Although tourism inrural areas is not novel, the ecotourism concept is not yet popularamong the local people and tourists,
especially foreigners who can be
the target customers.

Rice is Kita Hiroshima’s major
agricultural product, but anexcessive growth of weeds problem
in the paddy fields was observed,
causing the decrease of soil nutrient
and rice growth. We developed the
new method using rice husk as anenvironmental
friendlybioherbicide, which replaces theexisting costly and harmful
chemical one.

The onsite project’s concept wasdeveloped with tourism as thefocus, corresponding to the local
people’s interest. As agriculture isamong the major economic
activities in Kita-Hiroshima, it was
included to support tourism.

The rice production continues withthe generation of rice waste,namely, rice straw and husk thatare potential to be used for bioethanol production. Rice straw andhusk have cellulose content, achemical compound that can beconverted into bioethanol, which
can replace gasoline for various
purposes,
includingfuelling
vehicles that can be used in tourism
activities. Thus, we added theenergy and environment sectors.

Eco-homestay’s poster

TOURISM SECTOR: ECOHOMESTAYWe created new tourism businesscalled Eco-homestay, with thetheme of ‘inaka ine’, meaning
village, nice and rice in Japanese.
The participants came fromdifferent
countries
andbackgrounds. The event held
variousactivities,
suchasagricultural, cycling, fishing,

12

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

From the left: Novi, Quan, and Teguh

hiking, cultural exchange, andvisiting local companies andfacilities. The concept was createdand evaluated using different
scenarios so that local people cancontinue organizing it by themselves.

Eco-homestay’s brochure

AGRICULTURE
Application of rice husk incontrolling paddy weeds’
Monochoria and Barnyard grass
are the common weeds in the KitaHiroshima rice fields. These paddy
weeds often inhibit the growth ofrice plants by exuding endogenous
toxic chemicals from the roots.
Rice husk, which contains certain
chemical components, such asphenoliccompounds
andmomilactones, can suppress theinvasionof
paddy
weeds.
Therefore, the role of rice husks toreplace herbicide for controlling
paddy weeds was studied.

The concept of our onsite project

rice in Kita Hiroshima. We selected
the environmental friendly process
called hydrothermal and enzymatichydrolysis technology.
The reuse of an additional chemicalcalled catalyst, which is produced
from existing biodiesel production
in Oasa region, was also considered.
Our laboratory experiment showedthat rice straw is more potential to
be used as bioethanol feedstockcompare with rice husk. However,as rice harvesting is done only oncea year, other agriculture waste,such as tomato residues or any
other vegetable plants, could be
used. A deeper feasibility study isrequired for a real implementationin the future.

agriculture and energy sectors werelaboratory experiment and desk
study; however, the results can be areference or comparison for future
development. As the three sectors
are related, we could not clearlymeasure them in our evaluation.
The contribution of this project insolving the depopulation problem
is indirect; hence, it could not be
exhibited sharply because of thesmall scale and time limitation of
the project. However, this project
still provided a valuable lesson for
all parties involved.

ENERGY
About 9,000 tons and 2,000 tons of
ethanol can be produced from ricestraw and husks, respectively,
according to our calculations ofsimple energy and cost analysis
based on the annual production of

LESSON LEARNED
This
project
introduced
successfully a new type of tourism
business in Kita-Hiroshima withthe evaluation as references. The

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express our
gratitude to NPO for collaboratingwith us; INE Oasa, especially Mr.
Takahiro Hotta and Mrs. Asuka
Toya; the Oasa Electronic Co.;
Oasa Junior High School; and Prof
Tsukamoto. We would also like tothank the former onsite project
team (FY 2015); Mr Yamashita andMr. Yamamoto who served as ourinterpreters; and Mr. Motaz Sabri
who provided us with technology
and media support. Finally, we
would like to express ourappreciation to the professors,
mentors and staff of Taoyaka
Program, Hiroshima University for
their support.

Making a rice straw broom activity

Students from the Oasa Junior High School

Visiting an electronics company in Oasa

Fishing in Ogure Farm

Hiking on the Yahata highland

Host families of Eco-homestay

The results of the laboratory
experimentshowedthat
KoshiHikari rice-husk is stronger
than Akiroman and AkitaKomachi
in suppressing the growth of
Monochoria and Barnyard grass.
Momilactones A and B were also
found in KoshiHikari rice-husk,
proving that these compounds arepotential chemical components todevelop bio-herbicide in the future.

Laboratory experiments for bio-herbicide
development

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201713

Internship Reports
1. Internship at Forum for Rural Welfare and Agriculture Reform forDevelopment (FORWARD-Nepal): Chitwan, Nepal<2016/08/25~2016/11/10>

By Shree Kumar Maharjan
D1, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Program in Educational Development and Cultural and Regional Studies
Cultural Creation Course

Field exercise with communities using
participatory toolsNepal is an agricultural country
with more than 65% of its
population related directly or
indirectly to agriculture for theirlivelihood and sustenance. Manyorganizations,
includingthe
FORWARD-Nepal,anongovernmental organization (NGO)in Nepal, have been committing
and implementing programs/
projects to improve people’s
livelihoods through agriculturalreform and development. Theinternship mainly aimed to help
students learn the working
modality, strategies, and approachesof the organization, including
thematic areas and programs/
projects. During the internship,
fieldwork was conducted tounderstand the factors affecting
climate change adaptation inagriculture through participatory
research methods. Moreover, thegovernment and NGOs coordinatedtheir support on climate change
adaptation in agriculture.
Learning by doing
The internship was beneficial forboth the organization and the intern.
The organization encouraged andappreciatedtheintern’scontributions, and the internacquired work exposure and14

opportunities from the senior
management team. The intern’s
contributions were mainly on thefollowing areas:� Re-organizing the organizational
strategy,
includingvision,mission, goals, and objectives in
the internal strategic meeting� Review of the thematic areas
and other documents, such as theorganizational brochure andother publications
� Coordination support in thenational
workshopon‘Enhancing Quality Standards of
Raw Milk: Validation of Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMP)in the Chain’ at the Yak Palace,
Kathmandu on 3 November
2016.
� Participation in the organizational
functions, such as the annual‘FORWARD DAY’, Teej festival
celebration, and other regularmeetings.
Field work
In addition, the field work on
climate change and agriculture in
Madi Valley was conducted withthe support and guidance of theorganization; the field work waspresented to the management team.
After a detail data analysis,
Executive Director Mr. Netra Pratap
Sen encouraged the presentation offindings to the government, NGOs,
and the media. The coordination
with the stakeholders, such as Madi
Municipality,
BufferZone
Management Committees, I/NGOssuch as the Rural Reconstruction
Nepal (RRN), World Wildlife
Fund/Terai Arc Landscape (WWF/
TAL), United Nations Development
Programme/Community-based
Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDP/

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

CBDRR), farmers’ cooperatives/groups, media, police, and army,
was conducted during the fieldwork. These stakeholders aresupporting the communities withrespect to their livelihoods and theimpacts of climate change.
Lessons learned and conclusion
FORWARD Nepal has achieved
milestone successes in improving
the livelihoods of the farmers, ruralpoor, and marginalized people. It
has wider networks and good
relations with the government
counterpart,
other
NGOs,
researchers, and media. It is among
the initiators among I/NGOs forriverbed farming in Nepal, which
is one of the adaptationinterventions in the Nepalesecontext. It was initiated as alivelihood intervention for thelandless farmers at the beginning.
Being an NGO, it has limited
resources, but efficiently utilized,
thus communities trust and work
closely with the organization.
Because of limited resources,
sustainability is the biggest issue. It
has adopted multi-stakeholders’partnership approach to address theissue.
The support and cooperation of
FORWARD-Nepal staff members
during the internship are highly
acknowledged.

Field exercise with communities using
participatory tools

2. Internship at Mekong Tourism Coordinating Ofﬁce (MTCO):
Bangkok, Thailand<2016/12/02~2017/01/30>

By Nguyen Van Hoang
D1, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Program in Humanities
Cultural Creation Course

destination to generate job
opportunities and reduce poverty
rate in the region.

Myself at the Golden Triangle in Chiang Mai

The Greater Mekong Sub-region(GMS) includes Cambodia, thePeople’s Republic of China(Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces),
Lao People’s Democratic Republic(Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand,
and Viet Nam. The GMS possessesrich natural landscapes andhistorical-cultural resources that
help tourism development in thisregion.

The MTCO: located inside Thailand’s
Department of Tourism building.

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating
Office (MTCO) was established in
2006, with the support of the AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB), toassist GMS National Tourism
Organizations develop and promote
the Mekong region as a single
destination. In addition, MTCO
contributes tothetourismdevelopment efforts of each GMS

Given my current research andinterest in areas related to MTCO’s
functions, I decided to pursue myinternship at MTCO. The objectivesof this internship were to explore
tourism development in one of thecountries of GMS, and understandand be involved in a specificactivity of the MTCO.
During the internship, I was
assigned an important project thatwas related to my knowledge andexperience thus far. The task was tocommunicate with travel andtourism stakeholders in myhomeland, Vietnam. The MTCO
aimed to connect to and build acontact database of Vietnamese
travel and tourism industry
associations, such as tour operator,
travel agent, and hotel associations,and work with them to convey
MTCO initiatives to their members.
Therefore, I mainly concentrated
on collecting data on Vietnamese
tourism industry.
Through this task, I learned more
about the tourism industry in
Vietnam and was able to enhance
my personal relationship withcertain tourism stakeholders in mycountry. These outcomes support
my current research and future

career.
Through this internship, I gained
the following:� A deep understanding of MTCO
as an organization and its
functions� An understanding of the tourism
development situation in GMS
� Expansion of my knowledge on
the Vietnamese tourism industry
� Experiencesof
Thailand’s
tourism� Familiarizationofaninternational
workingenvironment
I highly acknowledge the assistanceof MTCO, especially its Executive
Director and Operations Manager
who greatly helped me during myinternship. Without their generous
support, I would not havecompletedmyinternship.
Participating in onsite training suchas this provided me with anopportunity to obtain invaluable
experiences, which make thetraining beneficial to me.

Ayutthaya in Thailand: among the World
Heritage Sites in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201715

3. Internship at Development Action for Women Network (DAWN):
Manila, Philippines<2017/01/16~2017/02/14>

By Menoza Shikainnah Glow Dalumpines
M2, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation,
Program in Educational Development and Cultural and Regional Studies
Cultural Creation Course

Inside DAWN OfficeIpursued an internship at theDevelopment Action for Women
Network (DAWN), given therelevance of its objectives andworks to my research. The aim of
my research is to understand the
dynamics of Philippine–Japancross-border movements withrespect to migrants, especiallychildren, their transnational ties,
and formation of identities, withfocus
onJapanese-Filipinos
affected by migration practices in
one way or another. These and theopportunity to establish personalconnections
with
DAWN’smembers motivated me to choose
the organization as an avenue forlearning.

Facilitating a group activity

Established on 6 February 1996,
DAWN is a non-governmentorganization in the Philippines. Its
goals include ensuring theimmediate
reintegrationofreturning
distressed
migrant
women to their families and16

Philippine
society,creating
alternative livelihood opportunities
for returning migrant women as an
option to migration, generating astrong public opinion against all
forms
ofviolence
anddiscrimination inflicted upon
migrant women and their JapaneseFilipino children (JFC), building awide network of support, anddeveloping its organization as acompetent and self-sustaining
support institution for distressed
migrants and their families.
During my internship, my majortasks included facilitating andassisting orientations for Japanese
students and guests during theirstudy tours in the Philippines,
organizing group activities andassisting cultural lessons forJapanese-Filipino
children,participating in home and school
visits as part of DAWN’s social
services program, conducting
interviews with DAWN staff andits selected members, and training
for its livelihood program.
As part of the training, I
administered a cultural lesson for
JFC members to broaden theirunderstanding of Japanese culture.
Most JFC members were born andspent most of their life in thePhilippines, and thus may have
limited or no knowledge of their
Japanese father. To respond to suchneed, DAWN provides Japanesecultural lessons to the children. I
facilitated ‘My Kimono Art’ classfor eight JFCs, aged 9 to 21 years.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

JFC members and their finished artwork

The primary objectives of the classare to encourage JFC to express
their own thoughts by designing
their own Kimono, and promotegroup effort by compiling theirindividual works to produce a one
piece of art. Interestingly, children
produced their own meanings andexpressed their ability to constructtheir own representations ofthemselves. Such activities had
given JFC the chance to express
themselves in various ways.
Having such experience, I would
like to extend my heartfelt gratitude
to DAWN’s executive director andstaff for accommodating me during
the month-long internship, and for
Taoyaka Program for making thisexperience possible. This has beena critical platform for me to voiceout my advocacy of upholding therights of migrants and theirfamilies, and for allowing me toexperience work on the field.

Together with DAWN Family

4. Internship at Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of
Sciences (CAS-IA): Beijing, China<2017/02/12~2017/02/24>

By Kouhei Shimasaki
D1, Graduate School of Engineering, Program in System Cybernetics
Technical Creation Course

In front of CAS-IA

Nowadays, there are many
applications
forconvenient
improvement by using high-speed
vision. For example, we can see,among others, humans, insects, anddrones moving by using thetechnology of tracking. As we cantrack a high-speed moving entity,
we can observe those mechanisms
and add other efficient image
processingofrecognition,
classification, and analysis. It is
efficient to utilize tracking invarious fields. Especially, when werealize a high-speed vision system,
we commonly use hardware logic
circuit, such as FPGA and GPU.

High -Speed vision system

When I use high-speed vision, it attimes takes inefficient and uselessprocessing. Thus, we need to adjust

the framerate itself. In this case, Ialso must implement a variable
framerate system in this internship.
I tried to implement these kinds offunction by using FPGA or GPU
on a high-speed vision platform,
SAX2, which can process
megapixel images at 12,500 fps,
and Jetson TX1, which can be aportable development kit.
My research topic is vibration
source detection based on highspeed vision. For example, themisuse drone (invasion of privacy)
detection is important. Generally,
human eyes cannot find the positionof smaller drones correctly. How
can it find the position? We focus
on the propeller of drones. In theimage, propeller position haschanged periodically following an
individual frequency. In this way,
we can extract regions whosebrightness change. If I want torealize a more intelligent system byusing this technique, I need to,among others, combine it withtracking and variable frame rate.
In CASIA, Beijing, I learned the
FPGA-based
hardwareimplementation for high-speed
vision. Especially, I realized the
hardware tracking at 12,500 fps
and variable frame rate that wewant to change by using a digital
output signal. When I checked if it

can work correctly, I evaluated theworking-clock timing simulationand clock count. In CSIR-CEERI,
Pilani, I learned the GPU-based
hardware implementation and how
to utilize deep-learning that canrecognize an object. I tried to makethe GPU processing, which is abasic image processing of edge
detection that can evaluate blur of
motion and focus. In addition, I
also tried to implement deeplearning recognition based on
GPU-processing. This recognition
can evaluate about 90% of theobject by utilizing a learningmodel; it takes longer time to learn
the model of test objects. I foundthe validity of deep-learning. I will
try to join this function with eachother in future work.
Finally, I am thankful to CASIA &CSIR-CEERI, Pilani, for leading
the FPGA design for high-speed
vision and GPU processing throughthis internship. I am also grateful toProf. Gu, Dr. Kota Solomon, andall the members who supported thisinternship.

Tracking experimentFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 201717

5. Internship at Central Himalayan Rural Action Group (Chirag):
Uttarakhand, India<2017/02/16~2017/03/15>

By Ryosuke Mori
D1, Graduate School of Letters, Program in Humanities,
Cultural Creation Course

My translator in Nainital (left) and myself (right)

In India, statistical data show thatthe share of agriculture in the
country’s gross domestic product(GDP) is decreasing. People,
especially the youth, tend to leave
agricultural work and look for a job
in urban areas, as the former
requires more time and labour but
the income from it is inconsistentand low. Market control and debt
by urban mediators are among thereasons for rural poverty.
To address the issue, the Central
Himalayan Rural Action Group(Chirag), which offers different
kinds of activities in the rural
mountainous areas of the Kumaon
region in Uttarakhand, establishedthe Mukteshwar Kisan Producer’s
Company (MKPC), a rural farmers’organization, through a grant fromthe Indian government. The MKPC
aims to promote the farmers’ local
businesses. A survey was conductedamong farmers and the MKPC
staff members to determine whatkind of impact for rural areas canbe expected by such Producer’s
Company, which is the new trendof Indian rural areas.

18

My Research during theInternshipI obtained data from 47 farmers,
who sold their products to the
MKPC in 2016, and the MKPC
staff members. The MKPC’s goal
is to purchase all local products at
an excellent price. In 2016, the
MKPC’s contribution to thefarmers’ income was still low, as
the latter only sold about 16% of
their products to the former.
However, the farmers, who deemed
the sales price and provision ofagricultural tools as helpful, werealready satisfied with the situationand intended to keep working with
the MKPC. Moreover, the MKPC
staff increased the provision ofcheaper package to sell products,
agricultural tools, and trainings. In
this way, the organization isstrengthening the connection
between farmers and markets,
promoting social connection, andsupporting the cultivation of new
and traditional products.
In contrast, most members of the
MKPC management staff were

MKPC OfficeFlexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

unsatisfied with the situation,
raising
concernsonthesustainability of the organization.
According to them, there werevarious problems, such as a lack offund, a weak market, andmisunderstanding between farmers
and staff members.
The MKPC’s role is essential forrural mountainous communities
and thus must be continued.
Otherwise, population outflow andagricultural decline, which iscurrently happening in Japan, will
occur. The success of MKPC will
help all Indian rural areas andpeople. I hope that many people
understand the MKPC’s role, andcooperate so that the organization
does not fail.
I express my gratitude to the staff
of Chirag and MKPC for theircooperation during my internshipand research. I would also like tothank Prof. Prakash C. Tiwari andmy translator, Keval Pandey from
Kumaon University for theirsupport.

Research site: Mountains as the seas of
Uttarkhand

6. Internship at Sony LSI Design Incorporated:
Kanagawa, Japan<2017/02/05~2017/03/03>

By Zhang Xiangyu
D2, Graduate School of Engineering, Department of System Cybernetics
Technical Creation CourseI

was in my third year of Taoyaka
Program, which means I was afirst-year doctoral student when I
interned at Sony LSI Design Inc.
Thanks to the continuity of Taoyaka
Program, I have the chance toconduct my research for threeconsecutive years, benefitting me
in every aspect as I have anadequate time to dig deeper in myresearch areas. As almost all myknowledge and experiences wereacquired from school, I believe thatworking in a real world will help
me gain skills that are immensely
valuable to expanding my careerprospects. In this way, I will not belimited to research institutes anduniversities. Because my research
focuses on image processing,which is based on the output ofimage sensors. I decided tocomplete a one-month internship at
Sony, which develops and designs
the world’s top image sensors.

At Sony, I was assigned to the 1st
Image Sensor Design Part 3rd
Section, where I learned the wholeprocedure of noise reduction forcomplementary
metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) image
sensors. Specifically, my work
included three aspects or phases ofnoise reduction, namely, theoretical
study and prediction, schematic
simulation, and chip evaluation.
The internship had been instructive,
and the lessons I learned at workand from my colleagues will help
me in my future career. Sonyoffered me the opportunities tolearn and develop myself in many
areas. I also realized the big
difference between learning at
school and through actual work
exposure. At school, we always
want to innovate, whereas at work,
I learned how to implement myideas in reliable methods. This
internship introduced me to myfuture field of work.

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude
to my teachers (Mitiko Miura
Mattausch, Hans Jürgen Mattausch,
and Fengwei An) and colleagues(Shizunori Matsumoto, Haruhisa
Naganokawa, Motomi Matsuda,
Xuefei Gu, Yunhua Sun, and Kenji
Kumagai) at Sony LSI Design Inc.,
for providing me with theopportunity to work on the CMOS
image sensor during my internshipand their assistance in my research.
The training expanded myknowledge.

The road from my hotel to SONY LSI Design Inc.

Sony LSI Design Inc.

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017

19

Award Recipient
Campus Venture Grand Prix: Chugoku-Region<2017/01/24>

The Special Award on community interaction and enabling resources through agriculture
was presented to Thomas Michael Kloepfer. Congratulations!!
By Thomas Michael Kloepfer

M2, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation
Program in Development Science, Social Implementation Course

Myself with my vegetables

I applied for the Campus Venture
Grand Prix in the fall of 2016, andwas selected to an interview for abusiness
venturegrant
inDecember. My application was inJapanese; I had to prepare a fiveminute speech in Japanese for an
audience of professors andprofessionals. My business partner/
wife helped me to prepare theapplication and speech. I admit, I
was nervous to speak in Japanese
about my business venture.
As some of you may know, I reallyenjoy agriculture and farming. In
certain ways, my passion for
agriculture and farming can bedifficult to explain and convey inwords alone, especially within thefive-minute time constraint. Yearsof work, both physical and mental,
can be difficult to explain,especially in a language that is not
my native tongue. My farm ‘visionand direction’, combined with thevariety of interactions andsymbiotic relationships occurringon the farm, are seen, felt, andtasted. In certain ways, my inability
to communicate my farm businessmodel effectively and efficiently
highlighted some of my personal
weak points. However, had I notbeen challenged for the Grand Prix,
I would not be aware of theseshortcomings. Even if we fail toachieve the goal for which we setout, failure can be truly great.
Hence, when one challenges again,
it may be possible to rise to theoccasion, maintaining a sense of
focus and humility.

receiving the Nikkan Kogyo
Shimbun Award. This award hashelped provide our farm with theyear’s seed, fertilizer, and tools.
This year, I will challenge theCampus Venture Grand Prix again.
I believe this experience was
motivating for me, as farm
production and growth were fivetimes higher than last year. I hope
my model and farm methods canmotivate farmers in the future. To
make agriculture regenerative andsustainable, we have more work to
do in Japan and around the world.
If you are interested, come see us
in Mukaishima, Onomichi at
Pitchfork Farms.

My farm ‘Pitchfork Farms’
gratefully received a grant forparticipation on 24 January 2017,

Pitchfork Farms

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace
TAOYAKA Newsletter Summer: Vol. 7 / Issued in: July 2017
TAOYAKA Program for creating a flexible, enduring, peaceful society, Hiroshima University
Copyright©2017 TAOYAKA Program
Contact: TAOYAKA Program Office
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: www.facebook.com/taoyaka

20

Flexibility, Endurability, and Peace: Summer 2017