eVISIONHOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY, JAPANEDITORIAL

CONTENTS

www.eng.hokudai.ac.jp/e3/community/evision

Editorial

2

Announcement

3

Graduation Ceremony

4

E3 Anniversary

5-6

Activities

7

Film

8

Motivation

9

Column10

Research Journey

11-12Internship

13-14

Living the Dream

15-16

Interview

17-19

A Newcomer

20

Initial Motivation

21

Last Year

22

The Lunch

23-24

Travel25-26

Love HU

27

To be Ambitious

28

E3 SO

29-30

Photoshoots

31-32

Special Thanks:
Natalya Shmakova (for all suppor ts )Kyouhei Otani (for Front & back cover photo)& Students of e3
Design & Illustration: Sajal Chowdhury

evision2015@gmail.com
www.eng.hokudai.ac.jp/e3/community/evision
All rights reserved.

Sajal Chowdhury
Editor-in-Chief, eVision
Our new editorial board has spent almost one year andachievements are also not so little. Every year many newstudents are coming to e3 program from many different
countries who have social cultural dynamism. This magazine always trying to develop the cultural bonding among
the students so that they can find themselves on a open
platform where they will find the only sign of communityand love. We always hope our magazine to be a foundation of social communication and exchange dimensional
experiences of the e3 community. So if you manage yoursmall time just come and join us . So that we can work
together for our e3 community.

eViSION

Maria Fernanda Rivas

Srikrishnan Siva Subramanian

Associate Editor, eVision

Sub Editor, eVision

Rimana Islam Papry

David Cempel

Feature Editor, eVision

Cover Illustration, eVision

Page 2

Page No.

eVISION

Contents

Contact

eVISION Jan. 2016evision2015@gmail.com

Page 1eVISIONeVISION Jan. 2016

eVISION Jan. 2016

Announcementfrom Editor
We want our magazine to be a fun and interesting mean of communication
between students, staff and alumni, and hope that we can exchange different
experiences as part of the e3 community. For this, we would like to invite you toparticipate in our next issue by submitting a short article about the topic of yourchoice.
Following are some suggestions, but any new idea is welcome:Experiences :(share your experience in Japan, in Hokkaido University, tell us about yourresearch, work experience, seminars, etc.)

Food :(tell us about your favorite Japanese food, share recipes from your country, tell
us about special food only found during festivals, etc.)

Social activities :(what are your hobbies? Tell us what kind of activities you like to engage in,give us an insight in your favorite activities in Japan, etc.)

Hokkaido or

Leisure :(share jokes, fun facts, crosswords, etc.)
Finally, show your talent with the camera by submitting your favorite picture tobe published in our magazine. No writing is required, just a title and the dateand place of shooting.

Guidelines:
Note: (Please try to keep your article about one A4 page long, and include
pictures where possible (if they are not your own, please provide the source).

The deadline to include your article in the June eVISION edition is May 30, but
those sent afterwards will be saved for our next issue.
Please submit by e-mail to evision2015@gmail.com.

Graduation Ceremony"Nothing can describe your greatest moment inlife. I hope my snapshot can partially represent
it even the slightest way"). This photo is taken
at the graduation ceremony on 25th September
this year (2015) at Hokkaido University. I canfeel that it is their greatest moment in life.
Although, it may indescribable, yet I hope thispicture could represent your greatest memories
even only a fraction of your heart.
Natee Sirisit
Division of Quantum science and Engineering
Graduate school of EngineeringandCatalyst Surface Research Division,
Institute for Catalysis (ICAT)

Page 4(share pictures and experiences you’ve had while visiting
Japan, recommend places from your country, etc.)

Page 3

Travel :eVISIONeVISIONeVISION Jan. 2016

3

eVISION Jan. 2016

15th e Anniversary

e3 Anniversary Homecoming Seminar“Take the lead: Global Challenges and Education”

eVISION Jan. 2016

Natalya Shmakova
Coordinator

English Engineering Education Program (e3)Graduate School of Engineering
Hokkaido University
Sapporo 060-8628, JAPANThe occasion of 15th anniversary provided us with adelightful opportunity - to invite e3 alumni to visit back.
Today I can say that e3 homecoming is becoming a
tradition, with first one successfully organized in 2010,
when program reached its 10th milestone. In 5 years since
the last homecoming e3 has grown twice bigger and had
twice more reasons to celebrate its success. Today 126
students, including 14 Japanese are enrolled in 12
divisions and its 287 alumni are active in Japan andworldwide.
The two-day anniversary seminar “Take the lead: Global
Challenges and Education” was held in the Frontier
Research in Applied Sciences Building on September
10-11, 2015. Seminar brought together over 90
participants - professors, alumni, current students and staff
to discuss "What was achieved in the past 15 years andhow should the program develop in order to staycompetitive and produce excellent global engineers?"
Guest speakers included Dean Prof. Nawa, Vice-president
Prof. Uyeda, e3 Head prof. Fujita, Vice Dean Prof.
Kobayashi and Dr. Matsukawa from Chiyoda Corporation.
11 e3 alumni from Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, China,
Venezuela, Bangladesh, Brunei and Cambodia、graduatedin various years, shared their career and researchexperiences.
They
were
addressing
challenges
engineering education faces in their countries, the role ofengineer in a globalizing industry, and important for PhD
graduates concern academia- industry transition.

MAY, Thithiwat (Thailand, ’09) Nitto Denko, JapanThe seminar was concluded by an excursion to Jozankei, Yoichi and Otaru where everybody could finally fully relax andenjoy games, food and beautiful nature of Hokkaido. Now one could see alumni guests, well established in their careers,
looking back to their time spent as students immersed in the friendly atmosphere of the e3 family

ISLAM, G.M. Sadiqul (Bangladesh, ’09) Chittagong University ofEngineering and Technology, Bangladesh

During all this days, although I didn't have a chance to meet many of the guest before, it truly felt as we were members of
one big family!

ALORRO, Richard Diaz (Philippines, ’10) Curtin University, Australia

I would like to express gratitude to the Dean Prof. Nawa and e3 program head Prof. Fujita, all e3 students, professors andstaff without whom this event could not be possible.

BAHARUDIN, Arshad (Brunei, `09) Imperial College London, MBA,
Imperial Mobility consultancy

OPISO, Einstine Macamay (Philippines, ’10) Central Mindanao
University, Philippines

Many students have volunteered their time as task group members and advisors, and I would like to thank them personally here:

THAISIAM, Wandee (Thailand, ’10) Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart
University

Matteo Porta – secretary, also seminar cameraman

YU, Jun (China, `11) Nippon Light Metal, Japan
SENG, Sochan (Cambodia, `12) Cambodia Institute of Technology

David Cempel – anniversary symbolic design (for e3 T-shirt and clear files) and camera man

CHENG, See Yuan (Malaysia, `12) Universiti Teknikal Malaysia
MelakaMaria Rivas and Subeg Bijukchhen (special MCs), Chan Poh Cam (DJ), Rahmat Ullah, Mohan Amarashiri (Games), Man
Ya (anniversary future mail) – party task group

AGUILAR, Kira Andreina (Venezuela, `13) Santos Dumont, Ireland

Safiera Nur Septina, Shuto Kaneko and Wakana Oishi – field trip task group

SICAT, Evdon (Philippines,’14) Mitsui Sumitomo Construction, Japan

Also I would like to thank for ideas and advice at the initial stages of the event: Ankit Ravankar, Justin Shresta, Steve
Kabore and e3 alumni: Dr. Katia Andrade, Dr. Adriano Coutinho de Lima, Dr. Elakneswaran Yogarajah

Page 6

One of the important outcomes of the seminar was the listof suggestions concerning curriculum development andcareer support reinforcement prepared by the group
discussion
participants.
Although
some
of
the
suggestions extended the reach of our program, Prof.
Fujita, e3 program head promised that e3 will closely
consider them. Results of survey and discussion werereported to the e3 Expert Committee and we are alreadystarted working on some of the core suggestions –introducing basic science course. Participants have also
discussed how e3 can engage its alumni, they agreed thattime to establish e3 alumni association might have comeand voted for Dr. Richard Alloro as president and Dr.
Elakneswaran Yogarajah as secretary of the interim
committee. I wish them a success in it!

Alumni guest speakers:

Page 5To get an insight on how the program contributes to thedevelopment of important skills, program strengths, andproblems that have yet to be addressed I have asked
alumni and current students to fill in a survey during theAugust 2015. It provided valuable information to be usedby the program office.

Of course, not all 3 days we spent in the serious discussions. After the first day of the seminar, participants gathered at
the Central Cafeteria to celebrate their reunion. A group of students prepared a special program for the alumni with
games and jokes. Everyone could also write a letter to one year in future using e3 anniversary future post. Speciallydesigned e3 anniversary T-shirts was a surprise present for the participants. Just 5 years ago some of the alumni helped
organizing 10th anniversary party for their seniors, but now became guests themselves.

FILM by Yan MA
Film Name:

The Eternal ZeroCountry: Japan
Release Time: 2013

eVISION Jan. 2016

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ACTIVITIES!
Hello everybody,

I am happy to share my experiences with e3 andin Japan with you all. I have attended so many e 3
activities individually, as a member of the
Sri Lankan team and as a SO member. E3 is avery nice place to meet new friends and improveyour organizational skills. As you all are aware,e3 is not only for fun, it also provides so many
opportunities towards your career development
also. But, to be honest my favorite event is
Bonenkai because we can taste so many typesof food in the same place. Thanks to e3, I have
travelled in many areas around Hokkaido. Moreover, I have followed the career guidance series
and tried to improve my transferable skills also.
But, my recommendation for all of you is to join atask group. Sometimes it is a tough job. But you
will learn lot of things and finally feel delighted byseeing the success of your job. By the way, if you
need an extra hand in the task group, you can
ask me.
See you in future e3 activities.

Mohan Amarasiri

Water Quality Control Engineering Lab“My recommendation for all ofyou is to join a task group.”

Recommendation reason:

Page 7I am Mohan from Sri Lanka. This is my 4th year in
Sapporo and currently I am in my 2nd year of PhD
in the water quality control engineering lab. My
research is focused on norovirus. I am studying
how they survive in water environments.

Although it is related to a sensitive background,the story itself is really moving. The reflections on
the value of life, the discussion on thesignificance of being alive are deeply revealed inthis full-of-contradiction story. ‘The Eternal Zero’
won the Best Film, Best Director in the 38th
Japanese Film Academy Awards.

Page 8In 2004, a young man named Kentaro Oishi
attends the funeral of his grandmother, where hehears for the first the story of his real grandfather, Kyuzo Miyabe, who once was an
excellent pilot of zero fighter and died during
Second World War. However, it makes Oishi
really ashamed that many of his grandfather’s old
comrades remember Miyabe as a coward. The
story changes when Oishi meets a comrade whois dying of cancer. He tells Oishi that Miyabe’s‘timid’ was due to his promise to his wife to go
back alive, his hope for new life after war and the
responsibility to protect these young pilots frommeaningless sacrifice. His ‘timid’ affected someyoung pilots around, giving them the hope tosave themselves when being shot down over theocean. And another comrade solves Oishi’s
puzzle of why such kind of man, who really treasured life chose to be volunteer for the suicide
attack. Before the end of the war, the cruelbattles and the death of comrades involved him
into deep self-accusation that he still couldn’tchange the miserable condition. He alreadyrecognized the hopelessness of the war, andwhen all the young pilots were encouraged to do
the final attack and die gloriously, he made a‘selfish request’, changing the plane with a dear
comrade, causing engine trouble in two planes toforce them to return. Finally, the two pilots were
saved but Miyabe was sacrificed.

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Motivation
Tahereh’s Column

Page 9During my B.Arch and M.Arch, I found interest inenvironmental topics, which amplified further being
an environmental courses and design teacher. In
this continuation, I am conducting my Masters ofengineering as a MEXT scholar on Human
Environmental
System(LaboratoryofEnvironmental Ergonomics) from (e3 program)
Hokkaido University, Japan with major stream“Energy and indoor environmental quality withhealth risk prediction. My objective is to triumph
uppermost level of environmental research relatedwith built environment and performance, so that I
am able to develop, flourish and relate myknowledge, skill and points to meet up thedemands of my future students, society and thewhole world. In this regard I want to be more
focused on “Human Environmental System andIndoor Environmental Quality” which is the crucial
requirement for performance and wellbeing of theoccupants in indoor environment. That’s why I wish
to pursue my research on “Thermal comfort criteria
and prediction of health risk”. Because in recent
years, due to the global warming, etc., heatstroke
patients have been increasing rapidly. As a result,
hot environment prediction becomes a crucial
phenomenon nowadays.

So I have selected “Laboratory of Environmental
Ergonomics” because this laboratory works on humanthermal comfort standards and energy efficient design
tools & techniques to achieve comfort level. The environment of tropics like ours is very much different thanother places. On the other hand, we had some comfort
study for residences, housing, classrooms etc. But noestablished research regarding labor extensive factorybuilding’s thermal comfort and commercial building. I
have already finished some researches regarding thisissues and also published International Journal Paper
in “Energy & Buildings” on "Thermal Performance of
Building Envelope of Ready-Made Garments (RMG)
Factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh" and now working on“Indoor Heat Stress Prediction and adaptive thermal
comfort criteria for Factory production space" by using
thermal chamber. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, I
wished to conduct research on thermal comfort, healthrisk prediction and energy performance and develop
lab facilities in the field of Architecture and Built Environment with this knowledge from e3 program. I
strongly believe that all the laboratories of e3
program have standard equipment facilities to
conduct research and world expert supervisors to
guide the study. Finally I am very much happy forbeing a student of e3 program because of its
research dynamism and lab facilities.

One year passed! With many ups and downs, happiness andsadness, progresses and failures, but the final result is that I'm proudof having this opportunity to be a PhD student of Hokkaido University
in the laboratory of solid waste disposal engineering with skillfulprofessors! I'm glad of being accustomed to this new environment withlovely Japanese people, as well as with my nice laboratory friends andof course, being a part of warm and kind international community. Thisis an honor to pass my first official presentation and finished theJapanese classes (grammar level 4 & kanji level 2). All I could achieve
was impossible without this community and waiting for having more
opportunities, more communications and for sure, more results for myresearch which is the main goal here. I'm writing far away here to
thank my mum and to warmly appreciate my wonderful supervisor. All
I can achieve is because of you, Professor Tojo.
Tahereh Malmir
PhD Candidate at Hokkaido University
Engineering Faculty, Laboratory of Solid Waste Disposal Engineering
Hokkaido, Japan

Page 10

Sajal Chowdhury

eVISION Jan. 2016

The next one was Summer School 2014,
where the main participants were Master
Students, not only from Hokkaido University
but also from overseas. It divided into fourgroups (A-D), where I belong to C groups
with Sekine, Yusuke, and Land Ding
(National University of Singapore). It was
surprising when our group chosen as thewinner. The task was to make an
improvement project for north side of
Hokudai Campus.
Our scopes not only limited to design but
also to measure and re-draw a Buddhist
Temple in Atsuta and Bachelor Memorial
Building (Hokudai Botanical Garden).
The last project and famous one is Kumitate(Japanese assembly technique). It wasstarted in June 2013 by Miura Taichi, thencontinue by Nagasawa Mami and
Takahashi Hiroya as leader of the project.
The drawings started in 2013 by 5 people(Master Student 1st year at that time). The
project continues until now where it got anaward from Good Design Award 2015.
Every year we put Kumitate project on the
1st floor of engineering building as part of
Sado (Japanese tea ceremony) Event.

Graduation Nomikai (2014) - Hokkaido University Laboratory of Architectural History and Design

My Story About Research Journey(Safiera N.S.)

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Kumitate Photoshoot (2015) - Hokkaido University Laboratory of Architectural
History and Design Documentation. Photographer: Sakai Koji
Summer School (2014)- Summer School 2014 @Sapporo

My graduation gradually getting near andbefore I realize 3 months left before thegraduation ceremony.
I was wondering, for the 3 years I spent mytime in Hokudai (Hokkaido University), start
as Research Student and continue as
Masters Student (present), I was bless by
wonderful friends and experiences. The
wonderful friends and experiences that I willtalk about come from my laboratory
experiences at Laboratory of Architectural
History and Design.

LIXIL Competition (2013-2014)

Page 12“That was my story. What is your story?
I hope you can find wonderful friends
and experiences like me in Hokudai!”

Page 11

My laboratory has several projects & activity
that require students participate on it. My
first experience was they had LIXIL
competition on 2013-2014. We need todesign a place where people canexperience nature at Taiki-cho while doing
indoor activity with the main leader Furuta,
Inoue, and Taichi, while the rest help withmodel making and design preparation.

Racquel Ranchie A. Ting
I have always dreamed of pursuing studies andresearch related work in Japan and when I finally got the chance to do so last July I was
absolutely overjoyed. It was my fourth timecoming to Japan but a first for Hokkaido.
Usually my stays were 2 weeks at the most,which did not really give me time to immerse in
the culture. At first I was bit worried since itwould be my first time living alone in a dorm,and for two months at that.
I’m currently a student at De La Salle University-Manila taking my Bachelor’s Degree in
Chemical Engineering. When I first came to
Sapporo, the first people I talked to in mylaboratory,
Laboratoryof
Sustainable
Sanitation, would get curious as to why I chose
their lab since my research topic was on
biodiesel, a much unrelated topic. However I
have always been interested in wastewater so it
was great that I could work in their laboratory.
As expected from a top university in Japan, theirlaboratory was superb. They had it all, if not,most of the equipment and reagents theyneeded in their study. They also had a pilot
plant for their studies, something that amazes
me. Thanks to my lab mates, especially
Uchida-san, and professors, I was able to learn
more about waste water treatment and various
analytical methods. Though you could say thatyou can learn most of it through journals, being
able to conduct the real thing is much more
beneficial. I was able to observe the Japanese’s
attitude towards work and compare it toFilipino’s work attitude.
Of course, it was not all about research work forme. I had a good amount of fun during my twomonths stay. I remember when I first got to
Hokkaido I was worried and excited about being
able to make friends. Unlike Filipinos, theJapanese are more reserved and shy, so I wasa bit troubled by how quiet they were in the office. I believe a major event for me was the‘Otsukare’ party our labmate, Sebastian, held
during the 2nd week of June. I was so nervous
about going since I was not directly invited. I’m
so glad I got the courage to go since I believe
this is where I got to meet and talk to most of
the people in my laboratory. Everyone was so
welcoming and I’m so glad that they were theones to talk to me first since (my friends in
Sapporo may not agree with this) I’m quite shy
when talking to strangers. I was ecstatic eachtime I got to know them more and spend timewith them.

It was my first time being in another country forso long and my first time celebrating mybirthday abroad too. And though I had only
been there for a month at that time, it was oneof the best birthdays I’ve ever had. So many
people from my laboratory came, whichsurprised me to be honest.
Even though it was Japan, I was able tobecome good friends with a number of Filipino
and foreign students there. Funny enough, I
was even able to make friends with theJapanese from other labs.
Getting the chance to do internship in Hokkaido
University is one of the most eventful things thathas happened in my life. The campus was hugeand beautiful. I could never get tired of thescenery. The food in the cafeteria was also
great to be honest. Working in a well-equippedlaboratory and being able to bike to and fromuniversity was bliss. Being able to go around
Sapporo in a bicycle was mundane but honestly
it was one of the things I enjoyed most.

My stay in Hokkaido was short and yet I was able to experience so many wonderful things. I was able to go out a lot
and have fun with friends. Doing things such as karaokeand nomikai (something we do differently in the Philippines)
were some of the highlights. Going on trips outside
Sapporo were things I thought I would do with my Filipino
friend but somehow I’m glad I was able to do it with thepeople I met in Sapporo. I was also able to attend festivals
such as the Yosakoi festival and the fireworks festival too.
Honestly, I will never forget my stay. Sure, someday I mayforget how some places looked or how to get to some of thestores I went to, but certainly I will never forget the people I
met and the moments we shared. It may have been a short
two months but certainly I have gained so many things andexperiences that have helped me grow as a person which I
will carry with me through my life. I’m not sure if I was able
to get it across while I was there, but I’m truly, deeply
grateful to all the people that befriended me and supported
me during my stay. Hopefully, I can one day go back andfinish my Master’s in Japan.

Page 14in Hokkaido University

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Entertainment

Internship

Summer InternshipPage 13eVISION Jan. 2016

Living the Dream
Rimana Islam Papry

What was the biggest question in my mind after
reached Sapporo? It was most likely how toadapt quickly to the new country and what toexpect there. I remember when I first arrived in
Sapporo; I amazed how urban and westernlooking the city was. The streets are wide andopen and the buildings are tall and modern. It
offers totally different view other than that of mycountry named Bangladesh. I felt like I wasdreaming.
But the most important thing that happened
when I moved to Sapporo was culture shock.
According to Webster, culture shock is: A
condition of anxiety and disorientation that canaffect someone suddenly exposed to a new culture. It's important to know that these feelings
are pretty typical when adapting. After all, I
suddenly realized that my way of life will be very
different from what I used to. It creates effects
on everything from diet to the clothing I wear or
people I talk with or the side of the street I walkon.
Another problem I faced was the language
barrier but now pretty much cope with it. I think
this problem happens with almost all the newcomers from all over the world. Everything isbrand new experience for me as well as theother students who wish to pursue his/her
degree from the Hokkaido University or any
other part of Japan.

Page 15

Sapporo is the Japan’s fifth-largest city, and theprefectural capital of Hokkaidō, designed by
European and American architects in the late
19th century. For me, it is a surprisingly
dynamic and cosmopolitan urban centre that
pulses with energy and natural beauty. Sapporo
is shaped by its wide grid of tree-lined streets
and ample public parks, which contribute to thecity's surprising level of livability. At the very
first day of Sapporo after exploring the city, I
felt fresh and recovered my energy back overa hot meal; a great proposition given
Sapporo's wholly deserved gastronomic
reputation.

As I come to know that Sapporo is a bustlingmodern city that can meet all the urban needs
before head out to explore. Moreover, the island
is winning a reputation as a haven forthrill-seeking travelers wanting to ski and hike inits mountains, explore its magnificent nationalparks, relax in its hidden onsen (hot springs),
and experience its offerings at their own pace. I
am planning to enjoy it at my leisure or during
the semester vacation.
As the island's main access point and transporthub, Sapporo serves as an excellent base forstriking out into the wilds.
Hokkaido University is one of the main
educations Centre for the students of Sapporo
as well as around the world, has earned areputation for pioneering research on the cuttingedge since 1876 and attracting outstanding staff
and students from Japan and around the globe.
Today, the university is recognized itself with its
advanced research institution, strong links toindustry, community and government. It aims tofulfill the dreams of its students’ dreams in orderto aims to promote excellent human resources
to contribute to the community, and expansion
in the science and technology.
This university has a beautiful campus. On a
regular day this beautiful road is lined with huge
gingko trees and is a popular tourist attraction,
especially in the autumn when the leaves
change to reds and yellows. The eye soothing
main campus is located in downtown Sapporo,
within walking distance to almost everything thebeautiful city has to offer. With an additional
campus in the coastal city of Hakodate, theuniversity converted as the powerhouse ofinnovation and research, which is therepresentative of the modern Japan.
I want to conclude that I feel not only lively
when I enjoy the meal or share my views ortravel with other students but also peaceful in
my soul as admiring the view colorful leaves fall
down slightly. Winter is almost knocking at thedoor with its calm white blanket. Sapporo
people are ready to welcome this cold
environment with warm heart. And, of course, I
am looking forward to eye witness the Sapporo
Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri), a winter carnivalhighlighted by frozen sculptures of everythingfrom brown bears and tanuki (racoon dogs) toGodzilla and Doraemon.

Page 16

Moving overseas to a culture that you know
almost nothing about is like taking a giant leap
into the unknown. Beautiful landscape, diverse
culture as well as exciting cities are reasons
why I choose Japan as the foreign country to
pursue my higher study. This is my first everexperience to live in abroad away from myfamily and friends.

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RAVANKAR ANKIT
Laboratory of Robotics and Dynamics (A5-61)
Research Group of Biomechanics and Robotics
Division of Human Mechanical Systems and Design
Faculty and Graduate School of Engineering
Hokkaido University
E-mail to : ankitravankar@gmail.com

I came to Hokkaido University in October 2010
for my Masters degree. Before that, I completed
my Bachelor of Engineering from the Universityof Pune, India. I studied Production andIndustrial Engineering for my undergraduate
course. The University of Pune is located in thecity of Pune, which is 150 km south of Mumbai.
It is one of the oldest and well-known
universities in India. After graduating I worked
for a year in a manufacturing firm as a Design
Engineer in a start up company which was
founded by my colleague and friend.

• What made you choose e3 program, HU asa place to study?
I came to know about Hokkaido University when
I was in my second year of undergraduate
course.
Mysupervisor(Prof.
Yukinori
Kobayashi) visited Pune city for the Japan
Education Fare where different universities fromJapan were exhibiting their popular courses.
Luckily, at that time I was also taking a beginnercourse in Japanese language at the Universityof Pune during my free time and came to know
about it. I visited the fare and met Prof.
Kobayashi who was very kind to explain me
about the e3 course and how I could apply.
Another reason for choosing HU, was that myelder brother had studied here for a year andduring his stay at HU, he used to send me
postcards from his travel in Hokkaido and I was
always fascinated by the beauty of Hokkaido
and wanted to study there. After finishing mycourse, I applied to the program and got
accepted.

• How did your scholarship enhance your experience of the course?
To be honest, I would not have come to Japan if it were not for the MEXT scholarship. I feel very
privileged to get this prestigious scholarship to pursue first my masters and then my Ph.D. at HU.
Japan is an expensive country and without scholarship I think it’s very difficult to survive here as a
student. Also, there is a constant pressure on you about the financial burden even if you do part –time
job or get financial help from your parents. The scholarship makes your life super easy. You only need
to focus on your studies and it covers everything, from tuition to the living expenses. I am very thankful
to the government of Japan for providing me with this scholarship.

• What did you think of the course while youwere here?
To be honest, I felt the course would be very
difficult for me because I had this perception ofJapan as a technology giant and HU is one of
the top universities in Japan. But this was not
the case and I found the course to beinteresting and easy. In India, we are used toteachings in universities where subjects aretaught from the basics to advanced level in thesame course. But here, it was surprising to me
because the professors were teaching their own
research specialization in the course work.
Overall I feel the course was properly designed
and well taught. For me, I spent most of my timein my laboratory reading papers, writing codesand experimenting. I had the freedom tochoose my own research topic which was mypriority. I had the luxury to spend hours
thinking about the research and find thesolution to it. The e3 community makes it atruly international course.

• Since completing your course what career opportunities have you taken up?
That's the most challenging question for a young graduate. I had many plans after my graduation andspent weeks considering a suitable option for my career after graduation. My major is Robotics
Engineering and I had a wide range of companies that I had selected. I was successful in job
interviews of 2 major Japanese companies in automobile and electronics sector. Then there wasanother option of going into the Academic stream and become a researcher. I finally decided to choose
academia as my career choice. I had great support from my family and supervisor who insisted that I
choose academia and I am very satisfied with my current job profile.

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INTERVIEWeVISION Jan. 2016

• Before you came to HU what did you study
and where?

Page 17eVISION Jan. 2016

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eVISION Jan. 2016
• What are the best aspects of studying at e3 program,
HU?

For current and future students, my advice would be to
make the best use of your graduate student life. The
first priority should always be your research and everything else is secondary. For most students gettingused to a new place is overwhelming experience andone must not lose focus from the research. My
personal experience is that setting small goals foryourself helps a lot. And when you reach that goal,
give yourself a small treat and set another goal toaccomplish. If you continue doing that, everything fits
perfectly in the end. It’s also important not to indulge
yourself completely in your research and take time tosocialize outside your laboratory and comfort zone.
The e3 student activities are the perfect place to meet
people and make new friends. To me e3 SO is very
close to my heart as I was an active member during
my stay at HU. Also, I served 2 years as the corecommittee leading the organization. I would strongly
advice new students to join the e3 events and if
possible take some of the positions. The events not
only help you refresh from the sometimes-frustrating
research life but also hones your management skills
by working as a team and organizing and executing an
event. I have met some of the nicest people and madesome great friends in these few years.

The e3 course is very nicely designed for the international
students. It’s one of the very few English based courses
designed for international students in Japanese
universities. The best aspects of studying as e3 students
are many. (1) The School of Engineering has some of thefinest faculties in Japan and the research standard is veryhigh. The campus is very beautiful and I think the best inJapan. (2) As the course is completely designed in
English, it makes the life of an international student veryeasy. You can study independently your research topic
under the esteemed supervision of your supervisor with full
support. (3) You get to study in a truly international
environment with students from different countries, culture,religion and diverse backgrounds. This helps to make along lasting international network even after you graduate.
Getting into e3 course is relatively difficult and only the top
students from different universities get the chance to study
here, so there is a sense of competitiveness that always
keeps you on the edge and motivates you to work hard.
The environment is very friendly and the staff is very kindand helpful with everything related to your academic lifeand even personal life. (4) The student organization or the
e3 SO is an amazing organization to get together withother students and socialize regularly. It is awell-organized student only association that gives you thevery necessary breaks from the monotonous research life
by organizing regular events. I think these points make e3
a great choice for international graduate students.
The last advice I would like to give the students is to learn
the Japanese language. I know it gets very difficult tojuggle between research and language study, but learning
the language will make your life much easier. Not only it
will help you make local friends, learn and explore theJapanese culture but will help you enormously if you areconsidering your career in Japan. I wish good luck to all
the students at e3 for their future endeavors.
• Where you are working or what are you doing at the
moment (in • 2015)?
I am working as an Assistant Professor in Hokkaido
University and will continue to work for several more years
in this beautiful university.
• Have you had any achievements since you graduatedfrom e3 program, HU that your HU degree has helped you
with?
During my stay as a graduate student, I stayed top of myclass during my Masters course of which I am very proud.
I won the Young Author award by IEEE for one myresearch paper and recently another research paperthat I co-authored got the best paper award from IEEE.
I had the wonderful opportunity to do an industrial
internship at Panasonic Corporation last year, which
was a wonderful experience and another internship at
Zhejiang University, China.

Page 19

Also I would advice students not to get demotivated if
you fail behind your research or get unsatisfactory
results. This is the part and parcel of the graduate
study program. It is designed that way to keep you
working towards your final goal, polishing and honing
your skills day by day. As my supervisor said, “Do nothaste, take one step at a time”, so must the students
should approach the research subject. Treat yourresearch as your prized possession, just like your own
child, caring for it, working to make it better every day
and eventually everything will be alright.

A Newcomer
Hiroki Sato
Laboratory of Environmental Ergonomics
Division of Human Environmental Systems, Faculty ofEngineering, Hokkaido University
In this article, I’ll focus on the importance of language
based on my experience. Language is a powerful andimportant tool for us. Through our common language, we
can share our culture, discuss our study, and tell eachother what we think. We can understand each other. On
the other hand, Language has other aspects: We tend to
separate those who speak a different language from ourgroup. In other words, there is a psychological barrier tothose who speak different languages other than Japanese.
(I think that Japanese especially have this kind of
tendency.)
Last year, I participated in an overseas internship with myJapanese friend, Naoki, and we stayed in an international
dormitory with many students from all over the world.
Naoki and I spent a lot of time going around and eating
lunch or dinner with them. Not surprisingly, they spoke inEnglish because each of their native languages was not
same. From the beginning of the internship, Naoki and I
still had difficulty to talk to them in English, which is why
we talked to each other in Japanese even when we werein the same group with the international students.
However, we noticed that other students who didn’t
understand Japanese couldn’t join our Japaneseconversation and we couldn’t build a close relationshipunless we used our common language. So, we broke thepsychological barrier and stopped using Japanese, except
when we were alone. As a result, all students including us
got along very well.

Next example is related to the international student from
Bangladesh whom my Lab accepted last year, Sajal. Whenhe first came to Japan, he (maybe) didn’t have theknowledge about Japanese at all. But after a week or sofrom his arrival in Japan, he gave us Japanese usual
greetings such as “Otukaresama” and so on (and his
pronunciation is really great!). I believed that the mental
distance between him and us got shortened because of
the Japanese phrases and he successfully adapted
himself to the new environment.
Do you know Shotoku-taishi? He is one of the greatest
people in Japanese history and he announced theSeventeen-article constitution. It says that “Harmony
should be valued ... when superiors are in harmony andinferiors are friendly, then they discuss affairs incooperation, everything will be reasonable spontaneously.
Then there is nothing which cannot be accomplished.” Inorder to keep harmony, it is imperative to communicate
with each other in our common language.

Finally, to Japanese students, don’t be shy to speak
English and put more efforts to tell foreign people what
you think. Additionally, we really appreciate e3 programfor accepting international students and having many
enjoyable events.

Page 20• What advice do you have for others thinking ofstudying here?

eVISION Jan. 2016

eVISION Jan. 2016

InitialMotivation
Wakana Oishi

Last Year
Ahmad Ali

I am Wakana Oishi,

and I
am a master student in the laboratory of Engineering for
Sustainable Sanitation.

I learned more in e3 than I expected initially.
Actually, it is still difficult for me to discuss about myresearch in English. So I would like to continue thischallenge towards my aim and have fun withfriends. I hope foreign students encourage their
Japanese friends to have such a great experiences.

Page 22

The experience gave me the opportunity to challenge andchange myself. For example, the most difficult task for me
was to make presentation in English. I easily get nervous
in front of people even speaking in Japanese, and I’m notgood at speaking in English. Therefore, it was really hardfor the first year, but I tried to improve, and now I’m getting
better. It was tough to challenge myself with somethingthat I was not able to do, but step by step practice made itless stressful bit by bit, and the accumulation of theseexperiences has given me self-confidence. This would
become my asset for future.

November I was selected as e3 SO

president for one year. We arranged many events, such as
the Bonenkai, Snow sculpture Contest, Academic
seminars, Welcome, Graduation and Hanami parties, Field
trip and many more. During this year, I had many goodexperiences and I learnt many things like Managerial &Communication skills, Leadership skills and much more.
During one year, I made lots of friends from different partsof the world and I learnt about their interesting cultures andtraditions. Everyone in e3 family was very nice to me
because whenever we asked them for their support, they
helped us as task group members or individually. My
whole SO committee was also very passionate andmotivated in every event we arranged. Without theirsupport and hard work, nothing would have been possible.
I wish all the best to the new Committee. And I request all
e3 family members to help this new committee in theirwhole tenure. Thank you and keep rocking.

The other property is communication withinternational students with different back grounds,
carriers, generations, cultures and motivation to
study. I have learned a lot from them (For example,
different ways of thinking, closer-relationships
between people, cooking and so on). It is very
interesting and sometimes friends could lead me tomake better decisions.

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The initial motivation applying to e3 was to improve myEnglish communication skills for research work. I love myresearch topic and it must be valuable for all over the worldin future. Therefore, I wanted to disseminate my work to
the world. However, my English was very poor. To
overcome the problem, I chose the English course.

Last

eVISION Jan. 2016

eVISION Jan. 2016

The BUFFET is available between 11:00 AM to 14:30 PM
during weekends. If there is rush then we will have to wait forour turn that’s what we were doing in this picture. Since
Japanese people will love and prefer the varieties of food fromother countries unless until there is some Japanese stuff
available, we observed many salads and ice creams ofJapanese flavor. All those items were delicious. Coming to themain dish of the restaurant it was delicious PIZZAS. Even
though it is all you can eat we hardly can eat 4 or 5 slices of
PIZZAS. We were full then. We liked almost all varieties of
PIZZAS and PASTAS. Especially the ICE CREAM was very
delicious. I recommend this restaurant for first timers to try if
you are interested in PIZZAS and PASTA. The price is very
reasonable with exciting menus. Will come up with morevarieties of special food available around Sapporo next time.

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food”- George Bernard Shaw.

A lunch atthe
SALVATOR CUOMO
Page 24

Srikrishnan Siva SubramanianPage 23

It is always good to taste different varieties of food. And ofcourse once you are in a foreign country it’s anopportunity. With this in mind and after seeing theadvertisements kept in front of the shop we (me and myfriends) decided to taste the SALVATOR CUOMO
restaurant food. I and my friends are from India where we
prefer to eat more spicy stuffs like curry etc. Of course
India is famous for its wide variety of spices we are also
fond of western foods. With the interest to taste western
food, we entered the restaurant. Usually on weekends
SALVATOR restaurant hosts with a lunch buffet system inwhich they charge 1680 YEN per person and it’s like all
you can eat. Obviously due to the low cost and not having
much idea about the food to choose we decided to taste allavailable recipes by opting the BUFFET.

eVISION Jan. 2016

eVISION Jan. 2016

History

Moerenuma Koen

1977

Commencement of Land acquisition of the waste disposal site with the aim ofturning it into a park.

1979

Beginning of Moere Landfill with non-combustible waste. (-1990). Beginning of
construction and Moere Marsh dredging as part of a river project for comprehensive flood-control measures for the Fushiko River (-1992)

Maria Fernanda Rivas

1981

Development of “(former) Moerenuma Park basic design.”

1982

Commencement of construction on the park foundations. Establishment of “basic
plan for (former) Sapporo Green” The “Circular Greenbelt Concept” is raised.

1988

July, Involvement of Isamu NOGUCHI in the Moerenuma Park construction plan.
November, Completion of New Master plan. December, Death of Isamu NOGUCHI at age 84.

1989

Beginning of construction according to Isamu NOGUCHI’ s master plan.

1998

Soft opening of Moerenuma Park.

2005

Grand opening of Moerenuma Park.

Soil Mechanics Laboratory (M2)
Division of Field Engineering for the Environment
Graduate School of Engineering
Hokkaido University

We were able to enjoy a nice sunny day ofcycling and looking at the sunset from the topof the Mount Moere, with an awesome view of
Sapporo at our feet. And at night, we
witnessed the beautiful show of water andlight at the Sea Fountain.
Located in Higashi-ku, about 10 km from the University
campus, Moerenuma Park is a perfect location for those
who want to enjoy nature and art without spending too
much commuting time. Accessible by car, bicycle and bus,
this place can be visited during the winter as well as thesummer. What we found more interesting about this placeis the fact that it was converted from a waste treatment
plant into a work of art, with the creative design of Isamu
Noguchi, a Japanese American artist. Following is its
interesting history

The most iconic facility of the Moerenuma
Koen is the glass pyramid Hidamari (“sunnyspot” in Japanese), near the East entrance.
This building serves as gallery, shop andrestaurant.

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Page 25

Definitely this is a place I would recommend
for a nice day out surrounded by nature, artand sports. Make sure to check out the park’s
websitefor
more
information
http://
moerenumapark.jp/english/!

eVISION Jan. 2016

eVISION Jan. 2016

To be AMBITIOUS

Love “HU”

Reem ABUKMEIL

Sara Farooq

Graduation : 2015 (M.Eng.)

Structural Engineering (M2)
Graduate School of Engineering
Hokkaido University
I am Reem ABUKMEIL, a Palestinian lady from Palestine. I finished my master
degree in the environmental engineering department at Hokkaido university- Japan. I
enrolled the e3 program from October, 2013 till September, 2015. I am going to talkabout my life experience in Sapporo as a student and a foreigner.

I had so many unforgettable experiences during my stay till
now; like a wild camping trip with my friends Yan Ma,
Maria, Tahereh and Jagriti near Shikotsu lake in May(golden week), eating the seven flavored ice-cream in
Otaru during extreme cold weather and rafting in Niseko.
There are so many beautiful places for sightseeing inJapan that I still want to visit. Time is passing so quickly,
it’s already been a year. Before I leave Japan, I have a listof activities to do like traveling to Osaka, Kyoto andHiroshima, climbing Mt. Fuji, skiing, paragliding and manyother things. Although these days, I am always stuck in mylab.

I can say that I am satisfied and happy from my decision ofcoming here. Studying abroad couldn’t be more perfect
anywhere else. I love Japan, I love Sapporo!

Page 27

So Japanese people often ask me ‘why Japan’? I choseJapan because of safety. Sapporo in particular is a small,peaceful and quiet city and I love being here. There aremany things that you can enjoy only in Japan, and I think
I’m going to miss them. I am used to eating Japanese food(onigiri particularly, every day). I love ramen and takoyaki.
These days I am struggling with Japanese language. I took
some classes in the student center previously but always
end up dropping them. It’s interesting too, but teihen(tough).

Any beginning has its bitterness and difficulties, however, it is definitely my greatest
experience in my whole life. I learned dozens of things, having new culture, meeting
new people with different nationalities, exchanging thoughts and ideas, new type offood (especially the amazing sushi) and finally how to do the research. The mostinteresting part for me was to meet many people with totally different backgrounds.
You learn how to accept others despite all the differences that we have. As well as,
one day we become one family with sharing our feelings, thoughts, food, enjoyment,
laughing, exercising, travelling and many other things. E3 program allow and open
for us this opportunity. It was also a great time I spent while I was the financial
manager of the e3 SO, 2013-2014. Organizing events was so much fun; we tried togather all the e3 students for having nice moments out of the research stress.
Regarding my research experience, I get an awesome time with a great laboratory ofenvironmental engineering on sustainable sanitation. My professors and lab mates
were so cooperated (even out of e3 circle). I learned the meaning of re-search whichmeans trying and trying many times (that’s why it is re-search not search only).
Research will grew your personality and will open for you many opportunities all over
the world. I was lucky to participate in two worldwide experiences in Poland andMongolia. At the end, I can say I had unforgettable moments in Hokudai. I will missall of this and especially my friends. I hope we will meet again in the future.
And one more(Boys be ambitious and… Girls be more and more ambitious)

Page 28

I reached Japan almost one year ago. At first, I was a little
frustrated because of the language barrier. Whenever I
went to buy something, it was really difficult tocommunicate with the staff. I couldn’t speak Japanese atall. As days passed, I started to enjoy my stay here; joined
the Japanese language classes, made some international
friends. I love the Hokudai campus. It’s large and it’s
beautiful. In autumn Hokudai becomes so beautiful, it’s thebest time around the year. I have made many international
friends. Last year I joined e3 as Vice Chairman Public
Relations. It was a great experience, being in touch with e3
family and organizing events. Being a member of e3 family
enabled me to interact and broaden my vision in aninternational environment.

eVISION Jan. 2016

e3 SO VoiceeVISION Jan. 2016

SHOFA RIJALUL HAWSHUKI MIURANGUYEN THI PHUONG THAODAVIDCEMPEL
Snow candles
at the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival

Vice-Chair (Finance)

Public Relation Officer

Vice-Chair (Academic)

Chairman
I’m Landon from the United States. I
look forward to spending time together
with you and the e3 family in the near
future. When I first found out about e3
over two and a half years ago, I knew
immediately that I wanted to be a part ofthe program. I just recently got accepted
to the Master’s course in Mechanical andSpace
Engineering
followingone
semester of study as a research student.
During my time as a research student, I
was lucky enough to join in on most of
the e3 activities and meet many people
from e3. Each one of those events wasvery enjoyable, and motivated me to try
for the position of SO chair.
E3 students come from countries allaround the world and from all walks oflife, which is precisely why I believe that,together we have incredible potential.
The bonds that we form here willtransform our lives, and inspire us to bea new generation of innovators andleaders. Let’s explore, learn and growtogether during our time at Hokkaido
University!

Vice-Chair (Social)
Hello, everyone. My name is Shuki
Miura, Master 1st student atLaboratory of Engineering for
Maintenance System. I was bornand raised in Sapporo, so now I’mvery delighted that you chose
Hokkaido University, my hometown
university and happy to study at
Hokkaido University with you.
Turning point for me to join such aninternational activity like e3 is myfirst stay in foreign country inThailand. I studied as exchange
student one semester at Sirindhorn
International Institute of Technology
in Thammasat University with manykind students. After that, I have tried
to be kind and provide many events
to international students as same as
Thai students did for us. When I
was suggested to nominate e3 SO
committee, I thought it may be thechance to expand my challenge, togive opportunities to enjoy their lifein Hokkaido. I will do my best to
provide many events whichmake you experience Hokkaido
and Sapporo. Let’s enjoy andhave a great time together in
Hokudai life!!

Page 29

LANDON KAMPSMy name is Shofa Rijalul Haq, astudent from Indonesia. I belong toLaboratory of Groundwater and Mass
Transport, Division of Sustainable
Resource
Engineering.
Mybackground study is mining andgeological engineering. As a matter offact, I had been in Hokkaido
University as student exchange oflong term PARE program for about six
months, September 2014 - March2015. Then I went back to Indonesia
to complete my master and cameagain to Hokkaido University to
pursue a PhD degree, which has been
starting since October 2015. Whenregistered as student at Hokkaido
University, I was automatically a partof e3 (English Engineering Education)families. The activities and events
organized by e3 families are always
made me fascinated. I feel like homewhen I am interacting with them, somuch fun and happiness. Many times,
it decreases my level of depression
and stress due to my laboratory work.
On November 25, 2015, I was
nominated and officially became aVice-Chair (Academic) of e3 SO(Student
Organization).
In
consequent, I am committed toenhancing the quality of education
available at Faculty of Engineering,
Hokkaido University by assisting tocampus events and activities which
enriche3community
throughorganizing lectures, workshops, orseminars.

Once upon a time, I dreamed I could fly on the sky toanother country. E3 appears and my dream comes truein an unbelievable way. New life in a new country - Japan- opens with many colors and one of those beautiful
colors is made up by my new Japanese friends. They arestandard for me to try in my forthcoming student life.
Japanese students have a good sense. They come early
before every seminar to prepare projector, tidy table, andchair, serve tea, and cakes. After seminar, they together
tidy the room again to turn it back to original status. No
one leaves until when the work finishes. They are very ontime. If seminar starts 4:30 many students are already inthere since 4:00, or some others come exactly at 4:30 nolater even 1 minute. They are very clever. I am reallyshock when attending their poster seminars. The research result indicates that they have done many
experiments. The poster is full of complicated formulasand diagrams. They all deal with very difficult andchallenge research topics. I always look at themadmiringly and tell with myself how high level Japanese
education is. Japanese students are very hard working
as well. They can stay overnight at lab to carry out
experiment and write report. Every day they leave
laboratory at eight or nine P.M even under the badweather condition. Surprisingly, once they come to theparty, they become another person. Someone who has
never talked to me before, makes conversation with me.
Since then, I recognize that Japanese students are notso cold but very friendly. They drink a lot alcohol without
being drunk. And the way they eat noodle is very
interesting that I still can’t imitate. Sometime, Japanese
students are also lazy like student-being. They spend 2
continuous hours to play videogame or read comic.
There is a bookshelf of comic in my lab. I am lucky to bea member in my laboratory, I am happy to say ohayo
each morning an otsukare every evening to everyone in
my lab. I am enjoying my life in Japan.

Hello everybody! My name is David. I’m from
Czech Republic (Prague and beer :). I have
moved to Sapporo in October 2014. Why did I
choose Hokkaido/ Sapporo? First of all I love
Japanese kindness, politeness and willingness.
Secondly I love snow, skiing and cross-country
skiing and the fact that nature is so close even
if you’re living in a big city.
In past three years I’ve lived in Korea andSweden and was enjoying cultural exchange
experience and now it’s time for Japan! I’mdoing PhD in Materials science. I’m enthusiastic
about all kinds of sports. I especially lovebasketball, triathlon, hiking and mountaineering,
but any sport is fine for me.
I decided to join SO committee as aVice-chair for public relations for several
reasons. One of them would be that researchdoesn’t give me as much space for creativity as
I need. On the other hand PR gives me relative
freedom for my creativity, and E cube gives me
opportunity to meet many people from allaround the world, and getting to know each isthe best part of every relationship. So I take thisopportunity more like a fun than a job.
I’m looking forward to meet you all to hear yourlife stories, therefore don’t waste your time andjoin E cube family!
Have funPage 30

Hello e3 student,

eVISION Jan. 2016

Photoshoot

PhotoshooteVISION Jan. 2016

SO
Committee

eViSION Photo Courtesy: Natalya Shmakova & e students
3

eViSION

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2015-2016

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ELECTION