Pema SYLDON
Master Student, Graduate School of Environmental Studies Good afternoon, Respected senseis, staff members, families and all my dear friends. I am Pema Syldon. I am from the Land and Infrastructure Design Lab, Tomita and Nakamura Shinichiro Lab. And I am from Bhutan. First of all, I would like to thank the Civil & Environmental Engineering International Programs Office (CEEIPO) for giving me this opportunity to deliver this speech at the closing ceremony of Nagoya University Global Environmental Leaders Program (NUGELP) and Forefront Studies Program, representing all my graduating friends today. I am honored to have been given the opportunity. Today is an important day not just for us graduating students, but for everyone in this room. It is even more special because we passed this course under the COVID-19 pandemic. We were admitted to our courses amidst the pandemic, however the CEEIPO office of Nagoya University has been taking special care of us since day 1. And today we would like to deeply show our respects to the university, especially the CEEIPO office for guiding and helping us throughout our study program. The NUGELP and Forefront Program provided us with opportunities to experience lectures on cutting-edge expertise and special lectures by practitioners, internships, and study tours. I am sure that each and every one of us graduating from these programs today would have gained the aimed skills and knowledge of the program. With this new knowledge and skills, we shall do our best to rise as global environmental leaders and civil engineers towards a sustainable future. We take this opportunity again to thank and also congratulate the CEEIPO office, each and everyone in the office for guiding us to successfully complete our program. We shall do our best in the future. Furtheron, today is the day when all our senseis' guidance can be seen in each and everyone of us. We would like to sincerely thank all our senseis, especially academic supervisors for closely guiding us, not just in our study but also in our day to day lives. My sensei Shinichiro Nakamura sensei has been guiding me throughout. We would not be where we are today, if it wasn't for the patience and continued support and guidance from our senseis. We are forever grateful. We also take this opportunity to thank our families for always supporting us. We are away, however, your blessings have always been with us. And finally, to all my graduating friends here, Congratulations! We finally did it ! Those new faces we saw online on zoom and teams when we first started our course are now our friends, who are more like families here in Japan. I am sure that we will never forget each other. We have gained tremendous knowledge, skills, met a lot of people, attended so many classes, we were under the pandemic, there were many restrictions but … we did it ! Congratulations ! Let's not forget why we came here, and what we learnt here. We must not forget to do our part by further implementing and sharing our knowledge and experiences to the wider audience. This is our responsibility. Let's give our best! I wish you good luck in your future endeavors! Once again, our two years of hard work finally came into fru-i-tion and it's the concerted effort of everyone in this room, as well as of our families back home. Congratulations again and thank you very much for all your support and cooperation. Thank you everyone, domo arigatou gozaimasu :)
Teuku Habil Putra
Master Student, Graduate School of Engineering Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am sure that today is an exciting day for all of us. My name is Teuku Habil Putra and I’m from the Steel Structures and Bridge Engineering Lab. First of all, I would like to give a big congratulation to everyone for being here at the closing ceremony. I know for a fact, that these past two years may not be all easy and trouble-free for everyone. Personally, I have gone through a lot of sleepless nights and frustrations during research. Not to mention that the COVID-19 pandemic is also still around (I hope everyone is well). Despite all of that, we still manage to graduate. Let's give ourselves a round of applause. On behalf of my fellow graduates, I would like to express our gratitude to the professors, faculty members, and staff for the guidance, kind support, encouragement, and immense knowledge throughout our study. Special appreciation goes to my academic supervisor, Associate Professor Takeshi HANJI from the Department of Civil Engineering. Studying in Japan is like a dream come true, especially for civil engineers. I was able to absorb all sorts of knowledge in Bridge Engineering through first-hand experience, research works, and study tours provided by my laboratory. Aside from that, I have really enjoyed my two years stay in Japan. I was able to witness the beauty of Sakura trees in the spring, and the freezing cold of the winter. They were totally unforgettable moments for me. For the Forefront and NUGELP Programs, thank you very much for the opportunity. These programs have enlightened us about the environment and engineering issues globally. If we recall SDGs No. 11, to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, an effort from a separate party will certainly be hopeless. But through these programs, international bonds have been developed and cooperation will be made. I hope for a bright future for everyone enrolled in this program. Once again, congratulation, and see you all at the top! Thank you! SUKULTHANASORN Naruethep Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Engineering First of all, as the representatives of the student in the international program, we would like to thank all Professors and Faculty members from the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. We know that you have worked so hard over the last three years for us to overcome the challenges and difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. We really appreciate it and will remember this as a valuable part of our journey at Nagoya University. As student members of "Forefront Programs",    we all received experience in the intensive training from coursework, conducting research, publication in the journal, and attending the conference, but on top of that, " Sustainable Development"     is the one issue that we have learned and is emphasized a lot through the program, combined with our experience living in Japan, I believe we all have intrinsic motivation to achieve sustainability goals in whatever we plan to do in the future. To the friend, "Forefront/NUGELP" students, if we throwback to the first moment that came to Japan, on that day, we cannot imagine the difficulties, obstacles, and good and bad stories that happened like this in our journey, especially the unpredictable thing like the COVID-19 pandemic. We are directly and indirectly trained from these challenges, we push our limits, and we are more flexible and patient in order to achieve our goals. Now, we have reached this point, graduation, and I know that this is not easy and requires much effort along the way. So, today, we should be proud of ourselves as the graduating student of Fall 2022. In the future, no one can say it will be easy, but with the experience received from the Forefront/NUGELP programs, I believe we will finally pass through it. Now this journey is ended, however, our next journey just beginning, be ready and welcome new challenges. We have a special bond as alumni of Nagoya University. Feel free to get in touch and collaboration. Congratulations! Many thanks to Sensei and the relevant people in the international program.