La-CEP Pre-Departure Training Session for TUAT, UEC and TUFS Students

October 3, 2019

From Friday the 19th until Friday the 26th of July, a pre-departure training session was held for 26 students from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, the University of Electro-Communications and TUFS who will go on exchange to partner institutions in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Argentina as part of the Inter-University Project “A Co-Creative Education Program of Humanities and Sciences to Solve Global Issues Confronting Japan and Latin America” (La-CEP).

This training session consisted of various events and workshops characteristic of the three involved institutions. These included a social event with La-CEP students from partner institutions on exchange in Japan, a problem-solving-based workshop entitled “A Workshop to Consider How We Can Contribute to Solving Issues in Latin America” by TUFS Professor TAJIMA Yoichi (Graduate School of Global Studies, International Economics), a workshop on “Latin American Society and Economics” from TUAT Professor YAMADA Masaki (Graduate School of Agriculture, Department of International Environmental and Agricultural Science) and a workshop on agriculture IoT entitled “Challenges for Solving Agricultural Issues: The Current State of Agricultural Issues and Problem Solving Using Information and Communication Technology in Latin America” by UEC’s Professor ZENBUTSU Sakae (Faculty of Informatics and Engineering/研究科キャリア教育部会、professional career education using project-based learning) and Doctor TOGAMI Takashi (SoftBank Co. e-kakashi Promotion Section, Agricultural Information Engineering).

A risk management seminar was also held in which a lecture was held on what to be be wary of in Latin America, common scams and what to do if you get caught up in a troublesome situation. Students who went on this exchange last year gave presentations on their experiences, and specific reminders were given based on real situations. We hope that the students have a rewarding experience while also looking out for their own safety and health.

This project is a collaborative initiative between TUFS, TUAT and UEC that was launched in 2016 to jointly foster practical and global human resources to solve global-scale issues in Latin America (such as environment, resources and energy, food, and socioeconomic development). The three universities will bring their strengths together to promote socioeconomic development in Latin America and exchanges between Latin America and Japan.