From 9 to 10 September 2024, Kyoto University hosted 55 students from 10 leading Indian universities, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), as part of the Sakura Science India University Program. The program is run by the National Science and Technology Agency (JST) with the aim of strengthening ties between India and Japan in the fields of science and technology. The 10 universities are Anna University, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and University of Delhi.

Day 1

The first day began with welcome remarks from Dr Hiroshi Kokubu, executive vice-president for education, student affairs, and admissions, and Dr Takao Hirajima, director of the Division of Graduate Studies.

The Admissions Office (AAO) then gave a general overview of the university, followed by detailed explanations of the scholarship program, short-term research internship, such as KU-STAR Program, Amgen Scholars Program, postdoctoral fellowship program, and the India Desk of the Kyoto University Research Administration Center (KURA). The Indian students seemed very excited to have these opportunities for study and research at Kyoto University.

In addition, Vikas Sharma, a research fellow at the Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Madhuri Pal, a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of Energy, and Prakhar Saxena, a master’s student at the Graduate School of Informatics shared their experience at Kyoto University.

This was followed by a campus tour. Three Kyoto iUP students and an international student from India introduced the university’s facilities and research environment. For lunch, the students tried the Cafeteria Renais. Some vegetarian students chose vegetarian curry. Some enjoyed Halal certified kebab wrap. Other students tried bowls of rice with fried chicken and cakes.

Day 2

The second day featured a visit to the Katsura Campus, where participants received greetings from the Graduate School of Engineering’s Dean Yasuto Tachikawa and attended lectures by Junior Associate Prof. Hiroyuki Inamasu and Associate Prof. Takayuki Tanaka, also of the Graduate School of Engineering. The students listened to the lectures with great interest, asked many questions, and had a lively exchange with the lecturers.

The students then each toured one of six laboratories at the Graduate School, actively asking their hosts questions about their research.  The students actively asked questions and learned a lot from the professors and students of the laboratories.

The visited laboratories at the Graduate School of Engineering are: Junior Associate Prof. Kazuya Ishitsuka, Engineering Education Research Center; Junior Associate Prof. Hiroyuki Inamasu, Division of Architecture and Architectural Engineering; Prof. Ryoichi Kurose & Assistant Prof. Abhishek-Lakshmana Pillai, Division of Mechanical Engineering and Science; Prof. Motofumi Suzuki, Division of Micro Engineering; Prof. Takeshi Abe, Division of Energy and Hydrocarbon Chemistry; Prof. Shuhei Seki & Associate Prof. Takayuki Tanaka, Division of Molecular Engineering.

During lunch, about 40 Kyoto University students joined a lunch gathering over Indian curry. This gathering deepened their understanding among both the Indian students and the Kyoto University students. The interaction with the motivated Indian students gave Kyoto University students a valuable learning opportunity as well.

The afternoon’s highlight was a formal visit to Kitano Tenmangu’s main shrine, arranged with the cooperation of the nonprofit Nippon Indo Cultural and Economic Center (NICE). The occasion included cultural activities such as watching a dedication dance performance by shrine maidens and experiencing a tea ceremony.

Voice from a participant

Mr. Mankhair from IIT Bombay commented, ” It’s confirmed that performing future research in the Kyoto University is a feasible option for me which have lots of opportunities for international students.”  

Many of the program participants later reported being impressed by the University’s research environment and recognizing the potential it held for their future academic or research pursuits. Kyoto University hopes that these experiences inspired the students to consider returning to its campuses for further studies or research.