The Wild & Wise Collaborative Learning Program
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University
For Foreign Universities

For Kyoto Univeristy students, please click here (PDF 240KB).

The “Top Global University Project” of Kyoto University invites graduate students to receive a short-term scholarship for studying at Kyoto University. The selected students will join the “International Spring School for Environmental Studies 2018 Program” at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) with other participants from various countries.

Application through the website must be completed by 23:59, 10 November in Japanese time. For applicants who pass the documentation screening and interview examination, all original documents for items 2-6 must be submitted by registered airmail or EMS/DHL/FEDEX by 20 December 2017 (normally DHL, FEDEX takes 2-3 days, EMS 2 days to 1 week, Air mail takes 1-2 weeks to Japan). At this time, we will request submission of confirmation letters and passport copies.

^*1 Applicant must belong to master program or doctoral program at one of the designated universities. Applicants who work as lecturers for a designated university but are studying at a non-designated university graduate program may not apply. Post-doctoral researchers, and reseach students are not eligible for this program.

We encourage students with high academic capability and an interest in international academic exchange to apply for this scholarship program.

October 2^nd, 2017

Prof. Shinya Funakawa
Dean, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

International Spring School for Environmental Studies 2018

Schedule in 2018

21^st February (Wed)

Arrival in Kyoto

22^nd February (Thu)

Orientation, full series of lectures, dinner seminar

23^rd February (Fri)

Kyoto city tour/Seminar (tentative)

24^th February (Sat.) – 26^th (Mon.)

Field study tour in Shiga ^*contents1
(Local natural water usage system around Lake Biwa, Lake Biwa Museum, Water treatment research site, Sewage treatment facilities, Local confectionary company)

27^th February (Tue) – 28^th (Wed)

Special seminar and experiments in atmospheric chemistry ^*contents2

1^st March (Thu) – 4^th (Sun)

Field study tour on Satoyama, Marine Environments and Energy (Ine, Kamiseya, Maizuru, Tsuruga) ^*contents3

5^th March (Mon)

Day off

6^th March (Tue)

Laboratory visit 1 (visiting lab. at GSGES related to your major) ^*contents4

7^th March (Wed)

Laboratory visit 2 (visiting lab. at GSGES) ^*contents4

8^th March (Thu)

Student exchange program, cultural experiences in Kyoto city

9^th March (Fri)

Day off

10^th March (Sat)-12^th (Mon)

Field study tour on Soil and Forest in Wakayama and Mie ^*contents5

13^th March (Tue)

Preparation for final seminar

14^th March (Tue)

Final seminar and discussion

15^th March (Wed)

Departure

Contents

1. Field study tour in Shiga (24th – 26nd February)

A three-day tour course will take us around Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, to investigate people’s lives and environment. First, we will move to Shiga prefecture and visit a lakeside district named Harie to learn about the natural water utilization system in the local community (active eco-tourism). The next day we will visit the Lake Biwa Museum to learn about natural history, people’s lives and environmental conservation measures to rehabilitate the lake, which was once threatened by eutrophication. We will then visit a wastewater treatment plant to learn about state-of the-art technology for wastewater treatment. On the third day, we will visit a famous confectionary factory that has been active in environmental conservation and rural development.

2. Gain expertise about the Atmosphere (27th – 28th February)

We will provide a special course on atmospheric chemistry that includes:

1. Air pollution studies
   ・Kinetic study for NOx and ozone reaction
   ・Field observation of air quality in Kyoto
2. Aerosol formation experiments
   ・Secondary organic aerosols from ozonolysis
   ・Aerosols from plant emissions

3. Field study tour in Satoyama, Marine Environments and Energy (1st – 4th March)

“Satoyama”is a Japanese term referring to the area comprising hilly terrain and arable flat land. Literally, sato (里) means arable and livable land or local land, and yama (山) means hill or mountain. The Satoyama landscape has evolved through centuries of small scale agricultural and forestry use supporting local people’s lives and preserving biodiversity. We will visit an example of Satoyama in the winter, and learn about the landscape, culture, society, and current issues in rural society.

To investigate about the marine environment in the Sea of Japan, we will stay at the Maizuru Fisheries Research Station (MFRS) of Kyoto University in northern Kyoto Prefecture. The research station is well situated for education and research on (1) the life history and ecology of fish, invertebrates and algae, (2) coastal oceanography, (3) systematics of marine fish, (4) terrestrial impacts on productivity and biodiversity in rivers and coastal waters. The course at the Maizuru Fisheries Research Station will cover theories and practical methods to enhance students’ knowledge of the marine environment and biodiversity in the Sea of Japan, including:

1. Evaluation of marine environment via conductivity, salinity, temperature, chlorophyll, and depth data;
2. Collection of benthos and fishes with a beam trawl;
3. Identification of species by means of molecular genetic techniques

To deepen our understanding of energy, we will visit a wind power plant to see the actual condition of this renewable energy, and the Atomic Energy Science Museum at the Fukui Nuclear Power Center in Fukui prefecture to learn about the operation of nuclear power plants and accidents at nuclear power plants.

4. Laboratory visit (6th – 7th March)

You will visit a laboratory at GSGES which is related to your current studies on 6th March for the entire day. On 7th March, you can visit other laboratories* (See Table 1) to learn about specific research topics, knowledge and know-how in environmental studies which differs from your major. You can select 2 laboratories to visit (1 laboratory in the morning and the other laboratory in the afternoon).

5. Field study tour on Soil and Forest in Wakayama and Mie (10th – 12th March)

In this tour, we will visit “Ki no Kuni (紀伊国)” which means “country of wood”. Lectures will be provided on soils supporting agricultural and natural ecosystems in Japan, especially mountain and forest usage related to Satoyama and livelihood transitions due to societal change. In addition, we will visit a site utilizing woody biomass from local timber as an alternative energy source.

Assignment after acceptance

Through this program, we would like all the participants to jointly learn, discuss, and think deeply about “Energy”, “Food” and “Linkage among Urban and Rural Areas” for achieving a sustainable society through field studies in the Kansai area of Japan. Students from Kyoto University, including Japanese and some students from other countries, may also join this program.

We kindly request that you investigate conditions related to the keywords above (Energy, Food, Linkage among Urban and Rural Areas) in your country in advance to promote productive discussions with other members. In addition, please prepare a short presentation to explain about your current/former studies to show at the Dinner Seminar on 22nd February. The academic backgrounds of the participants are wide-ranging, so please try to prepare an audience-friendly presentation.

In the series of Atmospheric Chemistry seminars, you will have a presentation (1-2 page of PPT file or PDF file) about air pollution in your home country/province. Please prepare and make a presentation in English and if you use data from other documents and websites, please indicate the data sources in your presentation.

Important Notice

There may be some subsequent schedule and content changes. We apologize for any inconvenience. We will inform you immediately of major changes.