Finally the long-awaited SGH training at Kyoto University has begun! Unfortunately one of students was absent today because of illness, but the other 54 students gathered outside the high school at the scheduled time and left safely.
After arriving at the university we took a group photo in front of clock tower and then ate lunch at the cafeteria. There were many buildings on the large campus. This was the first time for many of the students to visit Kyoto University some were overwhelmed by its atmosphere.
Professor Hara, from Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Management and an alumni of our high school, lectured us about entrepreneurship and differences in of the way of thinking between Japanese people and foreigners. We were shocked to learn that many founders of world famous companies started their businesses when they were in their early twenties.
After a break we moved on the next part of our program. But suddenly, we had a short question time with some graduate students who had attended our high school previously because they came to the office to greet our teacher. We heard about their experiences balancing club activities and choosing what course to study.
Next, some Teacher’s Assistants who will help to us were introduced to us by Mr. Kim who is an associate professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Management. The students realized the importance of English at this point as the TAs from Korea and Shanghai spoke fluent English. The leaders of each group from our school also introduced themselves and explained the topic which their group wants to study.
Lastly we had a lecture by Mr. Kim. He lectured us about the role of a consultant, in particular the role of a development consultant for international cooperation and about problems which happen when transporting goods across borders.
We ate dinner at Kyoto University’s central cafeteria today. This is the first time we have eaten here. The prices were reasonable and the dishes were good, so everyone ate them with great relish.
After arriving at our accommodation, everyone took a bath during the free time, then we had a short meeting. The students discussed points for improvement and decided to start improving on those points from tomorrow. The students were told to be thankful for the great experience they are able to have and to be sure to follow the rules carefully. Everyone felt refreshed and motivated.
Finally, the students will begin their research projects during the group training time from tomorrow. We are looking forward to tomorrow!
