Internships

At November 2019, one of our master student from France (Raphaelle Delmas, graduated in 2020) began her internship journey with a placement with the United Nations of Environment Programme (UNEP) of Environment International Environmental Technology Center in Osaka for 6 months.

During her intern, Raphaelle were involved with various projects from the UNEP including development plan and dissemination of knowledge product which is also aligned with her research theme. 

Are you curious about the atmosphere of how it feels while working inside a government office in Japan? During the spring break of 2021, two of our students had the chance to find out for themselves, embarking on their internship journey working with Japan's Ministry of the Environment in the Aso Kuju National Park.

Their internship took them to the city inside the caldera called "Aso City", located inside the Aso Caldera in the Aso Kuju National Park on the border of Oita and Kumamoto prefectures in the centre of Japan’s southernmost island Kyushu. This national park was selected among eight included in the Ministry of the Environment’s ‘National Park Step-up Program 2020’. The program’s main objective is to “support the future of Japan through tourism” by making the national parks a more attractive destination for a diverse mix including visitors from overseas. 

Our students worked hand-in-hand with the rangers on a mix of field missions including monitoring trails and signs, assisting with ESD activities and community outreach.

During the Summer 2022, one of our seminar students (WEI-san) embarked into another unique experience interning with one of the well-known Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Fujisan Club at Mount Fuji!

Utilizing his skills, experience and knowledge acquired through his internship with the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) in Aso Kuju National Park, WEI-san set his foot on Mount Fuji, located at the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park and doing his internship with NPO Fujisan Club during the Summer 2022 (August-October). 

Here is WEI-san comments on his intern experience with Fujisan Club:

"As an intern, I also engaged in a lot of activities aside from research. During the intern period, I’ve had the chance to climbed Mt. Fuji, the highest peak of Japan and moreover experiencing a really unique Japanese tea ceremony on the top of Mt. Fuji. I’ve also had the chance to participate on the clean up  and the invasive species removal activities and trust me, I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed talking with the local. I also had a chance to interact with the children, teaching them the importance of protecting our sea and mountain from trash. Also, the food from Kawaguchiko especially the udon is one of the best that I’ve ever had 😊"

During the Summer 2022, one of our seminar students (Saori-san) started her internship journey with The Education for Development Foundation (EDF) Thailand to provide education support for underprivileged children's in Thailand! Lets take a look what Saori san has to say reflecting on her experience in Thailand 😊

"During summer break, I interned at a NGO called EDF-Thai in Bangkok for a month. EDF-Thai aims to provide scholarships to students in rural areas to help them give access to education and have a stable jobs in the future. During the internship, I went to the office almost every day at 8:30 am. When I was at the office, I usually helped to check and pack the documents that would be sent to the donors in Japan. I was very surprised that many Japanese donated money to this NGO. However, for about four days, I got to work outside of the office. On the day I was taken to the outside of the office, I helped them prepare for the scholarship award ceremony at a school and took pictures and videos of students receiving the scholarships from the donors. Doing an internship in another country was a bit hard since working culture is different from Japanese company and everyone spoke Thai at the office. But, everyone was very nice, and I was able to learn new things and acquire new skills."

ご苦労様でした沙織さん！！

One of our master students, Tsega from Ethiopia embarked in his journey working as an intern for IT companies specialized in designs. Lets hear out his experience:

As a young man having a background in Electrical and computer Engineering, Adam-I (Adam Innovation Co. Ltd) was an ideal pace as it offers me a chance to specialize in digital transformation (DX).

Besides there were also key experiential learning areas and activities such as DX and design thinking, DX teams and process optimization strategies and the huge space for improvement and business opportunity. As part and parcel of the internship I have also made a visit to companies in Nigata like Tojiro knife company, Suwada nail nippers, Marino Chopstick company, Uonomas Bounty and Koji Amazake factory. The Japanese business card exchange program Meshikoukan and practice session had also been very interesting.  While I was visiting those companies, I have observed that Japanese companies held the quality of the products they produce in the highest regards. 

Moreover, these all coupled with the pure weather from the rural parts of Japan, the fumaroles as well as the aesthetic beauty of the location that I have had an internship has really been wonderful.

In a nutshell, my internship was full of Joy and happiness both in terms of formal knowledge and other cross cutting encounters that I have had.