From February 12 to 21, at the invitation of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering of the University of Kitakyushu in Japan, five students from the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering of Chengdu University (CDU), led by Ye Xin, a teacher from the Department of Architecture, went to Japan to participate in the China-Japan Youth Science and Technology Exchange Program (Sakura Science and Technology Program). Fully prepared for COVID-19 prevention and entry and exit procedures, the teachers and students arrived in Japan and started their ten-day academic visit.
The exchange event focused on "green and low-carbon buildings", aiming to raise participants' awareness of sustainable development and green buildings, and strengthen international academic exchanges and cooperation. Academician Gao Weijun and Professor Bart Dewancker led the teachers and students on a tour of the teaching building, energy center, Meldia Research Institute for High Performance Wood, and other buildings of the University of Kitakyushu, as well as the graduation work of architecture undergraduates.
Under the guidance of the Japanese professors and volunteers, our teachers and students also visited Kitakyushu Eco-Town Recycling Museum, TOTO Museum, Kokura Castle Garden, Kitakyushu Environmental Museum, and Moji Port. Through these visits, the students were able to experience Japan's new developments in low-carbon energy conservation and advanced technologies for resource recycling, and felt the unique charm of traditional architecture and cultural customs in Japan.
During the academic visit, five students from the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering presented their papers on low-carbon and energy-saving buildings at the AILCD International Conference on Low Carbon City Design 2023 at the University of Kitakyushu, and defended them on-site. They performed brilliantly at the defense site, showing the elegance of CDU students. Among them, Tang Rurui won the Best Presentation Award for her team with her outstanding performance.
The academic visit enabled our students to gain a deeper understanding of the technologies and cases of the built environment adapted to the low-carbon era, as well as traditional Japanese architecture and culture, thus increasing their professional knowledge and international perspective, and promoting international academic exchanges and cooperation. At the same time, the success of this event also laid a solid foundation for the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering to further promote the internationalization of talent training, diversify the path of talent training, and provide more opportunities for China's future generations to engage in international scientific and technological exchanges.
The Sakura Science and Technology Program is an international exchange program initiated by 11 Japanese Nobel laureates including Leo Esaki, and fully funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) for Asian youths (mainly those from Chinese) to visit Japanese schools, research institutions, and enterprises for a short period of time and to conduct comprehensive science and technology exchanges with Japanese youths as well as scientists and researchers in various frontier fields. The purpose is to invite outstanding Chinese youths and researchers to Japan for short-term visits through close cooperation between industry, academia, and officials, and to deepen the exchange between China's future generation and Japanese youths in the field of science and technology.
