Seven (7) SPUP College students attended the International Summer School at Tokushima University (ISST), Japan with the theme “Get Together in Tokushima, Japan” on August 6 – 13, 2018. Gile Giovanni L. Goyagoy and Ma. Yda Louise Quinan (Bachelor of Arts in Language and Literature students), Gianne Kryssee T. Asuncion, Michael Joshua Balisi, Mario A. Caranguian III, XhyzaWaine P. Carag, and Mike Jericho F. Monje (Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology students) represented St. Paul University Philippines.
The ISST: Get Together in Tokushima is an annual summer school program organized by TU’s International Center which aims to promote international exchange with TU’s partner universities at the undergraduate level.
Moreover, the summer program was geared towards providing student participants with not only various hands-on learning experiences about up-to-date research/education, but also interaction with Japanese students, and authentic cultural experiences in Tokushima like Japanese Language Class, Japanese Traditional Music, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Calligraphy Class, Indigo Dyeing, Udon Noodle making and the Awa Odori Festival.
A highlight of the summer school was the Campus and Laboratory Tour where the participants were able to experience first-hand TU’s current and up-to-date academic and research activities as well as their medical laboratories. The ABLL students embarked at Josanjima campus under the Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences while the BSMT students were assigned at Kuramoto Campus under the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and the Tokushima University Hospital.
Furthermore, the students visited Kagawa and Hyogo Prefectures, had field trips to local spots and shrines and experienced Tokushima’s current industry through a factory visit at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Incorporated. Japanese high school students also toured the participants around Tokushima City learning from its rich historical past and present state.
The summer school program concluded with the students’ sharing synthesis of their experiences and what they have learned from Japan’s Culture, People and Tokushima University. It was attended by 39 international students from 6 different countries namely: China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Portugal, and the Philippines.
