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Despite some initial hiccups, the Japan 2001 Summer School is proving to be a great success in numerous ways. When we started the week the cultural and communicative problems slowed progress slightly. However, these issues have proved to be the aspects of the week from which the students have learned most. At this mid-way stage I feel confident in saying that the students are relishing the opportunity to learn about each others' cultures and to work in partnership - tackling science practically and employing universal methods of problem-solving. In my eyes, this was what the Summer School was to be about.
Almost all workshops seem to be running smoothly and the students involved all appear extremely keen to push their research and use every available minute to study and learn.
Socially the two groups of students are interacting happily and are swapping notes on each others' cultures at breakfast, dinner and in between their academic sessions. Such social exchange and harmony have been made possible as a result of the massive amount of effort employed by the Japanese students to demonstrate their culture and to introduce Japan to their UK audience. This happened on Tuesday nights (with a presentation on Japan and Japanese culture), and Wednesday night (with a fabulous Sushi demonstration). Because of this effort the UK students are planning a repeat performance for their Japanese friends.
Another beneficial aspect of the event is the way that each of the 10 groups achieve something different each day, which makes the informal evening feedback extremely interesting and diverse. After taking time to visit each group, I have attempted to collect my thoughts and observations. (These can be found on the pages in the 'Outcomes' menu dedicated to each thread of the workshop - Ed)
Julian Pickles
Comments contributed by Julian Pickles, UK Coordinator of the Facilitator team, while the Workshop was in progress.
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