【Report】A workshop was held in Kagoshima City for junior and senior high school students aiming for a career in science and engineering!

On Sunday, October 20, 2024,  NPO STEM Career Path Project for Girls, co-hosted by Soroptimist International of Kagoshima Online and co-sponsored by Kagoshima University and the Rotary Club of Kagoshima University Academy, held an event at the Kagoshima University Learning Exchange Plaza (Kagoshima University Korimoto Campus). The aim was to discuss dreams and career paths for junior and senior high school students who are considering a career in science and engineering with scientists and engineers who are active in various fields.

Opening Ceremony and Ice Break

On the day of the program, 24 junior high and high school students and 16 parents residing or attending school in Kagoshima Prefecture participated in the one-day program. After the opening ceremony, all participants took part in the “Marshmallow Challenge” during an ice-breaker session. The “Marshmallow Challenge” is a team-building game in which participants build a self-supporting tower using pasta, masking tape, string, and marshmallows. Although it was the first time for all participants to try the game, they learned the importance of communication through the experience, sometimes even including adults, as they had fun, worried, and shared their wisdom together.

Career Lectures

In the “Career Lecture” session that followed, Ms. Rina Hirata, who received her master’s degree in the Physics and Space Program at Kagoshima University and is currently working as an equipment designer in Fukuoka Prefecture, and Dr. Kayu Okutsu, who worked as an assistant professor at the Kagoshima University Shochu and Fermentation Science Education and Research Center and now works as a pharmacist while also trying her hand at making shochu. They spoke about their experiences as students, their current lives and work, and the appeal of a career in science and engineering. The participants, who were a bit nervous at first, smiled as time went by and asked many questions. The lectures lasted about an hour. It was a valuable opportunity for the participants to deepen their understanding of the significance of studying and working in science and engineering in the future and the diversity of career paths in science and engineering.

From one of the “Career Lectures” (1)
From one of the “Career Lectures” (2)
From one of the “Career Lectures” (3)
From one of the “Career Lectures” (4)
Science Adventure I “Be a mini scientist”

In the first program of the afternoon after lunch, entitled “Science Adventure I: Let’s be mini-scientists,” participants were divided into four groups and engaged in full-scale scientific experiments guided by Kagoshima University faculty members.

In “Let’s look at invisible sounds and listen to inaudible sounds” (Lecturer: Prof. Masataka Nishimura, Department of Advanced Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Information and Bioengineering Program, Kagoshima University), participants learned about the nature and characteristics of sound by looking at and touching sounds using a new instrument with a tablet PC and an ultrasonic radio originally developed in their lab.

In “Let’s Experience the Knowledge of Chinese Medicine Revealed by Science!” (Lecturer: Prof. Michiko Shimizu (Kagoshima University Hospital, Center for Kampo Medicine)), participants experienced through taste and smell how the efficacy of a typical herbal medicine, “cassia,” changes when combined with other herbal medicines.

In “Let’s make accretionary complexes, the nest of plate subduction zone earthquakes” (Lecturer: Prof. Noriyo Kawabata (Center for Common Education, Kagoshima University)), participants actually made accretionary complexes, which are deposits of mud and sand that exist on the plate, and observed how they are formed before an earthquake occurs and where earthquakes are likely to occur. The students observed how accretionary bodies are formed before earthquakes occur and where earthquakes are likely to occur.

In “Chemistry of Light” (Lecturer: Prof. Yasuro Niidome (Kagoshima University, Faculty of Science, Chemistry Program)), participants observed various “glowing processes,” such as flame color reaction with metals, with their own eyes and using advanced specialized equipment.

All experiments were of a high level, but participants took each experiment seriously under the enthusiastic guidance of faculty members and student TAs. In addition to simply working with their hands, the participants were able to deepen their understanding of the latest science and technology by discussing the results and their meaning together with the faculty members.

From a scene in Science Adventure I “Let’s be mini-scientists” (1)
From a scene in Science Adventure I “Let’s be mini-scientists” (2)
From a scene in Science Adventure I “Let’s be mini-scientists” (3)
From a scene in Science Adventure I “Let’s be mini-scientists” (4)
Sciene Adventure II “Talk with engineers and seniors” and
Science Adventure III “Tell everyone about your dream”

Participants then engaged in “Science Adventure II: Talk with engineers and seniors” and “Science Adventure III: Tell everyone about your dream.

In the first half of the session, “Science Adventure II: Talking with Engineers and Seniors,” in addition to those who gave career lectures, Kagoshima University’s students and other siniors joined. Starting with topics related to their own dreams, future plans, and interests, the participants exchanged opinions in a round-table discussion format about their daily questions and concerns about career paths in science and engineering.

In the second half of the program, “Science Adventure III: Communicate Your Dreams to Everyone,” participants created their own timelines for their future plans based on their own dreams and insights gained from talking with people who are active in various fields in the first half of the program. Afterwards, they presented their timelines in front of a large audience, including lecturers, administrators, and parents, and encouraged each other about the future vision they each aspire to.

Closing ceremony

At the closing ceremony, the last program of the day, the organizers handed certificates of completion to the representatives of the participants, bringing all programs to a successful conclusion.

From the Organizer

This was the third time for us to conduct a full-fledged science and engineering career choice support program for junior and senior high school students outside the Tokyo metropolitan area, following Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture in March 2022 and Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture in October 2023.

We can confirm from the questionnaire that we received generally high satisfaction ratings. All the programs received high evaluations across the board, but we were particularly impressed by the high level of satisfaction with Science Adventure I “Let’s be a mini-scientist,” in which participants were able to engage in full-scale scientific experiments. This time, as a new experiment, we included male junior and senior high school students as participants, and we were able to confirm their high level of satisfaction with the program as a whole, which reaffirmed the significance and importance of developing initiatives to support a wide range of junior and senior high school students, regardless of gender, in choosing a career path in science and engineering. While many expressed a desire for the continuation of the program, there were also requests for reconsideration of a program that would allow parents to participate with their junior and senior high school students throughout the entire program. It is a fact that many social conditions affect students’ advancement to higher education institutions such as four-year universities, and girls, especially those living in rural areas, must overcome many obstacles. Based on the Basic School Survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, this is also true for boys in some rural areas. While we are not advocating that students go on to four-year universities or science and engineering schools, we will continue to make steady progress toward the realization of an open society in which everyone can freely choose his or her own career path based on their own will.

Finally, we would like to thank the Agilent Technologies Foundation for its support in implementing this project. We would also like to thank the Kagoshima University Science Café Volunteers’ Group and the Kagoshima University Career Development Support Center for their cooperation in the selection of lecturers and overall planning and operation.In closing this report, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the many people who contributed to the realization of this project.

The workshop is also posted on the Kagoshima University website. Kagoshima University website (article published on November 7, 2024)
https://www.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/topics-education-students/2024/11/post-1988.html

With participants and management staff
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The NPO STEM Career Path Project for Girls will continue to develop activities to support female junior and senior high school students in selecting a career path in science and engineering in various regions in Japan. If you are interested in co-sponsoring or supporting these activities, please contact us through the inquiry form.