From October 7th to 9th, the Undergraduate Research Student Program of the III held a 3-day study camp. Approximately 30 research students participated in the camp held at the Rokumeikan close to Yamanaka Lake.

The purpose of the camp was to update the progress of the “independent research seminar.” This seminar is designed to allow research students to actively engage in research activities on issues deriving from their individual interests and curiosity. Students submit final reports for course credit. It is a captivating program where research students actively engage in research activities, in contrast to traditional classroom lectures. This academic year, a total of 10 teams were formed to research the following themes:

・Exploring the Autonomy of Beauty Pageant Candidates
・Formation of Aesthetic Consciousness Regarding Appearance and Media Influence
・Following the Paths of Journalists Who Have Left Newspaper Companies
・How Does One Become an “Idol”
・Analysis of Characteristics of Antenna Shops
・Organizing the Research Student Division
・Urban Areas and Visual Media
・Archiving Cultural Heritage
・Sports
・Artificial Intelligence

To prepare for the Homecoming Day presentations and for the year-end research report submissions, intense discussions unfolded among the research students and other participants, including Professor Shinichi Sakai, Professor Toko Tanaka, and Visiting professor Yoichi Nishimura. Having previously given advice to two of the research groups in August, Prof. Tanaka gave favorable comments on the overall progress: “Both presentations were very good, reflecting the advice I gave them. The other groups also had interesting ideas and themes, reflecting the diversity of the students in this program. I hope that they will use each other’s presentations as reference and upgrade their own.” The first-day lunch meeting saw lively discussions as research students surrounded the professors, who shared anecdotes from their specialized fields and reminisced about their student days, creating a vibrant and engaging atmosphere.

During the middle to final stages of the camp, leaders from each research team organized events related to the Undergraduate Research Student Program. On the second night, a “bazaar” was held where participants presented items or topics about which they were passionate. Each participant shared items such as character goods, a guitar, meticulously read foreign books from class, and a notebook they had been using for four years. This allowed us to discover different sides of the students that we would not have normally recognized. In addition, there were other activities such as sharing personal stories and emotional changes since entering the program, and a trial cooking session for borscht, which some research students are planning to sell at the Komaba Festival in late November. Through these various events, we were able to deepen the bonds among research students even further.

Text: Taisei Morikawa (Undergraduate Research Program Student)
English proofreading: David Buist (Project Senior Specialist)