[International Activities of the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (Civil Engineering and Regional Design Education Program)]

On June 14, 2023, we invited seven university officials from France’s Polytech Annecy Chambéry, Polytech Grenoble-INP (UGA), and Polytech Clermont to exchange opinions on future exchange programs and the establishment of graduate school double degree programs. The coordinator of this project was Professor Mukugi (geotechnical engineering), and participants from our department included Professors Maruyama (transportation planning), Onoue (materials engineering), Tanaka (civil engineering history), Kane (coastal engineering), Ando (transportation planning), and Watanabe (structural engineering).

After a brief introduction of our department from Professor Maruyama (Photo 1), Professor Tanaka gave a presentation about his own research field (Photo 2). The discussion was lively and included how to proceed with the double-degree system for doctoral programs and the direction of further enhancing the short-term study abroad program to achieve this. The double-degree system involves students enrolling in two partner graduate schools at the same time, spending one year at each university, and submitting a master’s thesis as a collaborative research project between the two laboratories, with a faculty member at each university as their supervisor. This allows students to obtain two degrees upon graduation. Owing to the agreement, students only pay tuition fees to Kumamoto University Graduate School. While studying abroad, students have living expenses, but Kumamoto University has a variety of scholarship programs available. The advantage of the double-degree system is that it allows students to earn two degrees in a short period of time, and eligible students will find that the experience they gain studying abroad gives them various advantages for the rest of their lives.

University students who have recently visited Kumamoto consider it the ideal place to study abroad, claiming that they would like to expand their research field beyond their current geotechnical research lab so that more students can come to Kumamoto University (Photos 3 and 4). Professor Mukunogi is scheduled to visit the University of Grenoble in October to further deepen this exchange and realize the system discussed this time.

In this way, our school accepts international students and provides thorough support for Japanese students studying abroad. If you are a student interested in studying abroad, please consult with your homeroom teacher or the academic affairs committee.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4