Participants of the Program:
The short course, in total, has nine participants. The following are their names.
- Mikhail Omar
- Fachri Luthfi Hadi
- Jinan Zulkifli
- Ariq Varul Ramadhani
- Anwar Fauzan
- Muhammad Neimansyah Nurilham
- Muhammad Salman Imansyah
- Thariq Haydar Hafiz
- Rafli Naufal Rizqulah
Intent of the Program:
The Japanese short course program is a collaborative program between Diponegoro University in Indonesia and Nihon University in Japan with the purpose of exposing participants to the academic studies & processes, foreign students, as well as the culture and heritage of Japan. The program also acted as a credit transfer program for a course.
Short Course Schedule:
The short course program lasted for 14 days from the 9th to the 23rd of July 2023. During those 14 days, majority of time have participants partake in civil engineering related studies at Nihon University in Koriyama, laboratory visits, and open discussions with both the students and lecturers there. Aside from the studies, participants are also taken to local cultural sites and exhibits to learn some of the local culture and history. These sites range from old temples and castles to modern aquarium museum. For the final two days, the participants depart from Koriyama and stay in Tokyo primarily to be placed closer to the departing airport. During that time participants are free to roam and explore the metropolitan capital as long as they maintain civility and keep in contact with each other.
The following will be a comprehensive breakdown of the schedule on a day-to-day format.
Saturday, July 8th 2023
On the evening of this date, participants gathered and rendezvous at Soekarno-Hatta Terminal 3 to catch the overnight flight from Jakarta to Tokyo. Participants bid farewell to their parents and relatives before boarding the flight set to fly at 21:25 pm.
Sunday, July 9th 2023
The overnight flight landed at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 at 06:50 am. After immigration is passed through and luggage is collected, the group meet-up with Professor Buntara, who is acting as the supervisor of the short course in Japan. Through his guidance, the group boarded several modes of transportation before taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Koriyama. After arriving at Koriyama, Professor Buntara invited the group to lunch while waiting for the check-in time at the hotel. After check-in, the participants are given free time to acclimate themselves to their new environment or perhaps explore the city.
Monday, July 10th 2023
The group is scheduled to meet with Professor Buntara at Nihon University to be given a tour of the campus as well as be given studying equipment and material. The activity during this day primarily is about brainstorming / discussion between the group and Nihon University students and lecturers regarding a situation. The discussions are done until 16:00 pm which is when the discussion ends and the group are to take the bus from the campus back to the hotel.
Tuesday, July 11th 2023
This day is the start of the civil-related material courses given and taught by Professor Buntara. The subject for this day is Structural Analysis. The group discuss the material and examples with the Professor. The professor also provided some example questions to the test the group as well as teach how to do structural analysis using matrices in Microsoft Excel. After lunch, Professor Buntara guides the group to the structural laboratory where various materials are tested.
Wednesday, July 12th 2023
This day is the second day of civil-related material given and taught by Professor Buntara. The subject for this day is Soil and Foundation. The group discuss the material and examples with the Professor. The professor lectured and showed the group how to create an Excel sheet that would automatically calculate bearing capacity as well as determine the optimal shallow foundation design.
Thursday, July 13th 2023
The activity for this day is a tour to two locations, a tour of Miharu Dam, a large dam constructed on Sakura Lake, and a tour to a village specializing in traditional papercrafts. During this day, the group is accompanied by six Nihon University students that chose to join the tour.
Friday, July 14th 2023
This day is the third day of civil-related material given and taught by Professor Buntara. The subject for this day is Seismic Response and Earthquake. The group discuss the material and examples with the professor. The professor showed various websites that show both historical and recent seismic activity in Japan. The professor also lectured and showed how to make an Excel program to process seismic data to spectral acceleration.
Saturday, July 15th 2023
The activity for this day is a tour of Aizuwakamatsu, a historical city. The activities included a visit to Limori Hill, Tsuruga Castle, and visiting the Samurai Village of Ouchi-Juku. During this day, the group is accompanied by fourteen Nihon University students that chose to join.
Sunday, July 16th 2023
This day is considered free time in the schedule. Participants are free to roam around and explore the greater part of the city or go beyond. On the evening of this day, there was a cultural festival held outside of the train station.
Monday, July 17th 2023
The activity for this day is a tour to the coastal city of Iwaki. There the group visits the Aquamarine Fukushima Aquarium, a large exhibit of both local and foreign marine life. The site shows live specimen as well as fossils of various types of marine life. During this day, the group is accompanied by fifteen Nihon University students.
Tuesday, July 18th 2023
This day is the fourth day of civil-related material given and taught by Professor Buntara. The subject for this day is Steel Structures and Design. The group discuss the material and examples with the Professor. The professor also provided and explained how to make an Excel program that would automatically select an optimal design for a given load / situation. After lunch, Professor Buntara shows the group the universities Concrete Laboratory, Reinforced Concrete Laboratory, as well as the Seismic / Earthquake Laboratory.
Wednesday, July 19th 2023
This day is the fifth day of civil-related material given and taught by Professor Buntara. The subject for this day is Reinforced Concrete Structures and Design. The group discuss the material and example questions with the professor. The professor lecture and demonstrate how to create an Excel Program that can illustrate a reinforced concrete beam along with its longitudinal reinforcement from data inputs.
Thursday, July 20th 2023
This day is the sixth and final day of civil-related material given and taught by Professor Buntara. The subject for this day is Construction Management. The group discuss the material with the professor as well as construct a Critical Path scheduling and priority chart. After lunch, an examination is held encapsulating everything that has been learnt in order to test the participants ability to design a structure. The examination takes 3 hours, from 13:00 until 16:00. The examination allows for the use of Excel spreadsheets to assist in design and checking. After the examination, the group held a farewell party along with a few Nihon University students at the campus cafeteria.
Friday, July 21st 2023
This day is when the group depart from Koriyama to Tokyo in order to stay closer to Haneda Airport. The group, with the guidance of Professor Buntara, board a Shinkansen bound to Ueno Station, where the group take another train to arrive near the hotel. After depositing the carry-ons and luggage, Professor Buntara invites the group to lunch before allowing the participants free time until next day.
Saturday, July 22nd 2023
This day is considered free time in the schedule. Participants are free to travel and explore the greater metropolitan area of Tokyo as long as they don’t cause any disturbances and respect the law. Some participants decide to group together and travel together while some decide to roam around alone.
Sunday, July 23rd 2023
This day is the day the group depart back to Indonesia. The group along with Professor Buntara took an express train from Asakusa straight to Haneda Airport Terminal 3. The group after checking-in their luggage and items bid farewell to Professor Buntara before the group board their plane back to Indonesia.
Artikel oleh Mikhail Omar.
Sedang ditulis untuk artikel Bahasa Indonesianya.
