Three excellent third-year undergraduate students from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala, India visited Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU) in May 2023, and they underwent 3 weeks internship on hydrodynamic studies on estuaries at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from May 9 to June 1, 2023. Although we have been conducting online internships for TKM students for the last three years, this was the first time the students from TKM visited TMU for an internship. The major activities of the 3 students during their stay at TMU has given below:
◆ They learned to operate different types of equipment such as conductivity temperature depth (CTD) probe with an optical backscatter sensor (AAQ Rinko, JFE Advantech, Japan), YSI ProDSS multiparameter digital water quality meter (Xylem, Japan), HOBO U20 water level logger (Onset, USA), light microscope (NIKON: ECLIPSE series, Ei, Japan), etc. to collect and analyze data.
◆ They visited a salt marsh (newly formed after the Great East Japan Earthquake), Moune River, and Kesennuma Bay in Kesennuma, Japan for 3 days. During the 3-day field survey, they conducted (i) the measurement of the vertical profile of salinity and turbidity at different locations (39 stations) of salt marsh, river, and bay, (ii) dissolved oxygen (DO) experiment in the salt marsh, (iii) water sampling for plankton analysis in the bay, and (iv) maintenance of salinity and water level sensors.
◆ They visited the entire TMU campus in Minami Osawa along with other members of the laboratory and understood the facilities in a Japanese university. They also visited many places in Tokyo such as Asakusa, Akihabara, Shinjuku, Yokohama, etc. and explored the vibrant and rich culture of Japan.
◆ They analyzed the vertical and longitudinal distribution of salinity and suspended sediment concentration in the Ashtamudi estuary, India during a neap-spring tidal cycle and compared it with the characteristics of the Chikugo River estuary, Japan. They presented their research findings and other experiences during their 3-week stay to the students and faculties of hydraulics and coastal laboratories on the last day of their internship.
The students (both Japanese and international) of the hydraulics laboratory supported the TKM students during their stay at TMU and they had very fruitful interactions and discussions about their individual research, cultural differences, and the education system in India and Japan. We will continue to hold this kind of collaborative exchange program in the future.
Prepared by Dr. Gubash Azhikodan, Program Coordinator, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University.
インドのケララ州からの学生が私たちの大学を訪問し、
河口の流体力学に関するインターンシップ。
インドのTKM工科大学の学生が本学を訪問し、河口の流体力学の研究を題材にインターンシップを行いました．
インドのケーララ州コーラムにあるTKM工科大学の学部3年生3名が2023年5月に本学を訪問し，河口汽水域の流体力学に関する研究を体験するため，3週間のインターンシップを行いました．TKM工科大学とは過去3年にわたってオンラインによるインターンシップを実施してきましたが，本学を直接訪れるのは今回が初めてとなります．
それ以外にも，東京の数多くの場所を訪れ，日本の文化にも触れることができました．
3名の学生らは，横山教授やアジコダン助教らとともに，現地調査に使用する多項目水質計などの機器の操作方法を習得し，また，東日本大震災で生じた塩性湿地（宮城県気仙沼市）を訪れて実際に調査を行い，汽水域における種々のデータを収集しました．滞在最終日には研究成果をゼミナールにおいて発表し，教員や学生らとの質疑応答や意見交換を行いました．
本学科では今後もこのような連携交流プログラムを継続して実施していく予定です．
