2015 Human Science Summer School

Every year in late August, the Kyushu University Graduate School of Design Human Science International Course holds a two-week summer school for graduate students and young lecturers from around the world with an interest in human sciences. In 2015 there were 24 participants, mainly from Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand.

The first aim of summer school is to gain a general understanding of various fields in human sciences in a short time, through concentrated classes run by all International Course staff. The second goal is to further deepen interest in human science by having participants join the course’s various laboratories for a two-week period to obtain their own experimental data and present the results of the research.

○Classes in broad range of Human Sciences fields
Participants took introductory classes in fields related to human science – Physiological Anthropology, Perceptual Psychology, Biological Information and Physical Sciences. Unfortunately, one day of classes had to be canceled due to a typhoon hitting the Kyushu area; however, we were able to hold eleven 90-minute lectures in almost all of the fields covered by the course.
・Introductory Neuroscience
・Human responses to temperature environment
・Auditory Neurophysiology
・Ergonomics
・Optical Illusions
・Acoustic Illusions
・Evolution of Color Vision
・Personal Movement Sensation
・Multivariate Analysis with R
・Linguistic Development
・Interactive Evolutionary Computing

Participants were active in raising questions during the lectures, making the experience valuable for teachers and students alike.

Lab work in the various laboratories
Following each day’s lectures, the participants broke off into small groups to experiment/practice in various laboratories under the instruction of course staff. By experiencing real research facilities, participants developed a deeper interest in various fields of human science.

Japanese natural/cultural experience
Days off were used to deepen the exchange through bus tours to Dazaifu and the Aso/Kumamoto area. While Japanese gardens, Kumamoto Castle, and the grand mountains of Aso provided participants with some new aspects, there were also many similarities to their home countries. Given Kyushu’s abundance in history and natural environment, these were great opportunities to learn about a part of Japan that can’t be experienced by simply staying in the urban area of Fukuoka.

Presentations
To conclude the summer school, each laboratory presented the outcomes of their work. Each group made fascinating presentations that conveyed their comprehensive lab work.

The summer school cultivated an international network of young researchers in the field of human sciences that can be utilized in future work. International academic exchanges have already been started by past participants of the summer school, and we can expect them to continue growing. This summer school was held with the support of the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), the JST Sakura Science Plan, and the Faculty of Design’s Globalization Promotion Fund.