g-RIPS-Sendai 2022

Japanese

See here for G-RIPS Sendai 2024

Outline of g-RIPS-Sendai 2022

Projects

During the program

WPI-AIMR (g-RIPS-Sendai 2022 venue)
Discussions
Japanese culture class (calligraphy)
Midterm presentation
Midterm presentation
Midterm presentation
Midterm presentation
Daily work
Weekends
Japanese culture class (Tanabata)
Project's Day
Project's Day
g-RIPS members, mentors and staffs
TFC building
Farewell party

Voices from participants

I had a lot of fun during this summer program. I learned a decent amount of new mathematics and I learned a lot about the Japanese language and culture. I felt like I made a lot of good friends and that the experience of working on the industrial project with Mitsubishi will be helpful going forward. The Japanese students and mentors that I worked with were all nice, insightful and knowledgeable. One great cultural experience was the time that I went to the Asakusa Shrine in Tokyo with some friends. At that time there was a small summer fair, we all rented Yukatas (traditional Japanese robes) and then walked around the temple area and checked out the games and snacks at all the different stalls. The Asakusa summer festival was so beautiful and so unlike anything I had experienced in America -- it was an unforgettable summer day for me. I want to go back to Japan and see all of those friends again someday. On the research side, towards the end of the summer we were all trying to implement a new algorithm to solve our problem and we just could not get it to work. We kept going back and forth and trying all sorts of things to get this one important piece of our project working in the very last week. We managed to solve the problem in the end and in the process, we came up with a new idea that was impressive to our academic and industrial mentors. Maybe it sounds like a stressful experience, but really it was exciting to be able to rise to that challenge as a team. I am so grateful to have had the chance to attend, and I strongly recommend this program to people who have an interest both in cross cultural experiences and industrial research.

g-RIPS Sendai at Tohoku University is a great opportunity for graduate students to work on interesting problems whose solutions will benefit humanity. As a mathematics graduate student, I had the chance to apply the skills I learned in my studies and get hands-on experience working with a team on a real industry project. I had access to both industry and academic resources, as well as the ideas of a diverse group of graduate students from both Japan and the United States. We had a balanced work schedule, which included interesting seminars and social opportunities. Students enjoyed Japanese language and culture lessons on a weekly basis. The professors, supporting staff and students from Tohoku were welcoming and proactive towards both our work and personal needs. Every day we got to enjoy a beautiful city, delicious food, interesting work, and private accommodations, while weekends were free for us to explore Sendai and the surrounding area via the amazing Japanese transportation network. This experience gave me a taste for an industry project, and more. It helped me to see my academic knowledge through an applied lens, taught me to work with a team, and expanded my professional and social networks. It also allowed me to explore a beautiful country and interact with friendly people, who were patient to communicate with someone of limited Japanese. At g-RIPS Sendai, I learned new skills, increased my cultural sensitivity, and made real friends.

For details of this program, please contact to g-rips-sendai_organizers@grp.tohoku.ac.jp