Hello everyone. I’m James Taylor, one of the English teachers at Hakusanroku Campus.

On Wednesday 24th September, I went to Shiramine to lead an English Café event for children. English Café began in January 2020 as a way to build positive relationships between local residents and people affiliated with ICT, mainly by offering opportunities to communicate in a relaxed environment.

Like last summer, this summer’s event was held at Shiramine Community Centre. Nine children from Shiramine Primary School, one from Hakurei Primary School, one baby, along with three adults (plus the staff who helped organise the event) attended. After greeting each other loudly in English to start the event, we played a game called “What’s the time, Mister Wolf?” This is a popular playground game that I remember playing when I was a boy. It’s similar to the Japanese game “daruma-san ga koronda”, but there are some differences. In the English game, the “wolf” is asked “What’s the time?” and the number he or she says is the number of steps the group has to take. The wolf is not allowed to look, and if the answer to the question is “dinner time!”, everyone has to run to the safe zone before the wolf touches them!

We took turns being the wolf, then settled down for some snacks while doing a quiz about my home country, the United Kingdom. During the summer I was able to visit the UK and take lots of photos of typical things, unusual things, and famous things.

We ended the event with three stories: “A Squash and a Squeeze” by Julia Donaldson, “The Pigeon Wants a Puppy” by Mo Willems, and “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”, which gave the children a chance to join in by saying “no more monkeys jumping on the bed!”.

Overall, it was a successful event, thanks mainly to the hard work of the staff at the Shiramine and Oguchi Community Centres. I always enjoy the opportunity to spend time with local residents, and I’m looking forward to the next English Café.

James Taylor

 Hello! This is Meguru Ito, the advisor of the Design & Fabrication Club. This time, I'd like to introduce a special project we did as part of our club activities called ICT-Collection 2025 Summer.

 At the Hakusanroku Campus, we have a fascinating machine called a garment printer, which allows us to print directly onto items made from fabric, like T-shirts and tote bags. When students said, “We want to make all kinds of things!” I decided to organize an event where they could design and print their own original T-shirts using the garment printer. As summer gets hotter, I thought it’d be fun to make a unique T-shirt that could make school life and summer break even more enjoyable.

 I set a few design rules to guide the creative process:
・Designs must be original (photos, illustrations, logos, etc.)
・No photos or illustrations created by others
・No AI-generated artwork
・Must include either the school or club logo.
These rules are meant to help students develop their creativity and apply the skills they've learned in class and through extracurricular activities. The final T-shirts turned out to be incredibly cool and full of personality! Check out the video to see them in action.

 I’d like to share the unique themes and sources of inspiration that each student used in their design. Here are some comments from the students.

Akira Azuma, a 1st year
While I was playing a game where I operated a tank, I thought it would look cool to put a tank on a T-shirt. That’s how I came up with this design. The tank printed on the shirt is the M1A1 Abrams, the main battle tank of the United States.

Haru Abe, a 1st year
I used my skills in Minecraft to design a magical castle under the summer night sky.

So Kajita, a 1st year
I drew a Reuleaux triangle（ルーローの三角形）. The name “Reuleaux triangle” mixes foreign letters and kanji, and when I was in elementary school, I loved the feeling of knowing something that no one else did — that’s why I became fond of this unique shape.

Sotaro Kato, a 1st year
I created this illustration inspired by the ICT students.

Reika Kubo, a 1st year
Lately, chemistry has become my favorite subject, so I created an illustration inspired by a test tube experiment!

Touna Konno, a 1st year
I personally like how I combined the contrasting elements of mountains and the sea into a single illustration.

Reo Sakai, a 1st year
To express the spirit of ICT, I used multiple languages and an image of the Earth.

Taiki Sasaki, a 1st year
I played the clarinet in the school band during junior high, so I chose this design to reflect that memory.

Akira Terashima, a 1st year
Due to a mistake in the cart's dimensions, this image now serves as its memorial.

Kotaro Higuchi, a 1st year
I wanted to create a beautiful design, so I chose butterflies and roses.

Purba Anthony Revatta, a 1st year
I made this because it was inspired by my Roblox avatar which is a hamster. I also wrote "I need fuud" because hamsters like food.

Hinata Miyazaki, a 1st year
While looking back on my memories of ICT, I added illustrations to photos taken around the ICT area.

Hiroki Yatsuo, a 1st year
I gave the letters 'ICT' a summer vibe.

Soma Ioroi, a 2nd year
I made a delicious-looking steak.

Kaishu Ishiharada, a 2nd year
This design reflects my intention to avoid short-circuiting the circuit.

Ayane Ito, a 2nd year
I fell in love with Tecpatl at the Ancient Mexico Exhibition, and turned it into a cute character design!

Shuntaro Tanaka, a 2nd year
I drew my favorite lathe in a stylish way, using perspective to give it depth and dimension.

Shuntaro Tanaka, a 2nd year
I photographed my painting that was created for an exhibition themed "Deep Sea" at the Platinum Festival, and edited the image to create this T-shirt.

Ikki Hashimoto, a 2nd year
Recently, I've developed a personal routine that brings a strong sense of fulfillment to my daily life, so I created this with the intention of continuing that lifestyle.

　
Chihiro Fukumoto, a 2nd year
I was inspired by the Galatic Empire emblem from my favorite movie, Star Wars, when I drew this. I reimagined the emblem in an ICT style.

Kotori Mae, a 2nd year
I was inspired by summer, so I designed the back with a manga style watermelon splitting theme!

Meguru Ito

 Hello, this is Arihiro Kodaka, and I am in charge of Engineering Design II for 2nd year students. At ICT, we place great importance on practical learning in collaboration with the local community. In Engineering Design II, students tackle agricultural challenges faced by the region and explore solutions from both technological and business perspectives. The Tech Team provides technical support for wildlife damage prevention to protect sweet potatoes, while the Business Team works to revitalize the community by marketing the protected sweet potatoes as a local brand product.

 In this class, students are expected to accurately understand the current situation, identify new approaches to revitalizing the local community, and establish clear design objectives to realize those ideas. To achieve this, it is essential for them to gain a multifaceted understanding of the significance and impact of cultivating crops in this region, as well as the resources and effort required. As a first step, the entire class participated in creating ridges in the field, planting sweet potatoes, and installing electric fences to prevent wildlife damage.

Please also refer to the Hakusanroku Journal written by President Maasaki Shikada,
“2nd Year Engineering Design: Beniharuka Sweet Potato Planting (May 26th, 2025)"

 Although it was already mid-April this year, more than 50cm of snow remained in the field, and the temperatures were still low, making it difficult to plant the seedlings. However, thanks to a miraculous period of continuous rain, the snow melted just in time for the scheduled delivery of the seedlings, allowing us to proceed with planting. However, the temperatures this spring were in the low 10℃, which was quite cold and not ideal for root development or growth. The seedlings didn’t look very healthy, and I was worried. Fortunately, in May, the temperatures finally started to rise, and I was relieved to see the seedlings beginning to grow.

 Even after the seedlings had taken root, we continued to monitor their condition. This year, I noticed that some seedlings had been pulled out. Upon researching online, we found reports indicating that newly planted seedlings can be an easy target for crows, which may be what happened in our field as well. Additionally, we observed that the electric fence had become loose due to the wire mesh getting caught on the binding wire used to secure it to the poles. Next year, we plan to install a camera to closely monitor what happens in the field after planting. We will be selling sweet potatoes again this year, so please enjoy our exceptionally sweet Kosen Beniharuka!

Arihiro Kodaka

 Summer is here, and with it comes the season of insects. Even in winter, we encounter stink bugs on the Hakusanroku Campus, but summer insects are truly in a class of their own, aren’t they?
 Hello, this is Tsutsui. At the end of June, I joined an after-school activity for Hakurei elementary school students organized by the local community center, together with students from ICT students.

 On a Wednesday afternoon after third period classes ended, four students—Madoka Nakazawa (2nd year), Kai Osawa (1st year), Reo Sakai (1st year), and Kotaro Higuchi (1st year)—visited a forest behind a nearby elementary and junior high school, just a three-minute drive from Hakusanroku Campus to enjoy insect catching with local children. Kai even brought his own insect net!
 When we arrived, the younger Hakurei students were already energetically catching insects, and the forest was filled with lively voices. Later, older grades hakurei students joined in, and the forest became even more vibrant as everyone began catching insects together.
 When you think of “insect catching,” you might imagine chasing butterflies and dragonflies with a net, or catching cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets. However, the younger hakurei students were finding tiny insects quietly hiding on leaves and branches. They would point and say, “Here it is!”—but the insects were so small and blended in with the leaves that I couldn’t see them, especially with my aging eyes. The Hakurei students skillfully used a tool, which has a capsule at the end of a pair of tweezers, to catch them quickly and easily.
 Perhaps because it was early summer, the insects were still in the process of growing. But to the hakurei students, even the tiniest insect was a real “bug.” Their excited cheers and sparkling eyes when they found one were truly memorable. 
 That day, the hakurei students caught not only tiny insects, but also grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, ladybugs, pill bugs, stick insects—and even a frog! 

 The ICT students enjoyed interacting with the hakurei students in their own unique ways. The sky and forest they usually see from campus must have looked quite different that day.
 Although Hakusanroku Campus is surrounded by nature, students mostly study indoors during the week, and don’t often have opportunities to interact with the local community or nature. Moreover, due to limited transportation options, it’s not easy to explore the area on weekends. 
 This short experience gave the ICT students a chance to feel like part of the local community and to truly connect with nature. 
 I wonder if those tiny insects have grown bigger… Maybe now, even I could spot them.

 Three months have passed since we went bug catching. I wonder if those tiny insects have grown... Maybe now, even I could see them with my own eyes.

Tsutsui Masako

 Hello, this is Hayato Ogawa (Associate Professor) at International College of Technology. I teach Engineering Design 2 and Computer Skills 2 classes at Hakusanroku campus. As someone who enjoys watching science fiction movies about AI and the future—like 2001: A Space Odyssey—I’m always fascinated by how technology is imagined and sometimes feared. Instead of fearing AI, I believe it's important to understand how it works and how we can control it responsibly.

 Several years have passed since the introduction of the JetBot project in the Computer Skills 2 class, and this hands-on activity remains an integral part of the curriculum at ICT. Despite the passage of time and the occasional loss of a few JetBots due to hardware failures or accidental falls during operation, the project continues to provide students with a valuable introduction and experience in both robotics and artificial intelligence.

Learning Through Doing: From Python to Collision Avoidance

 The JetBot platform, built on the NVIDIA Jetson Nano microcomputer, offers students a practical introduction to AI-based robotics. Students begin by learning basic Python programming to control their robots, followed by creating datasets through image collection, and ultimately developing collision avoidance models. By using the onboard camera, each student trains their JetBot to navigate safely through obstacle courses, applying both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to understand how the quality of their dataset and models affects operation.

 Over the years, this activity has not only strengthened students’ understanding of AI and robotics. It has also emphasized the importance of high-quality data, careful problem-solving, and system reliability, cultivating essential skills for future careers in engineering and technology. As I noted when the program was first introduced, AI technology is becoming mainstream; some students may eventually work in fields such as autonomous vehicles, where accuracy and data integrity have direct real-world implications.

Overcoming Challenges and Fostering Growth

 One ongoing challenge remains the English proficiency required to navigate the official JetBot documentation and programming materials, which are written at a university level. However, with the consistent support and guidance of faculty members and learning mentors, students can overcome these language barriers while developing both technical and academic skills in the process.

 While a few JetBots have been repaired along the way, each incident has provided additional learning opportunities, reinforcing the realities of working with physical hardware. The JetBot project continues to serve as a meaningful, multidisciplinary learning experience that combines programming, artificial intelligence, and practical troubleshooting. It remains a strong example of ICT’s commitment to preparing students for the demands of the modern technological landscape.

Hayato Ogawa