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

 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

 Hello, I am Stephanie Reynolds, an English Teacher in charge of the Advanced Reading & Writing courses at Hakusanroku campus. On Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, 5 international exchange students from Columbia, Missouri, USA joined my 1st year International College of Technology-Kanazawa (ICT) Advanced Reading & Writing IA class. The class typically has five students, so the American students and ICT students were perfectly matched 1-to-1 as partners for the class activities. 

 We began the class by discussing what both the ICT students and American students have been reading recently, in addition to the ICT students updating their reading logs. Over the 15-week semester, students in the Advanced Reading & Writing IA class are expected to log a minimum of 8 hours of free, independent reading time. They can include the time spent reading during learning sessions and other classes, as long as the content is in English. It was exciting and motivating to hear what others have been reading and what they thought about their chosen texts.

 The next activity involved reviewing vocabulary and reading a 2-page article about the history and development of plastics. Students worked together with their partners to answer reading comprehension questions and practice the target skill of using inference to answer questions that are not directly addressed in the text.

 The final task was a grammar exercise, in which all students answered a list of 10 questions and made sentences using the habitual past forms used to and would. The challenge was to decide when to use each type of form and how to adapt the forms to negative statements. The activity was written first, then students stood up and shared their sentences with one another while mingling in the classroom.

 It was a wonderful opportunity to exchange language and cultural knowledge between ICT and American students. In the future, hopefully we can continue our exchange through writing emails and developing a deeper connection as pen pals.

Stephanie Reynolds

 Hello again! This is Sade Moore, a Learning Mentor at the Hakusanroku Campus! From Saturday, June 7th, 2025, International College of Technology (ICT) has had the pleasure of hosting a delegation of 5 high school students from Columbia, Missouri, United States at the Hakusanroku Campus. Along with two teachers from Columbia they have been participating in classes at the Hakusanroku Campus with our students and also various activities in and around Hakusan City and Kanazawa City. To facilitate welcoming them to our school the Learning Mentors decided to have a quick Ice Breaking Session for the students during the beginning of Learning Session on Monday, June 9th. 

 At the beginning of Learning Session, we gathered all of the students together in the Math Classroom. We started with normal announcements for our students to tell them about their necessary assignments and homework and any events that are going to happen soon and after the announcements the fun could begin! First, to wake up the students and let everyone loosen up, the Learning Mentors decided to play a game as most of the students seemed sleepy and not interested.

 The first ice breaker that we played is called “Fruit Basket.” It is a game where all the students sit in a circle and one student is in the middle. The student in the middle has to say, in English, something that pertains to them. It can be anything like what food they like, what color they like, what pet they have, or what class they like. After the student says the statement, then for the students who have the same answer, they must get up and move to a different chair. For students who say things like “my favorite color is pink” or “I have a pet fish” not many students can say the same so not many students move. But for statements like “I am a human” or “I like animals” or “Fruits Basket (where all the students have to move chairs)”, it can cause a lot of chaos as most students have to move to a different seat! The students had a lot of fun trying to find a new chair and not be the student left in the middle.

 At the ICT Hakusanroku Campus we have implemented a House System where all of the students are separated into 4 separate houses. The students have to work together with their Housemates to collect points based off of good behavior, such as doing their homework, completing assignments, helping their other classmates, and cleaning up after themselves. They can also lose points if they behave badly, for example, if they are being too loud during Learning Session, not completing assignments, not cleaning up after themselves, and not acting in an appropriate manner. To help integrate the American students into ICT, the Learning Mentors thought it would be a good idea to sort the American students into one of the 4 ICT Houses. So, we held a quick sorting ceremony for them and they were quickly welcomed into their houses by their ICT house members. 

 With the sorting done this led into our final ice breaking activity of the night where we would play English-only Charades. In a usual game of charades there are only gestures used to try and guess a secret word. However, today for charades the students must give hints in English only as to what the secret word was. Each house had to work together to give the best hints so that their teammate could guess correctly as fast as possible. The first House to guess correctly would receive 20 House Points, 2nd fastest would get 15 House Points, 3rd would get 10 House Points, and the last team to guess the answer would get 5 House Points. The students really enjoyed working together to use their English in order to get as many points as possible!

 After English-only Charades the ICT students and the American students were all released to regular Learning Session to work on any assignments, homework, or presentations that they needed to get done or to get to know each other better if they had free time. It was really nice to see all of the students laughing and smiling together and crossing cultural barriers through the Ice Breaking Activity. It is the Learning Mentors’ hope that this will lead to good memories and a great start to good relations between our students and the students from Columbia. 

Sade Moore

I’m Rattiya Mebusaya—or just call me Jane—and I’m from Thailand. The classes, Tossa Mebusaya and I are responsible for are mostly related to innovation and entrepreneurship in both Kanazawa and Hakusanroku campus. On June 8th, it was the anniversary of our being here and working for 3 years. I’m kind of a new full-time employee at ICT, but I’m not new here. I graduated from KIT studying in Nakazawa Sensei’s lab and had been temporarily working at ICT’s Kanazawa office—helping out here and there—for two and a half years. Now, I’m mostly at the Kanazawa campus but work at the Hakusanroku campus from time to time.

Tossa and I have a mission here to build an entrepreneurship program for students. In these past three years, it has been good, bad, exciting, and many other things in between. It has been a great experience and full of opportunities. We have done so many things so far—some have paid off, and some still need time and adjustment. With the startup and entrepreneur mindset, everything is an opportunity, and every failure is a lesson. We just need to move forward and act fast.

We’re really proud of our students in the startup and entrepreneur program. There will be more opportunities and learning throughout this long journey. We have not only taught students in classes—since entrepreneurship and a startup mindset need consistency and real-world, uncertain experiences—we also need to be part of a strong ecosystem to create a successful learning environment.

Even though we have not yet completely fulfilled all our goals, these are the activities we’ve built up so far at both the Kanazawa and Hakusanroku campuses. Here are some pictures of what we’ve done so far at ICT—our first and second KIT & ICT Startup Boot Camps. These boot camps were created to educate and support anyone interested in startups—not just ICT students, but also KIT students and even faculty and staff. We've been running them for about two years. This year, we will move to the next stage of startup development.

Startup Boot Camp

Next are our first and second ICT Startup Competitions. In these events, we’ve hosted a couple of interesting panels to educate and update participants on both Japanese and global startup trends. We’ve invited Japanese and international startups, investors, and other key ecosystem players such as Tech Startup HOKURIKU(TeSH), government representatives, and more. After the panels, we held a pitching competition. We’ve recruited teams from ICT, KIT (although no one from KIT has joined yet), and universities in other countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. We hope that in the coming year, we’ll have more international teams as well as local teams from other universities, colleges, and technical colleges or KOSENs.

ICT Startup Competition 2024

ICT Startup Competition 2025

We’ve also built connections with entrepreneurs and others in the ecosystem through important events such as the Matching HUB Hokuriku, SusHi Tech Tokyo, and visits to universities in other countries. Lastly, we have been coaching our students for competitions such as the Entrepreneurship KOSEN Summit and the High School Students’ Dream Award.

Entrepreneurship KOSEN Summit

Other Entrepreneurship Events

Right now, our office is based at the ICT Kanazawa campus. If anyone is interested in Innovation, Startups, or Entrepreneurship, please feel free to swing by and see us at the Innovation Lab—we’d love for you to get to know us. Or, if you’d like to learn more about us first, you can also visit our Facebook page to see more details and activities。
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Gi66wGeQo/

In the future, we plan to host events that anyone can join to learn more about current entrepreneurs or share ideas—even short, casual pitches on solving real-world problems. It will be fun to share ideas without boundaries.

Play time at ICT Kanazawa after a hard day’s work. There are always opportunities for creativity and excitement.

Rattiya Mebusaya