A group of students from the University of Tokyo just finished their intensive 5-day training program organized by a group of international researchers - Sustainability and Resilience (su-re.co) on March 1-5, 2021. By bringing the theme “Sustainability Challenges in Bali: Transdisciplinary Perspectives for Island Sustainability”, students from different parts of the world were able to get together online to receive an immersive learning experience despite not meeting the trainers in person.
What kind of educational program is it?
In response to the students' desire to learn about economic, social, environmental, policy changes, and social entrepreneurship, Bali, Indonesia was set as a case study. This training invited local representatives from the government, NGOs, and local farmers to promote interactive learning. Five main topics were discussed namely climate change, agriculture, waste management, energy, and social entrepreneurship.
“It is quite unique because the students got a lot of time to understand many things like how to conduct an interview, how to approach the stakeholders, how to create questions in a relevant interview technique that they can use for their other fieldworks” said Vinamra, the Teacher Assistant from University of Tokyo.
Inviting the local farmers to speak through an online video conferencing platform is an adaptation taken to maximize the learning experience. This training has successfully crossed the language and distance barrier as the committee helped out with the translation. Surprisingly, the students were astonished by the local agricultural practices and really appreciate the moments with the local farmers and stakeholders.
“The most interesting part was the translated session with farmers and banjar leader. We can get a lot of information from the lectures and we truly get the chance to interacting even though we don't speak the language. Crossing the language barrier was my favorite and really help me learn a lot” said Amishi, one of the training’s students. Jie Su – a participant who is pursuing her Ph.D also enjoyed the interaction with the local stakeholders. “We don't really get this opportunity to talk to stakeholders, farmers, and NGO. I learned a lot from it and it was really a precious time for me to get the chance to talk to the NGO, farmers, talking about their idea, their effort toward the sustainability” said Jie Su.
This program will soon be open for educational institutions in Japan and overseas. As a think- be-tank, su-re.co members enjoy sharing its research, expertise and experiences to wider communities – students, companies and the general public. For the last three years, su-re.co has conducted various programs such as SDGs training for High School and College students, in-person training (only in the normal conditions) and webinars. In partnership with various organization, the raining on environmental sustainability issues can also be customized to be attended by specific groups from different countries. For further inquiries, check out su-re.co products and services on the website www.su-re.co/be or contact via email info@su-re.co.
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