The University of Tokyo

Student Discussion with One of UTokyo's Vice Presidents

What are the Hands-on Activity Programs?

The Hands-on Activity Programs, which started in 2012, are a specially-designed project whose basic principle is to give UTokyo undergraduate students representing the next generation the opportunity to be exposed to lifestyles and sets of values different from their own. This project is one of the University's specific measures put into action to foster “tough” UTokyo students. In 2013, the second year of the project, the new category of laboratory experiences was added to the previous year's five categories of social contributions, international interaction, short internships, local agriculture and nature experiences and field work experiences. A total of 78 programs (Japan: 34, overseas: 24, laboratories: 20) were implemented in 2013, recording a large increase from the previous year. The project, which is organized by the Student Support Group of the University's Administration Bureau in cooperation with relevant internal sections and external organizations, sees its third term in 2014. Your attention and support are greatly appreciated.

A Few Snapshots from the 2013 Hands-on Activity Programs

1. Holding workshops and constructing a rest building in the town of Minami-Sanriku in Miyagi Prefecture

2. Supporting high school students on remote islands through the Public Preparatory School Project in Shimane Prefecture

3. Working as tour guides at an art museum with full-size porcelain replicas of famous works of art in Tokushima Prefecture

4. Experiencing the Kaga Hot Springs area as an immersive campus in Ishikawa Prefecture

5. Working on vegetable and sheep farms in the town of Bifuka in Hokkaido Prefecture

6. Participating in a “work camp” to set up a daycare center for cognitively challenged children in Malaysia

7. Training at a grande école and learning from UTokyo alumni working in Paris in France

8. Participating in a local NGO and working as teachers at a junior high school in Nepal

9. Learning about leprosy and the dignity of human beings in Indonesia

10. Participating in international exchange activities at a Middle Eastern women's university in Saudi Arabia