Tokyo Tech's Student Initiative Support Services, an arm of the Student Success Support Section within the Student Support Center, hosted the 17th Student Support Forum at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza on Ookayama Campus on February 29.
Participants of 17th Student Support Forum
The annual Student Support Forum aims to support and revitalize student activities, which are often public in nature, promote exchanges between students from a wide range of universities, and generally enhance student, university, and local community life.
The 2024 "forum for students by students" was planned and executed from start to finish by students. A total of 85 students, staff, and faculty members from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Utsunomiya University, the University of Tsukuba, the University of Tokyo, the International University of Health and Welfare, Seijo University, and Tokyo City University came together to enjoy the day and focus particularly on this year's theme of enhanced student exchange.
After opening words from Tokyo Tech President Kazuya Masu, Professor Kenji Saito from Tokyo Tech's Health Support Center briefly outlined the history and purpose of the event. Acting as moderators at the forum were 3rd-year Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering student Narumi Iiboshi and 2nd-year Computer Science student Tatsunori Hashimoto.
Tokyo Tech President Masu offering opening words
Health Support Center's Saito giving outline of forum
Icebreaking session
For the first time, this year's Student Support Forum kicked off with an icebreaking session. Participants joined groups of three or four people to decide on keywords that best describe themselves. They then shared these keywords, together with hashtags, allowing everyone to get acquainted.
Participants offered positive feedback on this approach to start the forum. Some said it fostered a friendly atmosphere right from the start, while others were convinced that it encouraged more lively discussions later in the day.
Moderator Hashimoto explaining icebreaking session
Participants writing down self-descriptive keywords
Presentations on student activities by members of various groups
This year, five student groups supported by the Institute's Student Success Support Section — Tokyo Tech's Peer Supporters, the Student Survey Group, Tokyo Tech Volunteer Group, study abroad promotion group FLAP, and Tokyo Tech's Peer Life Coaches — gave presentations to share their activities and achievements over the past year.
TMDU's Peer Supporters were also present to share their activities, providing a valuable opportunity to learn about the differences between the lives of TMDU and Tokyo Tech students. Tokyo Tech and TMDU will merge in October 2024 to form Institute of Science Tokyo.
Minori Niwaya
3rd year, Track of Nursing Science, School of Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, TMDU
TMDU Peer Supporter
TMDU Peer Supporters provide various forms of support for students by students, including consultation services in student life, surveys, and information sharing through the Peer Support Newsletter (Japanese). Last academic year, there were six TMDU Peer Supporters. Our activities expanded significantly, and included the renewal of the TMDU suggestion box, participation in the nationwide peer support training and exchange event Peer-no-wa 2023, and exchanges with various associations and groups.
I feel that my activities as a peer supporter are rewarding because I learn things that are also applicable to nursing care, such as listening skills and individualized support tailored to the needs of the patient. The Student Support Forum was an excellent opportunity for me to broaden my perspective through interactions with people from non-medical backgrounds.
Eri Fukuda
4th year, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, TMDU
TMDU Peer Supporter
I learned about the many organizations at Tokyo Tech that are working for the benefit of students and the local community. After listening to the presentations by other student groups, I felt that we could review and improve our approaches to many of our activities. We are a medical university with a small number of students in classes, practical training, and club activities, which makes us different from other universities in many ways. I will continue to devote myself to meeting the unique needs of our students. Thank you for inviting us to the Student Support Forum.
Mari Kimura
4th year, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, TMDU
TMDU Peer Supporter
This was the last Student Support Forum before the integration between TMDU and Tokyo Tech. Various groups at Tokyo Tech engage in activities with their own themes and objectives, and I believe that this kind of proactive stance will continue to have a positive impact after the merger. To achieve our goals, it is necessary to develop a deeper and more open relationship with each other. In this respect, the reception was a great way to get a glimpse of not only the activities of the student groups, but also their daily lives. In the medical world, collaboration among multiple professions is required, and I felt that I would like to collaborate with Tokyo Tech students in the future.
