On November 25, 2016 the International FD Program 2016 debriefing session was held.

Starting in 2004, NAIST has continually held the International Faculty Development Program to further enhance NAIST’s curriculum and promote globalization in education and research, while improving English teaching capacity.

A total of 6 faculty members, 2 from each graduate school, participated in the 2-week program in late October and early November. During the first week, the participants were exposed to and study effective techniques for science and technology graduate school education in English at the University of California Davis through lectures, guest speakers, and observations of classrooms. Following this, each faculty member visited a research laboratory of his/her choice in North America to gain insights into styles of laboratory management, graduate student guidance and supervision, and other areas related to graduate education in science and technology.

The participated faculty members explained in their presentations that the program helped broaden their perspectives not only on effective pedagogical approaches in English, but also on faculty members’ roles in graduate education. They also mentioned that future programs might want to target junior faculty members and include more science-specific content.

In the question and answer session, President Ogasawara and executive members inquired about course evaluation methods and student guidance at universities where the participants visited, followed by encouraging remarks on the extent to which the program would improve their teaching and supervision skills.

【FD Program Participants】
Graduate School of Information Science:
Assoc. Prof. Yoshito Otake, Assoc. Prof. Ismail Arai
Graduate School of Biological Sciences:
Prof. Reiko Shinkura, Assoc. Prof. Ko Kato
Graduate School of Materials Science:
Prof. Masakazu Nakamura, Assoc. Prof. Noriaki Kawaguchi