UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023
The UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 was held on campus in the UK between 22nd July and 30th July 2023.
UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 participants at UCL
The UCL-Japan Youth Challenge is a prestigious annual summer school programme which has a tremendous reputation and impact since 2015. Pre-university students from Japan and the UK attend a series of university-style lectures on a wide range of subjects by academics from leading UK universities including UCL (University College London), and engage in UCL Grand Challenge Workshop. Participants also experience British university student life through staying in halls of residence at the University of Cambridge and UCL.
In the ninth year 2023, we are pleased to hold the programme on campus in the UK, after successfully delivering the programmes online between 2020 and 2022.
This programme was established in 2015 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Choshu Five and the Satsuma 19 students’ arrival at UCL. The Choshu Five were the first Japanese students who studied at a UK university, and upon return they played leading roles in modernising Japan. Since then, UCL and Japan have been enjoying close ties.
Contents
- Why join us?
- Theme: Resilience
- UCL Grand Challenge Workshop
- Programme outline
- Homework
- UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 & the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
- Lectures
- Symposium & Reception
- The London Borough of Camden events
- Final ceremony
- What our participants say
- Programme highlight videos
- Partnership & collaboration
- Debrief meetings
Why join us?
By participating in the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023, you can:
Experience university education by attending a series of lectures in various subjects.
Learn Japanese culture from a wide range of lectures and interact with participants from all over the country. You can make friends from Japan!
Learn how to get on to UCL and other top UK universities. The UCL admissions team guide you through the application process.
Engage in lectures and activities around topics relating to this year’s programme: Resilience.
Have information about the Japan Foundation, London’s programmes.
Explore various fields with world-leading lecturers, engage in dedicated activities, and develop your ideas through participating the UCL Grand Challenge Workshop.
Theme: Resilience
Our world in 2023 is experiencing diverse challenges, including natural disasters, war, the pandemic and economic recession. We need a society where it can adopt rapid and agile recovery from dynamic and unpredictable challenges. Therefore, we are confronting the topic of ‘resilience of the global society’ in the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 this year, offering opportunities to every individual to consider what resilience means to you.
UCL Grand Challenge Workshop
As part of the programme, we host the UCL Grand Challenge Workshop on this year’s theme: Resilience (please see Programme outline below).
UCL Grand Challenges is an initiative of the UCL Vice-Provost (Research) to bring researchers from across UCL interdisciplinarily, which have changed the way researchers investigate the world’s problems, since 2009.
There are six UCL Grand Challenges; Global Health, Sustainable Cities, Cultural Understanding, Human Wellbeing, Justice & Equality, and Transformative Technology.
UCL Grand Challenge Workshop during the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge focuses on one of these challenges every year.
UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023, UCL Grand Challenge Workshop illustation by Scriberia
Programme outline
On campus programme
Dates: Saturday 22nd July – Sunday 30th July 2023 (9 days)
* Participants from Japanese high schools arrive on Friday 21st July and stay at our accommodation throughout the programme.
You must attend Days 1, 4–8 (six days in total), i.e. the Rikkyo School in England programme (Day 1) and the London programme (Days 4–8).
The Cambridge programmes in Days 2 and 3 are optional to attend.
Accommodation is available at Rikkyo School in England, the University of Cambridge and UCL (University of London).
If you do not require UCL (University of London) accommodation, your last day on the programme is Day 8: Saturday 29th July 2023.
If you stay at UCL (University of London) accommodation, you will check out on Day 9: Sunday 30th July 2023.
| Day | Location | Breakfast Participants staying at our accommodation only | Morning | Lunch | Afternoon | Dinner Participants staying at our accommodation only, except Days 1, 7 & 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 Friday 21st July 2023 Participants from Japanese high schools only: check-in day | Rikkyo School in England, West Sussex RH12 3BE | — | — | — | Participants from Japanese high schools only: arrival at London Heathrow Airport | Participants from Japanese high schools only: Rikkyo School in England |
| Day 1 Saturday 22nd July 2023 All participants must attend, first day | Rikkyo School in England, West Sussex RH12 3BE | Participants from Japanese high schools only: Rikkyo School in England | Welcome event: - Welcome talk by UCL Prof Shin-ichi Ohnuma, Chair of the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge - Self- and school-introductions | Rikkyo School in England | Ice-breaking activities | All participants: Barbecue at Rikkyo School in England |
| Day 2 Sunday 23rd July 2023 Optional for participants without our accommodation | University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN (1 of 2 days) | Rikkyo School in England | Move to Cambridge | Robinson College, University of Cambridge | Cambridge group sightseeing | Dining Hall, Robinson College, University of Cambridge * Cambridge college formal dinner |
| Day 3 Monday 24th July 2023 Optional for participants without our accommodation | University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN (2 of 2 days) | Robinson College, University of Cambridge | - Lecture - Post-talk discussion activities | Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge | Lectures | Garden Restaurant, Robinson College, University of Cambridge |
| Day 4 Tuesday 25th July 2023 All participants must attend | UCL, London WC1E 6BT (1 of 5 days) | Robinson College, University of Cambridge | Move to London | UCL | - UCL Grand Challenge Workshop - Group work | International Hall, University of London |
| Day 5 Wednesday 26th July 2023 All participants must attend | UCL, London WC1E 6BT (2 of 5 days) | International Hall, University of London | Language lesson: - English - Japanese beginner - Japanese advanced (1 of 2 lessons) | UCL | - Lectures - Group work | International Hall, University of London |
| Day 6 Thursday 27th July 2023 All participants must attend | UCL, London WC1E 6BT (3 of 5 days) | International Hall, University of London | Language lesson: - English - Japanese beginner - Japanese advanced (2 of 2 lessons) | UCL | - The London Borough of Camden event - UCL tour - Group work | International Hall, University of London |
| Day 7 Friday 28th July 2023 All participants must attend | UCL, London WC1E 6BT (4 of 5 days) | International Hall, University of London | - Visit Camden Town Hall - Group work | UCL | Symposium (including group presentation) & Reception | All participants: Buffet at the Reception |
| Day 8 Saturday 29th July 2023 All participants must attend, final day for participants without our accommodation | UCL, London WC1E 6BT (5 of 5 days) | International Hall, University of London | London group sightseeing (and lunch) | Not provided | Final ceremony | All participants: pizza party at UCL |
| Day 9 Sunday 30th July 2023 Participants staying at our accommodation only: check-out day | International Hall, University of London | Departure | — | — | — |
* We reserve the right to change or modify any of the programme details, at any time and in our sole discretion.
Participants will be provided a detailed itinerary.
Homework
In order to deepen participants’ understanding of this year’s theme, homework will be provided in July.
UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 & the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
The UCL-Japan Youth Challenge may count for your Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) through the Residential section.
You must make sure that you meet the requirements if you wish to be awarded a Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award through the Residential section before you apply for the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023.
Your participation in the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 on its own does not grant a DofE Award.
For more information about the Residential section and its requirements, please refer to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s website: Sections | Residential section FAQ | Residential Session Plan | Checklist
Lectures
Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge
Resilience during fall of Kabul
Sir Laurie Bristow KCMG
President
Hughes Hall
University of Cambridge
Post-talk discussion activities
Dr Pete Dudley
Governing Body Fellow, Hughes Hall
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education
University of Cambridge
Robinson College, University of Cambridge
Soft materials introduce resiliency into robotics
Dr Michael Ishida
Postdoctoral researcher
Department of Engineering
University of Cambridge
Change is in the air
Dr Liza Emirali
TTI Fellow
MRC Toxicology Unit
University of Cambridge
Dr Corinne Roughley
Governing Body Fellow
Director of Studies in Archaeology
Hughes Hall
University of Cambridge
Developing a resilient mind and body through Aikido and Chado
Dr Bertrand Flipo
Project Manager
The Welding Institute
UCL
Introduction of UCL Foundation courses & Undergraduate
Mr Martin White
Head of Student Recruitment, Marketing & Communications
UCL Centre for Languages & International Education
Global leadership: what the books bought at airports don’t tell you!
Mr Chris Chivers
Philosophy Teacher, Head of Year 13
The UCL Academy
Leadership Under Uncertainty
Dr Jim Berry
Lecturer (assistant professor)
Director – The UCL MBA
UCL School of Management
How Big a Deal is Hardware for AI, Now and Down the Road?
Dr Adnan Mehonic
Lecturer in Nanoelectronics
Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering Sciences
UCL
Japanese fellowship for UK-based students
Ms Yoshiko Matsunaga
Embassy of Japan in the UK
Japanese fellowship for UK-based students
Ms Kaori Fukuyama
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) London
The Japan Foundation, London talk
Ms Iona Vos
Assistant Programme Officer for Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange
The Japan Foundation, London
Affiliations are correct as of July 2023
Symposium & Reception
We welcomed the public to our Resilience Symposium & Reception on Friday 28th July 2023.
As part of the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023, a prestigious summer school programme for pre-university students from both the UK and Japan since 2015, we welcomed the public to our Symposium and Reception on Friday 28th July from 1pm.
Our world in 2023 is experiencing diverse challenges, including natural disasters, war, the pandemic and economic recession. We need a society where it can adopt rapid and agile recovery from dynamic and unpredictable challenges. Therefore, we are confronting the topic of ‘resilience of the global society’ in the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023 this year, offering opportunities to every individual to consider what resilience means to you.
We are delighted to welcome speakers from the senior team of the UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR), including Prof David Alexander and Prof Joanna Faure Walker, Head of Department.
In collaboration with Tohoku University, world-leading researchers including Prof Shinichi Kuriyama, Director of the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) and Prof Masahiro Yamaguchi, Vice President for Education Reform and Global Engagement, deliver talks on the summer school’s programme theme ‘Resilience’.
We are pleased to return to the UCL Bloomsbury campus for the first time since 2019, inviting the public to this event to discuss our post-pandemic future in light of resilience.
The London Borough of Camden events
We hosted two special events in collaboration with the London Borough of Camden.
We invited the team from Camden and the Mayor Cllr Nazma Rahman to learn about the development projects in the borough, including the Knowledge Quarter, King’s Cross redevelopment and the development work at the British Library, on Thursday 27th July 2023.
Our visit to Camden Town Hall was on Friday 28th July 2023, where our participants from Kagoshima Prefecture delivered a speech to celebrate their friendship agreement between the prefecture and the borough.
The following article was featured on the Camden New Journal on Thursday 3rd August 2023.
(Article image courtesy of the London Borough of Camden)
Final ceremony
Risa Hanai, who participated in the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2019 & 2021, then completed the Undergraduate Preparatory Certificate in 2023, made a speech to the 2023 participants during the Final ceremony.
When I was 15 years old, with no experience of staying abroad for more than two weeks, I was really excited to see a lot of students from all over Japan and the UK. But then from the third day we started to listen to the lectures. Did anyone understand all the lectures that we took in this programme? Honestly, five years ago, as a participant, I didn’t really understand them. But the important thing is what to do after not understanding the lecture. Did you search the lecturer’s name in advance? Did you try to ask questions with the limited understanding? Or did you just complain?
Resilience only arises from thriving to solve difficult problems. So when you are faced with such issues that you can’t understand the lecture or you can’t speak well in English or Japanese in discussion, find the way to go through them.
Resilience is about accepting new changes, even if it looks worse than before. And you are the one and only young generation that have survived pandemic and base the future on your experience. If you have a problem like that in your future, you can fight against it. Some might just curse their loss. But I hope you can accept the reality and attempt to perform better with what you have right now.
Finally, resilience is thinking about future. I hope some of you guys will come back to the UK with resilience you develop.
Risa Hanai
(Text as provided)
What our participants say
Thank you for an unforgettable experience, I have met so many incredible people and had a wonderful time. This has changed my life. I am indescribably grateful to everyone involved.
I am honoured to be participating in the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023. I was able to make many friends and able to improve my English. I have a new dream to study abroad.
I enjoyed it very much. I got to know all sorts of values anew by getting involved with people. Thank you so much for creating this opportunity.
Thank you very much for 10 days. I am currently working hard to get into UCL, but this experience was a turning point in my life. Making lifelong friends in England and being able to actively ask questions in English in lectures are all my treasured memories. I will continue to study without forgetting what I learned this time so that I can become a person who can play an active role in the UK and the world in the future.
It was a really really great opportunity for me. I learned many things in this programme and made a lot of friends. I sincerely appreciate everyone. Thank you very much!
It was an excellent experience to take part in this programme.
What parents/legal guardians say
We wanted to thank you a lot for the exceptional quality of your programme. Our son had such a very enjoyable time.
He talked extensively about the lectures, challenges and great interaction he had with his Japanese pairs.
Building on the beginners Japanese course he received, he is now truly committed to learning Japanese on Duolingo.
Many thanks again for giving our son this wonderful opportunity which indeed confirmed his long interest into the Japanese culture and desire to study there at least for a year at university.
I would like to say a huge thank you to you, and all that were involved in making this UCL-Japan Youth Challenge possible. Our son had the most wonderful time, not only has this experience deepened his love and passion for Japanese, and the culture, but also given him ideas for his future. Also, and most importantly, it allowed him to have some independence and to push himself out of his comfort zone.
The whole experience, from start to finish has been more than we could have ever expected, and we are truly grateful for the opportunity given him.
Would it be possible for our son to attend next year?
What teachers say
Participants from Japanese high schools participated in the programme with their school teachers.
All the participants from our school were very satisfied that they had completed this intensive programme. Their parents said that they were really glad to have them participate when they saw how they were doing after returning home.
It was a great pleasure for me as a teacher to see how my students grew and developed their confidence during the programme.
The great thing about this programme is that we can network with other participating schools. We were immediately introduced to a forum and participated online.
There are many initiatives that overlap with several participating schools and I am hopeful that we can collaborate in the future.
Our students were able to immerse themselves in British English throughout the programme, visit Rikkyo School in England, the University of Cambridge and UCL to have lectures and talks by leading researchers and experts, meet the wonderful staff including the chair of the programme, Prof Ohnuma, and make friends from both the UK and Japanese high schools. It was a valuable experience in every way.
I also learnt a lot from the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge 2023.
Programme highlight videos
London programme highlights
UCL Grand Challenge Workshop
Participants’ thank you video
Debrief meetings
Many of our participants from Japanese high schools reflect on their learning and findings through debrief meetings at their schools.
Seikyo Gakuen Senior High School
Fukushima Prefecture
This summer school programme is organised by the UCL-Japan Youth Challenge Committee.
Chair: Prof Shin-ichi Ohnuma, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
Committee Members (in alphabetical order by first name):
Dr Anawat Suppasri, Ayato Yamazaki, Emiko Asagoshi, Prof Hidekazu Kurebayashi, Hideyuki Miyahara, Kaito Mizukoshi, Kentaro Kimura, Makoto Yoshida, Manaka Abe, Dr Masazumi Tada, Dr Masako Shimato, Dr Miwako Kitamura, Momo Sakai, Risa Hanai, Seitaro Taketani, Sumire Kaimori, Wataru Tage, Dr Yasu Takeuchi, Dr Yoshiyuki Yamamoto, Yuta Nagano
In partnership with the Japan Foundation, Rikkyo School in England & UK Japan Institute
In collaboration with Shimizu Corporation, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Fukushima Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture, London Borough of Camden, Tohoku University, Tohoku University International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Fukushima College, Daishichi Sake Brewery, Kashiwaya, Fukushima-15 Project, Mitoco Kawachi Corporation, the Embassy of Japan in the UK, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) London & UCL Grand Challenges
