Participants and staff with their smiling faces after the workshop
Learning is always fun together, as proven at the fourth workshop that was jointly organised by UTAR’s Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology’s (FEGT) Department of Construction Management (DCM) and the Department of Architecture and Building Engineering from the College of Engineering of Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT). It was held from 27 September to 8 October 2018 at Kampar Campus.
The participation of SIT increased with a total of 30 SIT students attending the workshop, and they were accompanied by SIT lecturers Prof Dr Hirotake Kanisawa, Prof Dr Kazuya Shide and visiting lecturer Prof Dr Naoto Mine. From UTAR, 18 Bachelor of Science (Hons) Construction Management (CM) students participated in the workshop along with Workshop Coordinator and DCM lecturer Tan Zi Yi.
“It is certainly a delight to have SIT organising this workshop again with us. It was only March that we conducted our third workshop together, and now we are already into our fourth workshop. However, the greatest joy of conducting this workshop is that it enabled our participants to learn about the architectural and construction concepts of Japan and Malaysia’s building and the cultural differences between Malaysia and Japan,” said Tan.
Apart from strengthening the close relationship between UTAR and SIT, the workshop also aimed to facilitate information exchange and establish international networking. Unlike the previous workshops where students were only given the chance to visit timber houses at nearby villages, the recent workshop saw the participants analysing the structure of UTAR’s Student Pavilion 1 building.
The participants were divided into groups of two, with the first group handling the model-making of the building they inspected. To increase productivity and efficiency in completing the assignment, the model-making group divided the model building into three sections. Each section was tasked to three sub-groups. The second group was tasked to generate the digital copy of the building via Building Information Modelling (BIM) software. They also generated a digital copy of the FEGT block.
At the end of the workshop, these groups presented the outcome of their project, which included the differences they discovered between the Japanese houses and Malaysian buildings and the process of the inspection. The presentation also gave opportunities for all participants to express their thoughts, feelings and learning experiences acquired throughout the workshop.
CM student Chung Yu Hang spoke of the workshop as a new experience for him. “From detailing the drawings to understanding and applying methods for constructing the model is really a new and fun learning experience for me. However, working with my Japanese friends also made me realise the importance of teamwork and cooperation because we had limited time to complete the model. This also points to the importance of effective time management and patience,” said Chung.
Meanwhile CM student Yeoh Oon Siang said, “I learnt a lot from using the Revit (BIM) software. Using the software had essentially saved our time and it is definitely a tool that engineers should invest in. With the software, designs of the building are more accurate because it allows the user to see its 3D form, and thus reducing errors on site. Another learning experience for me will be the Japanese culture I learnt from the SIT participants.”
“Prior to joining the workshop, I had doubts because I was not confident in speaking English, but joining this workshop for the second time was definitely the right choice. At the workshop, I was able to practice my leadership skills, especially when I was guiding the new batch of UTAR participants. It was still fun and I enjoyed the workshop,” said SIT student Takaki Toge.
“The reason I decided to participate in the workshop again is because it was fun! Not only are we learning, but we are also making new friends and discovering each other’s culture. I am also amazed by their motivation to learn, as demonstrated by the UTAR participants. They are not shy to ask questions and they learn very well,” said SIT student Yohei Koga.
Read about the previous workshops (from most recent):
Third UTAR-SIT workshop
Educational workshop at SIT, Japan
Japanese Students Interaction Tour to UTAR Kampar 2016
Photos courtesy from the organising committeee. Click here to see more photos.
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