BANDUNG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Activity Report
AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program
F.X. Arnold Giovanni H. (13112029)

This is a report of AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program held on 28th September

2015 to 28th January 2016. Detailed description of both the curricular and
extracurricular activities available is written. The authors opinion and thoughts
about the program is also included.
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Table of Contents
1.

Foreword..............................................................................................................

2.

Background and Purpose......................................................................................

3.

Curricular Activities..............................................................................................

4.

3.1.

Study on International Issues and Challenges...............................................

3.2.

Study on Japanese Companies and Organizations.........................................

3.3.

Applied Material Physics................................................................................

3.4.

Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering......................

3.5.

Mechanical Engineering Seminar...................................................................

3.6.

Experiments in Mechanical Engineering........................................................

3.7.

Advanced Engineering Vibrations..................................................................

3.8.

Optimization on Structural and Process Design.............................................

Extracurricular Activities......................................................................................
4.1.

HUSO (Hiroshima University Symphony Orchestra).......................................

4.2.

ESS (English Speaking Society)......................................................................

4.3.

Nihongo and Bunka Class..............................................................................

4.4.

Foreign Student Party....................................................................................

5.

Miscellaneous.......................................................................................................

6.

Conclusion and Suggestions.................................................................................

Attachment List
1. Research Paper
2. Introduction to Japanese Companies Final Report
3. Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Industrial
Presentation
4. Syllabi of the Courses

Activity Report: AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program

Engineering

Final

Page

Activity Report

1. Foreword
This report is made to fulfill my responsibility to ITB as one of the students who
participate in a student exchange program. This report contains information
about the activities that I had done during my stay in Hiroshima University. The
duration of the program is 4 months; from 28 th September 2015 to 28th January
2016.
First, I will discuss about the background and purpose of my participation in this
student exchange program. After that, I will explain about the activities that I had
done in Hiroshima University. The activities are divided into two categories:
curricular activities and extracurricular activities. In the end I will make a
conclusion what I receive from this program. I will also provide some
suggestions to ITB and future prospective students regarding the AIMS-HU
student exchange program.

2. Background and Purpose

As an aspiring engineer living in a highly globalized world, it is very important for
me to have an understanding of culture difference. With the upcoming ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC), the ability to work with people from different
cultures and English mastery is more profound than ever before. In normal
situation, there are not many chances to use English or to experience working
with people from other countries. Exchange programs to another country provide
this rare experience especially if the duration of the program is quite long.
The AIMS (ASEAN International Mobility for Students) program is a very unique
program. This is because it concentrates on professional activities rather than
culture activities like most student exchange program do. The AIMS-HU program
has other merits for engineering students because the host university is
Hiroshima University, a university located in highly industrialized region of Japan.
It offers the opportunity to experience and learn about Japans cultures,
companies, work ethics, and much more. Another reason why the AIMS-HU
program is very interesting is because Japanese language proficiency is not
needed; all of the courses are being taught in English.
Based on previously explained reasons, I chose to participate in the AIMS-HU
Student Exchange Program. My goal and purpose by participating in this program
are listed below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

To
To
To
To
To

experience living abroad

increase my understanding of culture difference
increase my English proficiency
understand the Japanese way of doing things
make foreign friends

To achieve those purposes, I participated in many activities that will be explained

in the following chapters.
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3. Curricular Activities
The curricular activities consist of courses offered by Hiroshima University. The
AIMS-HU program requires the participants to take minimum of 16 credits. These
are divided into two groups: core courses and engineering courses. The core
courses consists of two courses namely Study on International Issues and
Challenges and Study on Japanese Companies and Organizations which has 3
and 2 credits respectively. There are several engineering courses that can be
chosen to fulfill the requirement of the program. I took and completed 18 credits
during my stay in Hiroshima University. These credits are shown on Table 1.
Table 1 Credits Taken

Course Name
Study on International Issues and
Challenges
Study on Japanese Companies and
Organizations
Applied Material Physics
Advanced Mechanical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Seminar
Experiments
in
Mechanical
Engineering
Advanced Engineering Vibrations
Optimization
of
Structural
and
Process Design

Credits
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2

I will explain in detail about each individual course in the following sub-chapters.

3.1. Study on International Issues and Challenges

This course is one of the core courses in the AIMS-HU student exchange program.
In this program, the students are required to present their research paper. The
topic of the paper is about an international issue and the topic must be related to
the students major. The topic is usually given by the professor that the students
are entrusted to but it is not impossible to propose a topic of the students choice
too. This course provides a very unique experience because it is like doing a final
project. The students need to study literatures regarding their topic, do
experiments, make presentation, do counseling with their advisor, present their
research, and make a scientific research paper. It is a very good exercise that
prepares the student to be a researcher.
My research topic was Measuring the Wettability of Bismuth and 0.3-0.5%
Copper Alloy for High Temperature Soldering. The topic is much more about
material engineering than mechanical engineering because I was assigned to the
applied material physics laboratory during my stay in Hiroshima University.
Regardless, it was very fun and exciting to work on this topic. I started by
studying related literature to figure out the background of my research because
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my professor did not really explain about the reasons why he want me to do this
research. I did this while I was waiting for the bismuth metal to arrive. After the
metal had arrived, I continued my research by doing the contact angle
measurement. One doctor student helped me on this research. He taught me
how to use the contact apparatus, how to prepare the samples, and how to use
microscope and EPMA (Electron Probe Micro Analyzer). While the research was
ongoing, I also need to present my progress on the Study on International Issues
and Challenges class and my laboratorys weekly seminar.
I really like this course. It trained me to do research and how to present it. Every
other week I need to present my topic and I got feedback from the teacher and
my friends. I also got to review my friends presentation and because the class
consists of mostly Thai students that studies different major than me, it brings
me new perspective and a lot of new information. I also learnt how to present my
research topic to the general audience: use of simple words and simple
explanation to make the audience understand my topic. In the end of the course,
I need to present my topic to the teacher, advisor, and professors of Hiroshima
University. It was a nerve-wrecking experience but I am glad I experienced such
thing. It prepares me to present my ideas using English to broad audience. I also
wrote a paper regarding my topic and it was also a good experience. I learnt
about my weaknesses in writing and I think I improved both my presentation and
writing skills through this course.

3.2. Study on Japanese Companies and Organizations

This course is also the AIMS-HU Student Exchange Programs core course. In this
course, the students are taken to various Japanese Companies. The students also
need to form groups and make presentation about topics related to Japanese
companies. In the end of the course, a paper about an issue regarding Japanese
Companies is required. There are also lectures by the professor about the current
situation of Japan. A discussion method often used by Japanese people is also
introduced. In this method, several groups consist of 2 to 3 people are made to
discuss about the topic and then they chose their best idea regarding the topic.
Then these groups are combined to make bigger groups and do the same thing.
This process is repeated until only 2 big groups remain and they discuss
together.
For me, this class really opened my mind concerning the possibilities of working
in Japan. Their efficiency and strict procedures are also very amazing. One of the
most memorable visits was a visit to Naka Incineration Plant. It is a very
sophisticated garbage incineration plant. They even produce their own electricity
to power the plant by using the heat generated when they burn the garbage.
Their waste processing is also exceptional. There is no smoke at all from their
chimney even though they are the main incineration plant for Hiroshima City. The
number of operators are also very few; only about 15 operators for such a big
plant. It makes me wonder why Indonesia does not make such plant to process
their garbage.

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I learned a lot about Japanese companies such as the biggest company in Japan
is the communication company Docomo. It is kind of weird for me because
usually a communication company cannot become the biggest company in a
country. One topic that I like the most was about the Japanese heavy industry. It
is really fascinating to learn how the Japanese heavy industry started by copying
technologies from the Western Countries. After that they make their own
innovation and slowly but surely they managed to be very successful. I made a
paper about the Japanese aero industry for my final paper for this course
because just recently the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry launched their first
commercial aircraft called the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MHI). This course is very
good to open up someones view about industry in advanced country.

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3.3. Applied Material Physics

In this course the basics of solid-state physics are studied. Two lecturers are in
charge of this course. This course is an elementary course for graduate material
engineering course. Theory of dislocations and properties of material are also
studied. This course is an in-depth course of my study in ITB. Several concepts
are hard to grasp but it provides a good understanding of the reason why a
material behaves like it is.

3.4. Advanced Mechanical

Engineering

Engineering

and

Industrial

These courses are held in tandem. They are basically visits to various Japanese
Manufacturing Companies. Besides factory tour, the engineers of the company
also gave lectures. In the end of the course, a presentation about the summary
of the company visits and lectures are required.
Visits to various Japanese companies are very great experience for me. I learnt a
lot about their work ethics and also the technologies they used. I also got
information about the relationship between Japan and Indonesia. For example,
one of the companies that I visited, the MHPS (Mitsubishi Hitachi Power System),
is going to provide the boiler for one of Indonesias new coal power plant. It is
very fascinating to learn about the joint effort of companies, universities, and
government to conduct research. The Japanese Government regulates the
research activity and they have their own long-term plan on what to research.
What perplexed me is the relatively low English mastery of the engineers in
these Japanese companies. Regardless, these courses must be taken because
opportunity to visit various Japanese companies and be lectured by them is very
rare.

3.5. Mechanical Engineering Seminar

This is the credits for participating in the respective students laboratory seminar.
In the seminar the student need to present their research and also have to listen
to other members presentation. This is just like a laboratory meeting in ITB but
for me that have not been assigned to any laboratory yet, it is a first time
experience. Unfortunately the seminar were held in Japanese so most of the time
I wasnt able to understand the content of the research. Nevertheless, the
opportunity to present your idea in English to same profession peers is very
valuable.

3.6. Experiments in Mechanical Engineering

This is a one credit experiment course. It consists of more than ten modules.
Each week the students have to complete one module and submit a report of
that module. The modules cover the basic phenomena in mechanical
engineering. It actually covered a very wide spectrum of mechanical engineering
ranging from simple vibration phenomena to more complex plasma jet
wavelength distribution.

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This is the only course in which the AIMS-HU students were mixed with regular
undergraduate Japanese students. Therefore the course was conducted in
Japanese. It was very hard because I wasnt able to understand what the
lecturers were explaining. The Hiroshima University provided a teaching assistant
for the AIMS-HU students but unfortunately the English proficiency of the
assistant was not good enough to support the AIMS-HU students. Nonetheless, it
was very challenging and fun to work with Japanese students and I learned a lot
from the experiments.

3.7. Advanced Engineering Vibrations

This is the advanced course of engineering vibration. It is designed as the
continuation of basic engineering vibration course. Therefore the concepts in this
subject are more difficult and hard to grasp. The course started by reviewing the
single DOF and multiple DOF system. It also covered the concepts of dynamic
dampers. After that, the course continued with the theory of acoustics. This was
a very challenging subject because there arent many books that cover the
mechanical engineering acoustics. Acoustics are very interesting subject. I am
very interested in it. Then the course covered self-excited vibration and rotor
dynamics. Both topics are new topics for me and it was very enlightening lecture.
I really enjoyed this course. There are many new topics and the professor was
very good. Yes, it was not easy but it is really worth it. I really recommend future
AIMS-HU participants to take this course. I am sure the concepts explained in this
course would be useful.

3.8. Optimization on Structural and Process Design

This is a very good course that provides lecture from foreign professor. The
lectures are mostly given by a professor from the University of Maryland, UK. He
was also a professional working in very well-known engineering consultant firm
that excels in optimization design process. The concepts of optimization and
decision making in design process are introduced. Examples of real-life
applications were also given.
The concept of topology optimization were
introduced; a very good knowledge, in my opinion. The optimization process
using soft wares were also taught. The soft wares used were Solidworks and
BESO2D.
In my opinion, this course is a must. It does not only provide me with a very good
knowledge of many optimization process available but it also provided me with
the experience of being taught by a very good professor with excellent English.
That experience gave me some imagination of what it is like to study in Europe. I
really enjoyed the course but unfortunately the lectures from the foreign
professor were cramped in a week because of time restriction. I was not able to
participate in all lectures from the foreign professor because I had another class
and so on. I wish I was able to participate in the foreign professors entire lecture.

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4. Extracurricular Activities
Aside from the curricular activities, I participated in some extracurricular
activities. The main purposes of these activities are to study the Japanese culture
and to make foreign friends. Here are the extracurricular activities I have
participated:

4.1. HUSO (Hiroshima University Symphony Orchestra)

I am a member of ISO (ITB Student Orchestra) and therefore I really want to join
an orchestra in Japan and learn from them. I contacted the HUSO via e-mail and
they replied promptly. I asked if it was okay for me to watch their rehearsal and
they said it was okay. So I watched one of their rehearsals and I then I wanted to
join them. I asked can I join them and they said it might be a little hard but it is
possible. I completed some paperwork and I become one of the orchestras
members. At first I only wanted to be able to borrow a trombone to practice but
the orchestra had an upcoming concert and they invited me to participate in the
concert. I was reluctant but I agreed anyway. I played in a very big concert hall in
Hiroshima City. It was an unforgettable experience.
It was very fun to play with them. They are all very good players and the
orchestra has a very high level of playing by Indonesian standard. The only
problem was Japanese people are very afraid to communicate in English so I had
difficulties communicating with the orchestra members. If only I was able to
speak Japanese I am sure my experience would be much better.

4.2. ESS (English Speaking Society)

A Japanese friend introduced me to this society and I am very grateful to him.
The members of the ESS have above average English proficiency compared to
other Japanese. Therefore I and my friends were able to communicate with them
quite smoothly. The ESS has several divisions such as drama, public speaking,
discussion, etc. I participated in some of their activities and it really improves my
English speaking skills. The members of ESS are also very fun to hang out with.
The AIMS-HU students and the ESS members frequently have dinner together
after the ESS activities. I wholeheartedly recommend the future AIMS-HU
students to participate in the ESS activities to make some foreign friends.

4.3. Nihongo and Bunka Class

This is a class held by the Agricultural Faculty for the Thai AIMS-HU students.
Nihongo means Japanese language and Bunka means culture so in this class the
AIMS-HU students study some Japanese language and culture. The class was
very useful. The teacher taught us some commonly used vocabularies that we
can use in daily life. The teacher also held fun cultural activities such as
calligraphy, wearing kimono, playing koto, and so on. This class offered no credit
but it was very useful and fun.

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4.4. Foreign Student Party

I participated in some foreign student party. Usually Japanese students invite
foreign students to come to their apartment to cook and eat dinner together. This
is a very good way to socialize and meet new people from everywhere. I made a
lot of friends through this method. I think this is a very good thing to do in
Indonesia too.

5. Miscellaneous
In this chapter, I would like to point out some things that I think worth knowing
about the AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program.
1. A very warm greeting from Hiroshima University
The Hiroshima Universitys staffs were very helpful during my whole stay in
Hiroshima University. They promptly reply to all our e-mail and they do their
hardest to ensure the AIMS-HU students have great experience. This is very
different from what I heard from the Japanese student that participated in the
AIMS-HU program to ITB. I think ITB at least need to provide the same level
service to the Japanese students too. At least give them a dedicated tutor
that will help them during their stay. It is very sad for me to hear that the
Japanese student was not able to make friend with the mechanical
engineering students. Instead, they got friends from other faculties. This
makes me wonder about our hospitality.
2. Accommodation
Future AIMS-HU students do not need to worry about the accommodation
provided by the Hiroshima University. It is very good; actually, beyond my
expectation. It is strategically located and considered by the locals as a good
place.
3. Daily Life
Food in Japan is quite expensive if compared to Indonesian standard. One way
to save money is to cook your own meal. Many supermarkets are located in
reasonable distance from the apartment and the quality of things they sell
need not be questioned.
Knowledge in Japanese language will definitely help. I suggest future AIMS-HU
students to at least study basic Japanese such as how to buy things and how
to order foods. Many Japanese people do not or just shy to use English, you
will be surprised.
4. Expenses
If I save and minimize my expenses, I can survive with about 40.000 yen or
about 4 million rupiahs for a month. Bills are expensive so I suggest think
before using hot water, heater, etc.
5. Weather
Usually ITB students are going to stay during autumn and winter. Do not
underestimate the weather during winter. It was really cold and I have to
compromise between using heater therefore high electricity bill or feeling cold
and shivering. Bring a lot of thick clothes and if possible thick blankets.

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6. Conclusion and Suggestions

Here is what I got from my participation in the AIMS-HU Student Exchange
Program:

Living abroad experience in which I could barely communicate with the

majority of people
To feel as a minority and cope with it
Increase in my English proficiency
New knowledge in mechanical engineering concepts
Experience in making scientific paper and presenting it
Experiencing below zero temperature
Foreign friends

To conclude, I really recommend this program for any students interested in a

living abroad experience and want to be more internationalized.
Some suggestions for future AIMS-HU students:

Bring thick jacket

Learn Nihongo
Be open minded
Enjoy yourself

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Attachment 1: Research Paper

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Attachment 2:
Introduction to Japanese
Companies Final Report

Activity Report: AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program

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Attachment 3:
Advanced Mechanical
Engineering and Industrial
Engineering Final Presentation

Activity Report: AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program

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Attachment 4: Syllabus

Activity Report: AIMS-HU Student Exchange Program